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 - 2013 Kia Sorento
  By michael76148 - April 2 - 4:28 am

  My wife and I in a 3-5 day span test drove a Honda crv, a mazda7, a Nis. Murano,and chev. Equnox, when it came down to standard equipment, comfort, quality,and over all bang for the buck the Kia slapped the others in the face. Quiet cabin, smooth ride, beautiful leather interior, bluetooth,vue voice command with a awsome Infinity suround system, and many other toys are standard on the V-6 SX MODEL. 3rd row seating tight for adults but for my 2 Grandsones they are fine.Gas milage not great but good.Trip to Loisianna 450miles avg 25mpg, everyday city only 19-20. Overall, we are very happy with our choice. And a warranty 2nd to none

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  Love the car - 2009 Kia Spectra
  By puppywhipsers - April 1 - 6:26 pm

  I bought my Spectra 8 months ago with barely over 8,000 miles on it, I bought it because of the manual transmission and so far I love the car. The only trouble I have experienced is the cruise control wont always set, it goes to the dealership on Monday. Contrary to other reviews I get excellent mileage on my KIA. I commute 55 miles one way to work, I have gotten anywhere from 30-38 mpg depending on my driving habits (if you know what I am saying ;)). My in town mpg is even better, I regularly get 40+ mpg and have had as high as 52mpg in town. I recalculated 3x because I couldnt believe it! Its a great car and with the sunroof & factory rear spoiler and on it, it looks sporty too!

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  Love my KIA - 2016 Kia Optima
  By Fireshaw - April 1 - 3:46 pm

  Awesome package deal with sporty looks, luxury interior, good fuel economy and still practical.

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  Great Value - 2011 Kia Optima
  By cosmosprophet - March 31 - 10:02 pm

  I bought this car as a second vehicle to drive to work. I commute 600 miles one way. I bought it because of what I perceived as a great value. It has been just that. The gas mileage is coming up a couple of miles short but still very good at 33 miles per gallon on the freeway. I drives excellent and is very comfortable to ride in for the 8.5 hour trip.

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  Fun vehicle but disappointing fuel economy - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By mayfield53 - March 31 - 5:32 am

  Great styling inside and out. A number of features standard that you would pay extra in other cars. Have about 3,500 miles with no mechanical issues. I am over 6 foot and have plenty of head and leg room. The six speed automatic is quick to downshift on a grade. Fuel economy is well below the advertised 23-31. I have average around 22.5 through the winter months. Tires perform poorly in snow due to poor tread pattern. Ride is very stiff. Rear window is limits visibility, but large side windows overcomes this with a look over the shoulder. Overall fun to drive, easy to drive with good visibility of the road

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  Quality Lacking - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By Jason - March 30 - 9:33 am

  Well was really happy at first with our 2011 Sorento, then the problems started. Shuttering sunroof, burning smells, a/c vents were missing their components, and the night time running lights and interior lights all went out. Spoke to the dealership several times, and they actually gave us a different new Sorento. Now this one has the same shuttering sun roof and the console chrome is peeling off and its not even a week old. There is no quality control coming out of Atlanta, beware of these first year vehicles... There are bugs everywhere.

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  Good, But Could Be Improved - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Megasarge - March 30 - 2:00 am

  Called Kia Roadside Assistance 3 times for dead battery, finally the dealer replaced the lumbar switch. Battery would go dead if vehicle sat more than 5 days; I dont know if the problem is fixed yet. Windshield cracked and was replaced promptly. No hassels with roadside assistance and dealer warrranty work. Rear glove box door keeps popping open. Took cross-country trip Dec 2003, MPG averaged O/A 21 MPG @ 62 MPH average; ride was comfortable, handeled well. Rear seats are hard to get into. Interior componets seem durable. Since corporate America is sending jobs overseas, this retired 20- year Army veteran tries to avoid purchasing from American companies.

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  Get it a try! - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Mark1016 - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I have been toying with the idea of buying Korean. I like the tweeks made in the exterior design for the 04 Optima. The 6 cylinder moves out plenty fast enough for me to collect some pricey tickets. I am 61" and my only complaint is that my head is very close to the headliner in the car. The steering wheel needs to be telescoping for long legged people.

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  Great vehicle at a reasonable price - 2009 Kia Borrego
  By drallen - March 28 - 6:50 am

  This is a really great vehicle at a great price. Bought the V8 engine and love it..read some complaints on the 6 cylinder and since I tow a boat I wanted the V8 with the 6 speed transmission...works great and almost the same mileage as the 6 cylinder engine...Its a real joy to drive and love the 100,000 mile 10 year power train warranty!! Just got it a week ago so cant speak for reliability so far, but fun to drive...great quality vehicle at a low price..(KIA is giving $3,000.00 off right now) its really a no brainer...almost bought a Honda Pilot but this is a much better vehicle at a much lower price.

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  Nice, inexpensive little car - 2003 Kia Rio
  By Dan - March 27 - 5:33 pm

  Bought this little car for my basic point a to point b daily work commute. Very happy with it so far. Very good to excellent condition with 64,000 miles on it. Good ride for its size, very good to excellent gas mileage (32-33 combined city/highway), very maneuverable, decent acceleration. Bought it used, purchase price was excellent (thats due to the rather high depreciation of Kias). Drove it from Nebraska to Arizona and back without any problems. Have become quite fond of and pleasantly surprised by this little car.