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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  rio 5 - 2007 Kia Rio
  By cheryl - March 3 - 8:26 am

  I drive mostly hwy and getting about 38 mpg. Miss power windows and locks, but love the mpg. No problems. Had an Optima for 4 years and had no problems at all either.

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  Better Than Cars Several Thousand More - 2010 Kia Forte
  By JMill - March 3 - 2:10 am

  Got my new Forte EX and I love it. I just keep finding more and more that I like about it. I think this is the type of car that can turn around Kias bad reputation. THe fact that its inexpensive and is flat out fun is awesome. I love the plethera of options. I have found the places where Kia cut costs and used cheaper things, and overall, I think the car was made well, and designed well. I think that once word spreads about Kia being reputable, this will be Kias top seller, and maybe top seller in its class. Better than the Civic, and cheaper? It just has to prove reliability to me and I will call it a home run.

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  Very disappointed - 2004 Kia Sedona
  By kendallc_4 - March 2 - 2:23 pm

  I bought this vehicle with 45000 miles. Just 3 weeks after I got it, it went back in the shop for new rotors and struts. Had it 6 months and the catalytic converters went totally out. Had to get those replaced. The air conditioner had to be replaced within 2 mo. The gas mileage is very poor. Might as well be driving a big SUV. Total lemon! I am very dissatisfied with this vehicle and would never step foot into another KIA again.

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  Fun, but lacking - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Myfurf - March 2 - 10:23 am

  My Sport is a fun vehicle to drive , but is gutless in the engine. The shifter is tricky at best. It is nice that it is fully loaded with options, but lacking in functional necessities. Under the hood, the engine cover is not there along with an insulation blanket on the hood and hood struts. Did they want the engine to be noisy on purpose? There is only a hold-open rod for the hood, mounted on the hood. The mood lighting in the speakers is a fun novelty, when they work. It seems that buyers in Canada get much more options for the buck that are not available on U.S. models, as well as different names for the variants.

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  I lOvE mY nEw CaR - 2010 Kia Soul
  By kgodbold - March 1 - 6:19 pm

  This car is amazing the minute i saw it and drove it i fell in love with it. I couldnt be more happier with This Kia Soul it is fun to drive and its small enough for just me and a couple of friends and family members.

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  great little car - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By doug owens - February 29 - 4:13 pm

  I have the 2002 model, 4wd, 5 speed. I find it fun, responsive, and a pure pleasure to drive. My only, and basically trivial problem with it is: IT NEEDS MORE POWER! (sorry bout that Tim Allen). I think one of the hamsters under the hood had a stroke going uphill into the Adirondacks, but it recovered nicely, and with minimal brain damage. Other than that, I love this little car that thinks its bigger than it really is.

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  nastar3s review. - 2001 Kia Optima
  By nastar3 - February 28 - 10:00 am

  I have had in the shop for two defects in two years. Other than that it has been a dream.

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  The car has a perfect power/weight ratio - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By kia_owner - February 28 - 10:00 am

  This car is great for a daily driver and its power to weight ratio is great and its not that expensive! I drive one and its a great zippy little car with a 5 speed have not driven an automatic one. It comes with the 10/100,000 powertrain warranty because its hyundais brother and it doesnt seem to stress the engine at all bringin the rpms to the 7000 range which is nice the transmission seems to be great I think you did a good job on this Kia

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  2003 Kia Sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Robert M - February 28 - 10:00 am

  I was very happy with price of this vehicle,you receive quality for less than the other comparable vehicles.You get a smooth solid ride ,I believe because of the weight of this vehicle.The engine size gives you instant needed power if needed.

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  Kia Owner - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Jane Jaeger - February 26 - 10:51 pm

  I previously had a Kia Sportage 2013, this new model is so much more advanced. I went in to purchase the 2016 and seen this one on the show room floor and had to have it. It has so much more than I would have hoped for and the price was still under 30 thousand.