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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  POOR BRAKES BUT GREAT VAN!! - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By ftwcowgirl76 - February 8 - 2:30 pm

  I am a courier so I put a lot of miles on in a short time. I have had to replace the brakes 3 times in less than one year. The first time because one of the brake pads just fell off the vehicle! It now has 66,000 miles and I am already having to replace the rotors and the brakes again. Very poor quality in the brakes! Service engine light came on once already and had to be taken in for that. That time was the solenoid. Now its on again and will have to be taken in again to be fixed. Dont know yet what that problem is. And come on.. do you really need 12 cup holders in a vehicle that seats 7 only?!

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  Gas Guzzler - 2011 Kia Optima
  By vatili1 - February 8 - 11:57 am

  I drove the 2011 Kia Optima LX on an 16 hour highway trip and was expecting to get north of 34 MPG. To my disappointment I only got 30 MPG average. I wonder how the hell they come up with the MPG numbers they post on the window sticker?

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  Mileage over rated - 2008 Kia Rio
  By Edward - February 7 - 11:13 pm

  The mileage rating of 41 MPG is very over rated and was the selling point for me. However, for a subcompact the car performs well, and even at high speed is quite and handles well. The second big selling point for a sub compact was the quietness of the car. This area outdid the other higher price cars on the lot. The sports package put the extra touch on the inside. All and all it is a good car, but Im getting about the same with my Honda as far as MPG and the reason I treaded was for better gas mileage, so in the end I lost. Breaks do squeak.

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  Forte LX - nice surprise - 2014 Kia Forte
  By eastkia55 - February 7 - 9:15 am

  I have had this about 2 weeks so far, and still like it, no buyers remorse. I got the LX with Popular package because I wanted cruise control. Back in 2010 when I bought my Corolla, I had looked at Kia but some of the cars seemed cheap. The 14 Forte is a step up, with slightly bigger trunk and trunk opening than the 13, better seats (in my opinion), etc. I recommend it over the 13 even though you pay more. Wind noise okay, a little noiser than Elantra but a quieter than 13 Corolla or Sentra. Trunk opening (important for me cause I have big briefcases, boxes, etc) was better than Corolla, and I didnt have to bend down as much as Elantra. Sentra trunk & opening bigger and better though

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  Bought used worth every dime - 2013 Kia Optima
  By Bill - February 7 - 7:01 am

  My cousin began selling KIA autos , we needed a vehicle so I called him. Im so glad I did we bought a 2013 optima . In the past weve owned Mercedes E series and BMW 5 and 7 series. The Optima is better equipped as comfortable and dont take My word for it the KIA brand has one of the highest quality ratings across the entire model line of most high production vehicles. The optima is my wifes car Im on the lookout for a used K900🇱🇷

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  An car for people who have never driven a honda - 2011 Kia Forte
  By bytes220 - February 6 - 4:53 am

  My car is a Kia forte SX hatchback. First let me start off by saying that if youre considering this car, Only buy it if you can get it with the six speed manual. The 2.4liter engine is completely unsuited for the 6 speed automatic. All the shift points are wrong meaning that you end up with a car that is 1.5 seconds slower to 60 than the manual and sucks gas like theres no tomorrow. My previous car was a 2004 Honda Accord EX-L with a manual 5 speed transmission. This car had an engine that had less horsepower and torque than the Kia and was quite a bit heavier and larger but it was substantially quicker and got 35% better gas mileage than the Kia. The Honda also handled better.

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  06 Kia Sorento - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Tonibugg - February 5 - 2:06 pm

  I love this SUV!! It handles great and the body style is sleek. My husband was not thrilled about buying a Kia at first but the warranty, free oil changes, and standard safety features for the price spoke volumes! It is my best car purchase to date. I would recommend this vehicle to anyone interested in an SUV!

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  Bad Crunch - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Annie - February 5 - 8:56 am

  This car is okay but does not hold up well in an accident. I was in one about a month ago and it wasnt even my fault. The other people had their car fixed and back to work. Mine was totaled at the scene and Im still not allowed to go back to work because of back and neck injuries. We were hit by a 95 Jeep Cherokee and they only had minor damages to the vehicle.

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  KIA= Killed in Action - 2013 Kia Soul
  By fedupwithkia2 - February 5 - 4:02 am

  Nothing but problems. Kia difficult to deal with. Gas mileage is not as promised. Gas gauge has too much float Head unit quit working, been replaced Wheel speed sensor almost killed me and a friend throwing my car into limp mode. Ignition switch shorted out and had to be replaced. Radio cutting out. Again. Lights and wipers cut out. Oh did I mention the horrible shake, hard shift, failure to downshift?

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  2006 Kia Sedona - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By lavrishevo - February 4 - 10:16 pm

  Overall a great van. Very comfortable and powerful. I have had two very minor problems what were immediately fixed by the dealer as they were slight design flaws being 06 was the first redesign production year. I currently have a little over 22,000 miles and the van is running strong. Gas mileage has improved slightly with the “breaking” in of the engine but MPG has always been good with conservative driving habits. Consiering I live in Puerto Rico which is 80% city driving the van is holding up great. Very happy with this purchase!