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 again - 2007 Kia Sedona
  By prettylady - June 6 - 12:12 pm

  I bought a Kia van in 2002 the first one they made it was ok I drove it every day. The 2007 does not add up. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER KIA of any kind. You never see them rated with the best cars to buy. I like the exterior the look of it the paint job last for 2 years, the engine light come on in all of them. I have several friend with kia cars and the engine light can on in every ones car I new. kia will not help you with the complaint you have about there cars.

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  Not a bad value - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By Justin - May 29 - 1:35 pm

  Bought this car in 2010 when family expanded with twins. Rear passenger power door works about about 10% of the time. Only a few trips to mechanic for some leaks, oil and radiator. But expensive repairs when needed. Blows signal bulbs and headlight bulbs every three months, which I learned to fix proficiently on my own. Drove this van on numerous family trips all over, and some very long distance trips as well. Never once did it break down and leave us stranded, never once did it fail to start. Not the highest quality, but great value. I couldnt afford a Honda or Toyota, but those have their own problems too, just research them. Also we were severely rear ended with all of my kids in the car, including a three year-old in the third row seat. The rear window blew up but the door stayed solid and didnt come anywhere near the third row. At the end of the day I would trust a Kia with my family.

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  2017 Kia Sportage - Beautiful but with Problems - 2017 Kia Sportage
  By Renee Jones - May 6 - 1:52 am

  I purchased my 2017 Kia Sportage with 34 miles on it on September 6th. 9 days later it has 347 miles on it, and I am having some problems. The past three mornings the car turns over a few times before starting. This morning after it started, it acted like it wanted to cut off. The car does a lot of transmission shifting when driving in slower traffic, and sometimes it doesnt accelerate unless you press the gas pedal pretty hard. When stopped at red lights, its starting to have noise and vibration.

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  KIA 2000 - 2000 Kia Spectra
  By BOB - May 3 - 5:50 pm

  I have gotten this Kia new. It was a good car. Had some prob. But Kia fixed I have taken to a Harold Chev. Where they were only Kia mech. I gave the car to my Kia . A few later started to have prob. When about 70,000 miles car started to sound bad. Kia dealers tried to fix it every time but it always comes back like Kia just gave up. My other daughter has a Kia. 2000 hers is after 7 years she had this car. It is have fallen a part. Kia has had this in shop. Many times. Just runs bad/now they say has a bad cylinder/I have a Kia Sedona new bought 2003 have warranty for ne to fix. Have no major prob. Kia been good to me. When I told daughter how good Kia is they will never buy one. Me ether.

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  So far, not quite happy - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By mr. moo kow - April 21 - 2:46 pm

  I bought this vehicle about a month ago.The clock doesnt work, the air bag light sometimes works and sometimes not. I took it back to the dealer only to hear them say "Your name is on the waitng list. We are still waiting for Kia to come up with a new part". Very disappointed.

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  2011 kia sorento ..two time loser - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By dude35 - April 18 - 10:43 pm

  First 2011 had transmission problems at 11,000..could not fix it..SO we purchased a second 2011 thinking it would not happen again ( our expense) . Whoever thought it would happed AGAIN. TWO LEMONS. Dealer not very happy and neither are we. Second car almost 11,000 again.

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  3 years later - 2010 Kia Soul
  By abuffardi77 - April 16 - 7:53 pm

  Initially, was overwhelmed by style and appearance at first thinking this vehicle had everything I wanted, 18" rims, two tone interior, great audio, and even pretty good MPG. Was hoping it would turn my nightmarish 100 mile commute into something fun. Now, I dislike the Soul quite a bit. Its too big for me, 18" are too wide for superior snow, wet, and mud traction, ride too rough, road noise too loud, MPG is not up to par, seats are uncomfortable, the interior is cheaply made, not enough power, 4 speed auto transmission is horrible, and even the dealership was shady.

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  Transmissions - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By Lori - April 8 - 6:03 am

  New transmission at 2000 miles - fighting with Kia at 60,000 for 2nd transmission. I like the car fine. It runs well (most of the time), gets ok gas mileage. Only problem I have is at 60,000 miles have to replace timing belt. Warranty does not cover car if this not done at 60,000. Getting ok from KIA for dealer to fix my car is a nightmare.

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  Poor gas mileage. - 2007 Kia Rondo
  By Rhonda G. - April 7 - 6:50 am

  I bought this car because my husband really liked it. I have to admit it I think it is a real cute vehicle. The only complaint I really have is I get extremely poor gas mileage. I have the LX four cylinder and get only about 12-15 mpg in the city and about 20-22 mpg on the highway. With the gas prices today I am going to have to sell it.

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  Nothing but problems - 2011 Kia Optima
  By kjanney - April 6 - 5:42 pm

  I was so excited when I puchased my Kia Optima last June. However, that quickly changed. Two weeks after purchase, the turbo blew out while we were on vaction. It took forever to be fixed because parts on a new car were not readily avaiable. Once we got it back, the Turbo blew out AGAIN in less than a month. Not to mention that the alignment has been out since I bought the car. The Turbo hasnt blown out since the 2nd failure, but the alignment continues to be out, even after multiple attempts to fix it. Im tired of fighting the steering wheel to stay on the road. The car looks slick, and has cool features, but I cant keep this one. Looking for another car.