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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  A very impressive vehicle - 2014 Kia Sorento
  By rcf8000 - July 11 - 7:35 am

  Here is my report card for my SXL FWD after three weeks of ownership: Excellent: Power train refinement; nav/entertainment/climate controls and displays; blindspot alert; sunroof; rear view camera; build quality Very Good: Steering (NORMAL setting); braking; ride; handling; styling; drivers seat comfort; noise levels Good: Front passenger seat comfort; second row seat comfort; front seat access; instrument panel displays; gas mileage: 20.7 mpg (suburban driving, calculated; instrument panel display read 22.2 mpg) Fair: Third row seat comfort, for persons 5 ft 10 in tall or smaller, on short trips; third row access Unknown: reliability (no repairs have been needed so far)

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  All the options, without the price tag - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By JoshL - July 10 - 8:06 pm

  My Sportage is fantastic. Kia has really stepped into the realm of producing quality cars in my opinion. I would put my car up against a Honda CR-V or Ford Escape any day of the week. And fully loaded around $20 - $21K, you just cant beat it. It is sporty, stylish, drives great, and is very comfortable, and with all the included safety features (side and front airbags standard, traction control, ABS brakes) I feel safe driving it. I would recommend the Sportage very highly to anyone who is in the market for a smaller SUV.

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  I love it - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Riand - July 10 - 2:13 pm

  I love my little Kia , its done well over the years and have been reliable. I havent had any problems with the car and I would recomend some one to buy!

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  2005 Kia Sorrento, Cant beat it - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By k carr - July 9 - 10:23 pm

  Great car. Interior design is sturdy and practical. Have 4 kids made to fit for my family. Exterior very nice looking and many extras for not much money. Rough ride on dirt and bumpy roads but good trade off for other comforts of car. Excellent warranty. I liked the 3 tone EX, leather seats make it even nicer. Has nice features that were well thought out, Enjoy driving this SUV; it does drive very smooth on the open road (maybe top smooth, received several tickets lately). Will stick with this SUV for a long time. Very satisfied.

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  Blown Away - 2011 Kia Optima
  By dakota001 - July 9 - 4:09 pm

  I was looking at Lexus, Acura, Accord EX recently and drove by a KIA Dealership. I remember a friend had purchased a KIA years ago and put over 300,000 miles on it with virtually no problems. I was blown away at the Optima. It is elegant, refined, stylish and reasonably priced. After the test drive, I called my credit union and drove it home immediately. The next day when I went to sign the paperwork for my loan at the Credit Union, there two more new Optimas in the parking lot. The loan officers came out to look at them and were all oooohing and aahhhing. I LOVE my Optima

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  NOT for long haul commuters! - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By sorefoot - July 9 - 8:40 am

  purchased this vehicle used in 8/2007 for a 3-day a week commute 40 miles each way (80 per day). after a month my foot started bothering me. after two months i was diagnosed with a stress fracture. laid up with no driving for a few months in a cast and get 80% better. back to work and within weeks am having same pain! have determined foot pain coincides with the purchase date of car. the gas pedal is in such an awkward position that my foot has to be at an unnatural angle. 2 hours a day at the angle and well, you have an injury!

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  Disappointment - 2010 Kia Forte
  By Patricia Wald - July 6 - 11:46 am

  This car is a major disappointment. Ride is rough. Brakes and gear shift poorly responsive, fuel injection uneven. No vision out rear window. Rear headrests further block vision. Back of car too high for vision. Drivers left vent for air very poor. Controls for sunroof make no sense in terms of open being opposite of closed. Takes excessive time for sunroof control to result in desired position. Remote key to open trunk is extremely slow. Have to be right at trunk for it to respond. The trunk door doesnt stay in the up position. Very narrow access to truck. Would recommend against anyone buying this car.

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  HEADACHES!! - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By PPower - July 6 - 9:26 am

  I had this car approx. 2 years, and put 25,000 miles on it. The car was a replacement for the other 2006 Spectra that dropped its transmission after just 150 miles! After 10000 miles, the car died in the middle of a very busy intersection. The fuel valve gave way, and it was in the shop for a week. Kia does not provide loaner cars. After 20,000 miles, the transmission began shifting hard. I took the car in, and the service manager advised the car would need a new transmission, however the head service manager would have to review the findings. Another week, and Kia called back to say that the transmission only need a quart of fluid. From a new transmission to a quart of fluid?!? YEAH RIGHT!

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  Very very nice crossover SUV for money - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By harry - July 5 - 6:06 pm

  Ive had my sorento for about 1 month, so far so good. Its a very solid vehicle. I test drive cr-v, gmc, Chevy etc. before I bought. I am very happy that I did not buy any of others. It has very nice interior and fun to drive.

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  Nothing but problems - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By ndskimr - July 4 - 3:29 pm

  I have had to car for one year now and everything started out great. I loved the car but as the months went on problems started to arise. First, the car would not shut off. Even when you took the key out and walked away it still ran. Kia fixed the problem, said it was a faulty break relay switch. Now the car at times will reset everything electronic and other times will not start. Kia cannot figure out the problem. The cars transmission will slip at highway speeds causing a bit of a scare. I would not really recommend this car until Kia can get these problems resolved. The car is not the most reliable at times.