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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  Poor gas mileage - 2009 Kia Rondo
  By jerry - December 13 - 10:00 am

  it only gets about 20 miles to the gallon on the highway. And in one year it has a trade in value of $9400.00 I paid $19,000

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  major disappointment - 2013 Kia Optima
  By johnlmn - December 13 - 5:22 am

  While it is a very good looking car, with a reasonable ride and handling. The gas mileage is a major disappointment. I would not have even considered the car if I knew its true gas mileage. My previous car had EPA numbers of 19/24/30 and I normally got about 28 mpg. The optima has EPA numbers of 24/28/34 and I get about 25-26 mpg. So with a car with 4mpg better EPA numbers I am getting 2mpg worse gas mileage??? I have had the car into 2 different dealers, both of which say the car is running to spec. The other major disappointment is the UVO sound system. It is fine as long as you use only the radio or CD, but the USB connection is very buggy. When connecting the USB to either a thum

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  Solid so Far - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By deathsaid - December 11 - 8:08 am

  Our Spectra has 120, 000 miles on it and has been pretty reliable so far. I have it for the last 20K or so and before that my father-in-law owned it. It has gone through some brakes and needed some work to fix in the brake fluid system. Front brakes put off a lot of dirt, hubcaps are literally black at this point. All things considered this car has been great, not the sexiest car or most comfy (i am 66) but very dependable. Nothing fancy or flashy about it but it gets from point A to point B.

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  Currently have 7500 miles driven and I love it! - 2010 Kia Forte
  By kthibodeau1 - December 11 - 4:17 am

  Bottom Line: This is an attractive fun car that is affordable. I have always been a Toyota driver because of their reliability. Well Im 28 and wanted to get a little more than the basic corolla. The corolla S is a joke! It has no added performance features so it was time to look elsewhere. My target was a Civic SI but it just cost too much. I test drove the Forte and fell in love. The manual transmission is a little touchy but with a little practice its easy to get used to. I love this car and if you give it a try you will too! Note: I gave the car a reliability rating of 5 because of the 100,000 warranty and free roadside assistance for 5 years.

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  Fantastic car for ANY price - 2007 Kia Amanti
  By Matthew - December 9 - 11:00 pm

  This car replaces a well-loved 1994 Mercedes C280, so I have to admit I was skeptical at first about buying a Kia. I didnt think anything could compete with my beloved Mercedes. Boy was I wrong! The first thing you notice about the car is its unique look. Too many cars today look exactly alike and Ive learned that if a car is streamlined, thats code for BORING. The looks may not be for everyone, but theyre definitely not boring... The fit and finish are superb, interior design tasteful and it has a smooth powerplant. As for fun to drive, it may not appeal to a 20-something bachelor, but for someone approaching 40 with a family, its very comfortable.

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  Over 2 years and still going strong - 2001 Kia Optima
  By kiaoptimadriver - December 9 - 2:00 am

  Besides the horrible re-sale and trade- in value, this has been a great car. We have yet to have any real problems out of this car.

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  KIA SORENTO 5 SPEED - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By ANNY - December 9 - 2:00 am

  DURING MY BRIEF OWNERSHIP I FEEL THE FIT & FINISH IS EXCELLENT. IT IS VERY MANEUVERABLE, RESPONSIVE AND FUN TO DRIVE. I HAVE THE BASIC LX MODEL WITH THE 5-SPEED, AND EVEN AT THIS LEVEL THE VEHICLE IS WELL EQUIPPED AND THE INTERIOR IS WELL THOUGHT OUT.THE CLEAN AND UNDERSTATED STYLING OF THE LX APPEALS TO MY PERSONAL TASTES.

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  fun stuff - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By byron - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Wow, what a thrill! You get some good stuff in small package!! I like that there is room for stuff by folding down the back. The sound system is pretty good. Its almost set as a low-rider. Ill keep it.

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  Trouble free - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By underdog - December 8 - 10:00 am

  I have 45000 miles on my little red 4x and have had no problems.Towed it to Alaska and use it for freeway driving.It is very noisy under the hood.Mostly belts and pulleys.Seats are firm but comfortable.Still have original tires and look good yet.Will go to larger tires next time.Velcro fastenes used to secure roof are getting a little loose.Its been a good car.Still looks like new.

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  Beats GM! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Pablo Beanski - December 8 - 10:00 am

  Beware of cracking windshields - no one mentioned this yet. Its under warranty but a bit of a pain. Great features except for the single power door lock button and remote. Beats the crap out of the Venture I just returned. The automatic intermittent wipers are interesting. Cant believe there is an ashtray, and that there is no clock on the radio (its up on the computer). Miss the navigational feature on the GM onboard computers. Still get funny looks from all my friends - time will tell if we were smart, so far so good.