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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  Great Buy - 2007 Kia Sportage
  By Mikes Sportage - August 27 - 10:13 pm

  Looked at a bunch of different SUVs. Kia really has the market on more bang for your buck, friends told me to buy a Honda CR-V but I bought a KIA Sportage and Im laughing all the way to the bank with the money I saved, the standard up grades on the Sportage you pay for on other SUVs, would highly recomend this to everyone.

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  Transmission - 2009 Kia Optima
  By dholder35 - August 27 - 3:31 pm

  KIA needs to make a better transmission. This is the second Kia Optima I have owned and the transmission always seems to go out. The service department will always say you need a transmission flush, but then after the warranty runs out the transmission will quit working and I have to pay for the transmission to be replaced. When I apply my brakes the transmission will down shift hard.

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  Get what you pay for. - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Harry Morrison - August 26 - 11:16 pm

  My wife and I LOVE this "mini-wagon". This is the first new car for both of us. Between the two of us, weve had alot of different cars and trucks. But this is the greatest, most fun, weve had with any vehicle. Some talk about the "road noise", not sure what they are comparing it to, but we dont feel its an issue. We set the radio to 5 and have no problem hearing it at highway speed. With the A/C up to max, thanks to the 100 + temps here in Texas, thats the only time we turn up the radio. To get over the fan noise. BUT THATS NOT A COMPLAINT. A/C is a MUST.

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  LOVE MY NEW 2016 FORTE LX - 2016 Kia Forte
  By Joshua Evans - August 26 - 4:15 pm

  I bought my 2p16 forte lx after driving my moms car she had just purchased. I cruised in ir a few times and two weeks later I went and bought mine...only she has the AT am I have a manual. LOVE DRIVING THIS CAR!!! I TURNED THE ECO OFF AND ZOOM IM OFF AND RUNNING!! I would recommend this car to anyone who wants comfort and style without breaking the bank!

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  Still runnin after 8 years - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By ASHBURN VA - August 25 - 4:43 pm

  I had been considering purchasing a 96 Camry used car but happened to see this Kia on the way to buy the Camry. The winning point was that the Kia was less than the used Camry and had an great warranty. Eight years out I have had no major problems with the car. The cv boots for left and right wheels had to be replaced in Aug 08 but it was covered under the warranty. Its a great commuter car. I have only taken it on long distance trips three times. Seats are very uncomfortable. All things considered its a good little car. Had I purchased the Camry I would have over 125k miles on it.

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  Awesome - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By Nathan - August 24 - 7:20 am

  I went to check out the new sportage because i liked the way they looked and they were more affordable than the tahoe my wife wanted. after the test drive i was sold. i got the lx with upgraded rims and navi with backup cam it is amazing. even the glove box has ac for a bottle of water or whatever you decided to put in there to keep cool thats crazy! tons of room and the gps and backup cam is awesome. huge screen!

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  beware - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By trash man - August 24 - 4:03 am

  One of the first questions i asked the salesman was how did the transmissions hold up on towing!!!!! He said great havent had a problem... Well at 12000 miles even before we hooked a small pop camper to it we had to have the tranmission replaced, and from there 6 more trips to the dealer for shifter problems, eng light came on due to a trans problem....and oh yeah forgot this 18000 miles had to replace all 4 crappy YOKOHAMA tire on it!!! I think you guys can get the gas mileage up too

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  Fell in Love before I even bought it.... - 2010 Kia Soul
  By queen - August 24 - 2:50 am

  I saw this car online and I fell in love with it before I even test drove it. I have driven few cars in the past and I dont believe in spending too much money for a car. This car meets all my demand, great design, great car, great mileage, great features, great safety features...cant beat the airbags in this car. I never thought I would buy a box car but the Soul won me over. I never liked the Scion and the new Nissan Cube is too ugly to even mention. I bought my car a month ago and I have nothing to complain about. For the features and the great price.....this car can not be beat. I had to drive 3 hours to get the car and it was more than worth it.

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  Downsized From Huge SUV - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By countrynewsman - August 23 - 5:24 pm

  I traded in my Ford Expedition EL for the Sorento since I no longer needed a huge gas guzzler. I was concerned about comfort, however, I have driven the Sorento on long trips and it is comfortable to drive. The generous warranty and the fact its built in the U.S. were two of my main reasons for purchasing this vehicle. My only complaint is the lack of room in the second row due to the presence of the third row. My next Sorento will not have the third row since I dont need it. The Sorento does very well in towing a boat and trailer weighing 2500 pounds, however, braking is a little harder.

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  LOVE this "car"! - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Jennifer - August 23 - 4:53 pm

  We bought our car off the lot as a demo - so it was considered new. I wasnt sure about the value I would get but its nearly a year later and we LOVE it! We get about 24 combine city/highway miles. We got all the bells and whistles (which hardly cost any extra), including the sunroof, leather and 3rd row. I am 56" and can fit in the 3rd row (wouldnt do it all the time and probably someone a bit taller would not fit unless they sat sideways). Plenty of room in the front and middle. The seats fold flat, which is hard to find.