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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  So Far So Good! - 2002 Kia Optima
  By J Christian - August 26 - 10:00 am

  Hey guys, Ive had my Kia Optima for 1 yr and 2mths now. So far so good. Im actually a few thousand miles over my next maint visit which I shoul schedule. Im a Network Engineer and sometimes Im required to drive great distances daily to reslove problems. But so far in my opinion it was a great buy. The only draw back is power but I purchased a 4 cyl so what can I expect. but its held up great for me so far. In short other cars are faster but wheres their warranty? What good is a fast car if it only last a couple of years. Ill keep my Optima and the 10 yr warranty. Best of Luck.

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  Interior Room Light - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By Rik Nieves - August 25 - 5:06 pm

  2008 Kia Rondo Why does my room lights( the 2 lights in the cargo bay) stay on whenever I turn my headlights on? Ive move the selector to: on/off/door and they never turn off. its distracting when driving at night. Any suggestions/remedies? YIKES!!! help.

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  Awesome Truck! - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By aaronmateo - August 24 - 11:11 pm

  I bought my used Sorento about a year and a half ago with 48,000 miles on it and I cannot rave about it enough. Purchased it in Milwaukee and have driven it down to Austin, Texas, back to Milwaukee, back down to Austin, out to New York City, around NYC in the hardcore NY traffic for 5 days, then back to Milwaukee, not to mention a year and a half of miscellaneous city driving. It got me through the Great Blizzard of 2011 this past week too - kicked it into 4-wheel drive and it hummed through apocalyptic levels of snow, wind, and cold like a champ, didnt even flinch. Havent had a single problem with it. If youre looking for a smaller SUV, have a look at a Sorento. Durable. Reliable. Fun.

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  Best deal we ever made - 2004 Kia Spectra
  By ry-guy - August 21 - 10:00 am

  We used to have a 2000 Corolla without any extras. For some reason the check engine light kept coming on and we had to keep paying $80.00 to get it checked out. We finally decided to trade it in for the Kia with an awesome warranty and so far we have loved it. It has been the best deal we ever made. We got everything on it including sunroof, foglights, keyless entry, 6 airbags . . . the works! And we lowered our payments by 20.00 a month. It is a tad louder than the Corolla and the gas mileage is not quite as good but it definitely was worth the trade. Intererior quality is superb. Attention to detail is outstanding. Good job Kia!

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  Good trade-up - 2008 Kia Sorento
  By P - August 19 - 6:50 am

  I purchased my Sorento and am luvin it. I had a sports car and got tired of it due to a lifestyle change.

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  impressed but didnt buy - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By lexthor - August 17 - 10:00 am

  If ur even thinking about a mid-size SUV, do not buy another w/o at least looking at this one first. 2 blocks n2 a test drive, I was saying “wow”. As everyone says, it has all the features, comfort & style of SUV’s costing $15K more. Yet I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee instead. Tho it stickered just under $40K after rebates & 5 min of haggling, I got the price down to $28K matching the KIA. In the end, for the same money I couldn’t get over my prejudice about Kia’s past bad rep, the Jeep has a V8 with 30% more hp & my pos exp w/ past Jeeps. If the dif in the bottom line had been greater, wouldve bought the KIA. I think the KIA ride is smoother.

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  I love my Kia truck - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By tiffany - August 13 - 5:43 am

  I purchased my Kia this year with 67,000 miles. Car fax came back clean. My truck drives good. It Burns a lot of gas but I dont mind because I enjoy driving it. Looking forward to buying another one in a couple of years. Never thought I would a Kia cause I was told they were cheap vehicles. Thats why you shouldnt knock it until you try it!

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  Smooth Ride - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Pete Huerta - August 11 - 1:20 am

  I really like the nice, smooth highway ride. The interior looks rich and controls work smoothly. I like the style of the roof, especially the rear. Its squared off, not rounded like all the rest.

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  best for traffic - 2006 Kia Rio
  By victoria - August 6 - 4:30 am

  LOVE this car far better than my 500SL Benz. Been rear ended twice and I rear ended someone - all under 15 MPH. All times the Kia literally bounced off without a scratch thanks to its wrap around black bumper and compact solid body. EXCELLENT in heavy traffic and easy to cut in and out quickly if needed.

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  Very Happy - 2003 Kia Rio
  By joepostal - August 3 - 10:00 am

  I was doubtful at first, especially after reading the professional reviews of this car. But I needed a low payment, and loved the warranty. After owning it for a couple months, I love it. Its fun to drive, nice looking, economical. I would highly recommend it.