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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  Never buy another - 2014 Kia Forte
  By superdave99 - December 3 - 7:51 am

  Bought this 2014 Kia Forte 5 new, Now has 15,xxx miles on it. We have had to the shop several times. Antifreeze fumes blowing out of dash vents 5 times, Had gas fumes out of dash vents twice, 3 times it smelled like a overcharged battery that has been boiling. Wife left one day for work and when I went to the garage to get in my old chevy truck the garage recked the battery smell. It burns your eyes and throat and nose. Getting ready to take back to the dealer again. If they wont trade us out of it. It will be going back again and again and again. Also been having issues with engine missing at a stop sign or light in gear.

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  Best Value on the Market - 2008 Kia Sedona
  By Steve Ice - December 3 - 5:10 am

  I have been shopping for a while and done much research on the Sienna, Odyssey and Sedona. All are great vehicles but I just couldnt justify spending $5K more and for less features on the the Honda or Toyota. Plus not to mention the 10 yr warranty. Kia dealers are giving employee pricing (you must ask) plus huge rebates on 2008s. This is a great time to be in the market. Kids love it and cant wait to take it anywhere. Kia Sedona is the best value for the money on the market today.

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  Gas Mileage Disappointing - 2008 Kia Rondo
  By FredG - December 2 - 2:46 am

  Love the look and handling of the car- pleased with the price. My only problem is with the gas mileage. After 4 fill ups I am averaging about 16 miles to the gallon. I traded in an 11 year old Subaru with 130,000 miles and was getting an average of 15 mpg doing the same type of driving. Granted most of my trips are less than 4 miles each way, and the air conditioning is running. Hopefully, when fall comes, and the air is no longer needed, the gas mileage will improve. Still, I expected to average 20 mpg. Very disappointing so far.

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  If All You Do Is Drive Around - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Suzanne - December 2 - 12:23 am

  The Kia was cheap, hence my initial attraction. But it also loses its value rather quickly. Then I noticed things like... the back seats dont fold down and the battery is so underpowered and short-lived, listening to the radio for more than 10 minutes drains it! It is also extremely intolerant to delayed oil changes. Most other vehicles, the 3,000 mile limit is for high-stress vehicles like cop cars and taxis...but watch out for lifter noise if you go that long. The mileage has been decent, like an old Escort, about 28 mpg. Not the 35 advertised certainly. It needs more power if its going to take on hilly terrain. I will never buy a Rio again!

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  Safety features sold us - 2016 Kia Optima
  By akley - December 1 - 11:27 am

  Auto hold braking, lane change warning, full body cameras, auto cruise follow distance and braking features are amazing and useful. The luxury items of seat air/heat, leather and electric EVERYTHING are icing on the cake. Stereo is like a theater. Very VERY roomy, front and back. Sunroof extends the entire top of car. Rides SMOOTH and quiet. Cant say enough good. Price tag was high, at least for us, but the car is certainly proving itself.

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  Unsatisfied - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Andrea - December 1 - 6:00 am

  After 3mths of owning this SUV, problems started happening. First a mousy sound comes from the radio console, 2nd my belt screeches from time to time and they cant find a problem, 3rd a paper crumbling noise comes from the dash/windshield area and they tried fixing it 3 times. I give up! 4th, the ac blower was replaced, 5th, a squealing noise from the outside happens when going slow which is the power steering rack and is being replaced, 6th the power window on the drivers side is moving slow and the motor is making a noise, 7th, when accelerating (I have 5 speed) a ringing noise can be heard when the windows are down and 8th, door handles and seat belt holders make noises. I have a lemon!

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  2005 Kia Spectra - 2005 Kia Spectra
  By finngirl - November 30 - 5:23 am

  I bought the car with 44,000 in 2007, and at 85,000 the engine became completely clogged with oil despite regular oil changes every 3,000-5,000 miles. The manual recommends changing the oil every 7,500. A Kia dealership just said to change the oil every 1,000 miles, to clear the clog but that didnt work, and I had to replace the engine. After the replacement, Ive since learned this has been a problem with this particular engine, and Kia has stopped making it.

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  so far so good - 2012 Kia Optima
  By dawoj52 - November 29 - 2:38 pm

  I got my kia optima 2012 LX used. I thought it would make a great commute car i drive around 80 miles per day to and from work. I currently have 80,000 miles on my kia and so far it has been a joy .I do have some minor problems like the passager and rear windows cant be rolled up or down from the driver control panel ,r/s cigarette lighter does not work,inside temperature gauge quit working ,so i have to take it back to the dealer. The tires on the kia are very cheep and need to be replaced asap upon purchase. MPG is great i drive from Chicago to Indiana all highway miles and i spend no more than $ 55 per week on gas . I get complements on a look of the car all the time !!

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  Terrible Gas Mileage in a Well Built Car - 2012 Kia Rio
  By worknman - November 27 - 11:03 pm

  In Dec 2011,my wife and I bought a brand new Kia Rio 5Dr Ex in red. The people at the Kia dealership were great and practically one of the only reasons we bought the car when we did besides the supposedly excellent gas mileage. Unfortunately,this car get barely 30 miles per gallon hwy and 26 miles per a gallon city. And the great six speed auto transmission downshifts two gears on even the smallest hill,making the cruise control practically unusable for gas mileage runs. Our Kia is extremely well built and attractive. It is fun to drive too. But we really needed it to make the gas mileage Kia said it would. Now we will get rid of it to buy a 5 speed Toyota Yaris

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  OUR KIA - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By phyllis alcaro - November 26 - 5:50 pm

  Very impressed with handling, driving, and quietness, Have been told by many car looks great.