Overview & Reviews

Kia Motors is a South Korean automaker that's relatively new to the United States. In its early years, Kia largely catered to budget-minded consumers with well-equipped vehicles priced below competing models. More recently, this growing brand has kept value a priority while also emphasizing technology and sportiness.

Founded in Korea in 1944, Kia started as a producer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The company's name has its roots in the Chinese language, and means "to arise, to come up out of Asia." By the early 1950s, the company had produced Korea's first bicycle; by the latter part of the decade, Kia had branched out into motor scooters, with the rollout of the C100.

The 1960s saw Kia expanding its lineup to include motorcycles and three-wheeled cargo vehicles. Naturally, the next logical step was automobile production, and the company began moving in this direction in the early 1970s. By 1973, Kia had built a facility designed to make its automotive dreams a reality; its Sohari plant held the distinction of being Korea's first fully integrated automobile production facility, and went on to spawn Korea's first internal-combustion gasoline engine. A year later, Kia unveiled the Brisa, Korea's first passenger car. By the end of the decade, Kia's technology was being used to manufacture vehicles like the Peugeot 604 and the Fiat 132.

By the late '80s, Kia's lineup included new models like the Concord, Capital, Potentia and Pride. In 1987, Ford brought the Pride to U.S. shores, rebadging it as the Ford Festiva. Seven years later, Ford dealers got a replacement for the entry-level, subcompact Festiva in the form of another Kia constructed product, the Aspire.

Kia finally began selling vehicles in the U.S. under its own name in the early '90s, trumpeting its presence with the introduction of the compact Sephia. The car's rollout was gradual; in the early days of its production, the Sephia was only available in select Western states. By the mid-'90s, SUVs had emerged as a phenomenally popular and profitable vehicle segment. Kia responded with the 1995 Sportage, a compact SUV. By the end of the '90s, Kia's nationwide rollout was nearly complete.

Financial difficulties in the late '90s prevented Kia from expanding its lineup beyond those two models. Hyundai, South Korea's other major automaker, acquired the company in a merger in 1998.

Kia has been on a major upswing since its purchase by Hyundai, with improvements in build quality, performance and overall refinement. Reliability, previously a weak point, has also improved markedly and consumers' confidence was further bolstered by Kia's substantial warranty program. Today, Kia is on a dramatic upswing and offers a broad lineup of well-built coupes, sedans and crossovers that stand out for their value, performance and sporty styling.

User Reviews:

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  WOW I am impressed - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By k3lm3y - September 3 - 12:00 pm

  I just had my Mercedes totaled. Due to the economy I could not afford another one. Sadden to take a downgrade, I decided to look for an economy car. When I went to the Kia dealership; after looking at two cars, my eyes focused on this Amanti. When I got inside, I was sold! I thought I was looking at an upgrade Mercedes and a Jag combined. She is a beauty and a sight for sore eyes! I am impress! Her drive, style, and grace have made me feel like I did not step down at all rather than went up! She is gorgeous and adds class to my personality and my persona.

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  More Bang for the Bucks - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By Peg - September 3 - 10:00 am

  Looked at several other similar cars including Elantra and Focus but Spectra drove and felt better. The price was lower and the dealer was much better to deal with. KIA offers the best warranty and the car is well enough equiped that there are only a few options.

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  Luv my car - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By kath - September 3 - 7:06 am

  I luv this car! I have gone from a suburban to this highly fuel efficient compact car. I drive approx. 60+ miles per day. It is very smooth and fun to drive. I thought the big car small car transition would be hard. Not a problem at all. But, when I go from this car to my husbands suburban I feel like Im driving a bus. Have had about 1 month and getting 31 MPG in town. My mom bought one at the same time and she cant keep my dad out of it. Its hard to explain. You just have to test drive. It has a lot of get up and go. Very easy to maneuver. Cant say enough good things. Have the SX standard. Mom has the SX automatic, sister the EX, nephew the SX and I will be going back for one for my son.

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  My Sedona - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By john eppich - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Purchased my Sedona the Saturday before Christmas, currently have 8450 miles with no problems. Great ride and plenty of power. Why pay 6 or 7 thousand dollars more for another brand of van? All kinds of goodies for your buck. My EX listed for 22,456 was able to buy for 21,500. Also runs on regular unleaded, unlike some of the others. Highly recommended!

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By lydiac8668 - September 2 - 8:11 pm

  I am amazed they have not recalled this car! My engine has stalled on me 4 times now and no one knows how or why. According to other sites, I am not the only one! I drive only 4 miles away from my home daily to go to work on a very busy street. The last time it stalled, my lights were still on in my car, except my engine cut off, as well as my power steering, in drive, and I had to throw on my emergency lights and use my entire body weight to pull into a lot. This is day 5 of having a rental car through Kia and they still cant "recreate the situation" or "fix it". If you wouldnt put your loved one in it, dont buy it!

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  Last small car - 2004 Kia Rio
  By FRED - September 2 - 7:26 am

  this car has 80,000 miles on it. It speeds up very slowly and the revs are really high. also going about 70 the cars rpm are at around 4500. this car has no power. next it gets about 26 miles per gallon, but i do hammer it everytime i speed up because the slow acceleration, i probly could get around 35 if i really tried. also i slid into a curb in the winter under 5 mph and the frame bent. thats weak. also if you use this car in the winter the heat is poor. this is not a very smooth ride at high speeds either, but you get what you pay for!

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  A BIG JOKE - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By WOW - September 2 - 2:00 am

  All I can say is I spent over 20 grand for the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. Three sets of Rotors, power steering pump, rack, AC, heater, door handles, ball joints, and all the junky plastic interior. Of course I cant leave out the fact that to change 6 spark plugs it took me 6 hours to do so. Either that or pay a mechanic $800.00 bucks to do it since the back three are practically inaccessable Oh and one more thing. Metal anti freeze lines from front to back rusted out. Im thinking some type of plastic lies would be to easy to use. Bottom line is they knew what kinda junk they were building so we as consumers would have to rely on the incompitent mechanics at the dealerships

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  Poor fuel mileage - 2008 Kia Sportage
  By Don - September 1 - 10:16 pm

  I really liked this SUV so much that I bought another one in September for my wife. MISTAKE!!

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  If I only knew! - 2013 Kia Optima
  By kevyn4652 - September 1 - 7:12 pm

  I really wanted this car. People stopped me in parking lots and at the car wash. They admired the car and asked lots of questions - I could have been a salesman! Now I have owned it for a little over 3 years and dont feel the same. Pros: It is a beautiful design. Love the heated steering wheel/seats and the cooling seats. Glove box feature can keep a bottle of water cold. Im happy with my leather seats and the sound system. Cons: It does not live up to the MPG claims. I typically end a tank of gas with about 21 mpg. I have gotten up to 29 on the highway but not as often. Im a good driver and very conscious of the mileage. I am 54" and cannot see over the hood. What I can see is 3-4" of the hood closest to the windshield even with the drivers seat at maximum height. This has caused numerous problems. The passenger seat feels like I am sitting in a bucket – It should raise up and down like the driver seat. The drivers window clearance in the rear has a much too large blind spot at both corners. I should have also taken note that the battery life in the new car is only 2 years; I think thats a poor proposition. Also the tire life is only 3 years. I would advise you to negotiate both of these items plus the cost of the spare tire that isnt there. I want to trade this model in for the past 2 years for anew or late model Sportage. But 5 e-mails to the dealer (Carson) got no answer when I wanted to negotiate via e-mail or phone. I did not want to drive all that way just to look. ow they are bombarding me with requests for a trade-in.

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  I was surprised! - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By Ann - September 1 - 6:53 pm

  I did a lot of research and comparison shopping before buying my KIA Sportage EX w/ leather package. My gut wanted to get a Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4 for the obvious reasons, but neither had the features, ride, price, or warranty that won me over with the Sportage. I also live in the city and for practical reasons a hatchback was a MUST for me - not a side opening trunk. I almost bought the Hyundai Tucson (identical to the Sportage), but just prefered some of the slight styling & gadgets in the Sportage better (ie. different trunk covers). So far it has lived up to my expectations. Definitely has the best features and warranty for the best price.