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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  Best for the money - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By Mister Big - February 14 - 7:46 am

  I get 30 plus mpg around town, and got 37 mpg on a 1000 mile trip of hiway and city,and thats with automatic transmission. Bad stuff: Not the best paint job. Paint surface is rough down near and on the rocker panels, and the paint chips easily; ABS, floor mats are not standard. Good stuff: Peppy performance, great gas mileage; cool, intuitive dashboard controls; comfy seats (easy on my sciatica); solid warranty; roomy trunk; stylish, at least to my eyes. The Spectra is, I think, the best value out there. To get anything even slightly better, youd have to pay lots more. I love my Spectra!

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  KIA? - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By TRIMENT - February 8 - 11:23 pm

  BANG FOR THE BUCK DESCRIBES THIS VEHICLE. YOU GET MORE THAN YOUR MONEYS WORTH AND CAN SURPRISE MANY HIGH END MINI-VANS WITH ITS TORQUE, POWER AND SMOOTHNESS. FINISH QUALITY EXTENDS FROM THE INTERIOR ALL THE WAY TO THE EXTERIOR, SO DONT LET THE PRICE FOOL YOU, KEEP THE MAINSTREAM GUESSING. THE WARRANTY IS NOT HALF BAD EITHER.

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  Aching back - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By mark chrisopher - February 8 - 10:00 am

  The "adjustable" seats are very uncomfortable. An extended drive (30+min) leave my back aching. The seat belt buckle digs into my thigh. The plastic interior is shoddy. The car never settles into 5th gear but keeps on winding...very irritating.

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  Still Happy! - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Gary - February 5 - 1:33 am

  After 2 years and 40,000 miles, I still enjoy driving to and from work every day in my Kia Sorento. My wife also bought a Sorento 9 months after I bought mine and she really likes it too. Both vehicles have been reliable so far and they handle very well on the road. I recommend the Sorento for anyone who wants an SUV but is on a budget.

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  Is any one there? - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By jsosa - February 4 - 9:36 pm

  My new experiance with Kia left me happy. I enjoy the power to pass when and who I want. Yet the fuel milage could be better. (20 mile per/gallon tops, on a good day). The room is adequate for my family of six. I had only one problem with my Kia in 8,700 miles. The rear heater stopped working shortly after I purchased my family van. And the dealer is so far away, it is a real experience taking it in (45 minutes away) for repair. Not only is it far, but with four kids it really makes it a miserable task.

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  Great Basic Transportation - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By jbtolla - February 2 - 7:06 pm

  I purchased mine in May 04 as a new leftover from 2002, therefore, I stole it from the dealer. For the $10K I paid, I feel I got more than much more than I paid for. My nephew is over 6 tall and always complains about his legs cramping in the back of my Mustang convertible (hour ride), but I drove from New Haven, CT to Williamsburg, VA with him in the back, and not one complaint. I have made a couple trips to VA and several trips back and forth from New Haven to Yankee stadium and my passengers never complain. Since I am used to driving sporty cars, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it handles for a little truck.

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  2003 Sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Rick S. - February 2 - 6:06 am

  I found the Sedona very comfortable to drive. I liked the overall styling of it, but I wish it would have had a bigger trunk area for luggage or groceries.The gas mileage could be better, over 20 mpg would be nice. The Sedona handled very well on dry or wet roads and we havent had any problems with it other than normal maintenance. The safety rating was a big factor in our decision to buy it and I would buy another.

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  Car from Hell - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Magentis - January 31 - 2:00 am

  The Optima is the U.S. name, it is called the Magentis in Canada. At 55,000 km the dealership has replaced all four brakes and the transmission. The new transmission is acting up just as the old one did.Door locks have been replaced.Windshield wipers have rusted. The life of the headlight bulbs is six months.The fuel guage was replaced after two months of driving.It takes 3 months to get parts at some dealerships.Ive been to three dealerships because the first two closed.

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  4X4 never works - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By Tom991 - January 31 - 2:00 am

  I bought a 4X4 EX so I would have 4 wheel drive when I needed it. The 4 times it snowed and I needed 4 wheel drive I had none. 1st time the dealers service department said no problems found, 2d time they fixed a vacumn line to the 4 wheel drive but my fuel ecomony dropped from 22 MPG to 17 MPG, Obviously they did something wrong. 3rd time (two weeks out of the shop, it snowed again, the 4 wheel drive didnt work. Its in the shop awaiting parts again. Im wondering, is it the KIA or the service department? Had four wheel allignment done there came out with same pulling to the left problems when it went in.

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  Great van! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Soccermom - January 29 - 12:00 pm

  We have 4 kids (including a newborn in a carseat), 3 boys into soccer and we love this van. I agree, they could make the seats easier to remove/reinstall, and the exterior does dent easily. I have no problems with the AC being too noisy though. Only problem we had was the brakes went out when I was 7 months pregnant, but Kia sent roadside assistance and towed us, free-of-charge to the dealership, fixed it for free. It was a faulty chip in the ABS. Wish there was more headroom in the 3rd row. But overall, this has been a wonderful minivan for the cost. I could not justify blowing $35K+ on a higher- scale minivan. Great van for the price. Were going to trade up soon to the EX.