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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  Death Trap - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Bill - August 12 - 1:33 pm

  This car has been a death trap since we bought it. Frozen throttle cable almost killed my family, and we only got attitude from Kia, until they finally did a mass recall because of our problem they claimed did not exist. 6 sets of brakes, windshield wipers went out on expressway during a rainstorm. It lost a bolt off the wiper motor. Also metal pulley fell out of van in Walmart parking lot, hitting a man in the leg. The pulley was from the air conditioning unit. Also had a leak of fuel vapors, and bad seals in the car that allowed the elements to fog up Windows badly. This car is a lemon and a death trap, I do not feel safe in this car, and dont want my family riding in it.

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  What a hunk of junk - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By Mike - June 29 - 6:06 pm

  By the time I bought my Sephia new in Sept 2000, Consumer Reports had already slapped the tag worst car ever made on it. Had to have the fuse box in the engine compartment replaced because it melted. Annual brake work, emergency brake cable snapped, sun visor spring snapped, inside driver door handle snapped, battery died, new tires every 18 months, its LOUD, struts were in dire need of replacement at the time I dumped it. Thankfully I had a base model, or Im sure Id be sitting here reporting A/C, automatic transmission, and power lock/window problems, too.

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  Gas Guzzler Galore - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Katherine - June 28 - 4:26 am

  I liked the styling of this vehicle because it was close to a Lexus but better in price. I have been a Toyota owner for years and decided to try something different. I should have stayed with what I knew. The Sorento is horrible on mpg. You can actually see it being drained from the tank by the gas hand on the dash. I drive a lot and good mpg means much to me.I am trading this vehicle in after only owning it 6 weeks. If you are looking for good gas mileage DO NOT BUY A KIA!

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  this car sucks - 2001 Kia Sephia
  By bos sakoa - June 10 - 2:00 am

  Ive had problems with the car starting at 40,000 it wouldnt run right, kept loseing power, like when your learning to drive a 5 speed the car jerks.every two weeks it was in the shop they fix it but it kept breaking,they said the codes kept blowing out.But kia motors stood behind it everytime iam still trying to fix it, tge paint is starting to peel off by the trunk of the car.

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  First and Last Kia - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By stoneattic - May 30 - 7:53 am

  If you use the stereo aux with a satellite radio or charging ipod there is a very noticeable alternator whine. The dealer had it twice, now claims thats the way its supposed to work. If you are going to have a convenience feature it should work properly. As annoying as this is the real clincher is that the parking lights will go on by themselves in the middle of the night for no reason, draining the battery. Im not the only one with this. Search Kia forums and you will find many with the same issue. Kia claims a new BCM will fix it, but it hasnt corrected mine. Then theres the goofy shift points, but theres not enough room to list all of my complaints. Dealer is awful too.

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  Very disappointed!!!!!!! - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By Denise Abel - May 4 - 2:00 am

  Bought 2 2003 spectras in May 2003 and am very shocked at the depreciation of these vehicles. We have two identical cars but they both drive differently. Mine has looser steering and my husbands feels like manual steering. We were told by the Kia place when my husband took his car in that this was normal. We paid $13,200 for each car (in trade) and now cannot get over $6000 for them in trade. Have not been able to sell the cars to private party because no one wants to buy them!!!! Very cheaply made! My husbands whole front bumper cover fell off and cost $1400 to fix. We are getting rid of both by this Friday.

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  Oops, I lost in the used car game - 2004 Kia Optima
  By nbafreak2007 - April 4 - 2:00 pm

  I bought this car in the summer of 09 with 63k miles. I had i checked out and all was well. That was the only thing that has gone right with the car. It is a money pit, I have had to replace the Clutch, flywheel, pressure plate etc along with the timing belt and water pump, and now the drivers side door will not unlock itself. This may be the worst car I have ever purchased I have invested more than 2500 in a car worth only 3000. I will never by a Kia or a Hyundai again and would recommend that no one else buy one either.

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  2003 already needing major engine work. - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By tdacw - March 29 - 10:00 am

  Our van is less than 6 months old, and is already in for a major valve job. The brakes are making strange noises and dont seem to be working properly. The paint on the roof has major blemishes appearing. We bought mainly because of value and a good rating from Edmunds. You get what you pay for and I have lost a lot of respect for Edmunds reviews.

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  how my kia feels - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By roby - March 23 - 2:00 am

  this car is very low to the ground.had bad gas mileage. has no pickup for a 4 cyl. car.

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  Mileage bites - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Leftyflinter - February 16 - 3:23 am

  This is a new van purchased with the salespersons guaranty that this van will get 16-18 MPG city and 24-26 or better freeway. Four months into owning the vehicle, the BEST mileage I can get so far is averaging 10.1 city and 14 freeway. Wish I had my Toyota Tacoma Prerunner back. Nice truck, great mileage.