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:

• 

  kia sorento - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By lars - November 16 - 2:00 am

  excellent interior design, lousy gas mileage around 15 mpg. great ride, smooth even on harsh roads.

• 

  sorento my new friend - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By tumminia - November 16 - 2:00 am

  I have just purchased a new Sorento and I am very happy. I was skepticle of Kia after my experience with the 02 Spectra and the loud whistling noise from my windows while driving but have been extremely impressed with the spacious and quiet interior. Very well built and fun to drive.

• 

  First Experiences - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Steve Whitmer - November 14 - 3:00 am

  Got Special Edition 2 with 18" wheels and low profile tires w/TPMS, orange w/racing stripe, sunroof, upgraded stereo, steering wheel controls, bluetooth, sport suspension. Very happy after two weeks. Got 29.2 MPG on first fill-up in mostly suburban street driving. Have ridden 4 people, backset riders said were very comfortable. Ride is tight as expected with sport suspension. Car is quiet- no high road noise as have read in other reviews, even at 65-70 mph. Soul looks to be good balance of sportiness, fuel economy, and cargo/passenger utility w/ top drawer warranty. In short, it does a lot of things pretty well at a very reasonable price.

• 

  The better Kia Sportage - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By K McMichael - November 12 - 11:03 pm

  I must say that the new Kia Sportage has come a long way. Compared to the old kia sportages this new one is great.

• 

  4000 mile update - Wow!- keep being impressed - 2012 Kia Optima
  By fixer199 - November 12 - 12:57 pm

  After 3 months & 4000 miles we like this car -- and Kia, more and more. As previously posted, the amplifier was replaced under warranty. I complained to Kia, the found the problem, & took care of it. Last week we received a gift card from Kia apologizing that we had experienced a problem with our Kia. Wow!! What a nice experience compared to my dealings with Ford on our other car! We get so many compliments on this car. Love driving it. Really like the 2.4L engine. The only thing we would do differently is not buy the Infinity NAV system. My $150 Garmin is a much better nav, & you give up the HD radio. Controls are frustrating!

• 

  Great Car - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By SAY iT - November 12 - 12:50 pm

  OK, So i bought this car used at about 25k and have had it for 22k. I probably can say that this car is a better performing car than my friends Civic (in power that is). Great gas mileage, little trouble, except when I had to change my front wheel bearings [covered under warranty even @45K). I am little concerned with the brakes; they tend to be needing readjusting every so often to fix the weak braking power. As second owner I have the 5 year/60k warranty which I have used 3 times when I locked myself out :-). Mine is a LS 5 speed with everything except the ABS. I LOOOOVE the car. I believe the KIAs need to be taken more seriously.

• 

  Amanti - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Mark K - November 11 - 10:00 am

  I am very impressed with the quality,style and workmanship of this vehicle. It handles extremely well. Outstanding warranty and a great price.

• 

  My Kia Sedona - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By aw - November 11 - 10:00 am

  Good van, great price.

• 

  Love it -- A real surprise - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By D P from Virginia - November 9 - 11:23 am

  Looked at minivans for 6 months. Almost bought a Honda, but same options were thousands more. Fully loaded Kia - leather, DVD, power everything - has a bigger engine, and warranty. I have driven it for nearly 7000 miles, and the gas mileage is getting better as I go along. I love the split, rear, fold down seats. Middle row also on a slide to provide even more room to the 3rd row. Glad I went with the Kia. I have suggested it to several friends--they too are considering a Sedona EX with all the bells and whistles. Would like a Nav system, but I can get the portable one for under $1000. Truly holding up to slogan -- Power to Surprise!

• 

  Lots of life left after 100K miles! - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By kikithekia - November 8 - 11:50 pm

  Bought this car (my first ever) with 100,000 miles; have put 4500 on myself. Anything Ive had to do mechanically is to be expected with the high mileage and was coming eventually — replace OEM alternator and serpentine belt, plus timing belt as a preventative measure. Mechanic said the rattling I hear in the body of the car can be fixed inexpensively, but is mostly cosmetic and can wait. Very low to ground; be careful over even small speed bumps. Overall I love it, pleasantly surprised! Expected better MPG (22/30+) but fun and easy car to drive. Serves me quite well. It keeps going and I feel like it has lots of life left even after so many miles. Id consider a Kia in the future!