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 - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By Computer Man - September 15 - 1:03 pm

  This is a great looking car and a great buy. I bought mine for $21,500. It is an EX with cloth. Great pickup and a pretty good ride. Has the look of a Lexus 330 but for $12-14K less. Ride is about 85% of a 330. But what do you expect for less money.

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  not bad, for the price - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By angrysmurf - September 15 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car since August of 2002 and so far, I havent had any major problems. The only problem I did have with the car is due to a mistake I strongly suspect the dealership made last time I had it serviced. Overall, though, its been reliable and efficient. The interior is a little cheap, but this is an economy car, so thats to be expected. The outside is sharp. And the car is quite reliable.

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  Eight for the moola - 2000 Kia Sportage
  By Boberto - September 12 - 11:23 am

  I use this puppy to haul the ole race car around and man does it do the job. The car weighs in at about 4500 lbs and this thing drives without even knowing its there. Even with the high mileage I was surprised to see it never hurt my fuel economy. I would recommend this little engine that definitely could for anyone towing light campers and needing that 4wd to help get to those out of the way places.

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  cute little car - 2010 Kia Forte
  By lady T - September 12 - 12:56 am

  I bought this care as a belated Christmas gift. It handles the road well. The bluetooth is too noisy. The passenger airbag light stays on. I carried the car back twice, but it is not corrected yet. Overall I enjoy it

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  Kia Spectra - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By maui - September 9 - 10:16 am

  I have owned my Kia for 2 years and have been very pleased with the handling and driving capabilities of it. I am satisfied with the service provided and would recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for a 4 door sedan, with all the toys, for an affordable, reasonable price. I am less pleased with the ride but feel that better tires than those initially provided would improve this. Overall, this car has been a wonderful addition to our family.

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  Excellent but - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By HN - September 8 - 6:16 pm

  I am so pleased with my Kia Sorento EX 05 model performance and off road experience have exceeded my expectations. Only one thing that I am not impressed about which is the frequent transmission glitches & the internal dashboard noises.

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  Im Pleased Overall - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By John Schleifer - September 7 - 3:56 pm

  I"ve had the car for over 5 years now. I wanted to get quality and resale. However, the resale and problems are not that must different than American cars which Ive always purchased. Not too many problems, but, as usual, when taking the car in for the minor problems, under warranty, they "cannot duplicate condition." However, now that my warranty has expired, they seem to find the issues ricght away when Im paying for the repairs. Go figure. Probably my last Kia. Problems included: leaking radiator overflow tank, Air-Bag light, outdoor temperature guage (ner repaired by the way). Gas Miliage is terrible. My wifes Cheyy Avalanche gets better miliage!

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  Kia CAN be reliable - 2001 Kia Optima
  By Iowa - September 7 - 5:06 am

  I love my 2001 Optima. Ive had it for only a month, and it has 95,000 miles on it. It drives like a Buick, though, and is as reliable as a Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai. I had to have a new timing belt put in it ($500), but that was just a maintenance thing since it looks as though the previous owner had never done it. Its so much fun to drive, though, and all of my neighbors, friends, and family salivate over it saying it looks brand new. I couldnt find a better deal for $5,000 with all the options!

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  Poor Quality Parts - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Scott - September 6 - 8:56 pm

  I have owned my Sorento for over five years now and for the most part I have been happy with it. However, It does have some re-occurring issues. For the first two years I had to replace the rotors every 6 months. All along the dealership telling me that it was my driving habits. I finally quit buying kia parts and replaced the rotors with after market part off the internet. I have not had an issue since. I have also had numerous electrical issues that the dealership can never fix because it doesnt occur when we take it in. Unfortunately if the cars computer doesnt tell them what is wrong, they are done looking. It is too bad because the vehical isnt that bad, it just needs better parts.

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  Fine Ride - 2003 Kia Optima
  By militarymama1969 - September 4 - 10:00 am

  I love this car!! I had a Focus and i loved it and when trade in time came, the Optima is the only car that caught my eye...