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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  Love My KIA....If it werent in the shop - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By KimC31 - September 26 - 10:00 am

  Purchased my beautiful 2003 Sorento EX Alpine Gray, side rails & pinstrip on 9-26-2003. Love everything about it accept that it has been in the shop three times 10-7-2003, Check Emissions Light -10-15-2003 Check Emissions Light - couldnt find a problem 10-21-2003, Check Emissions Light. They are replacing the thermostat now. I have the sinking feeling that I bought a lemon. Plus, the customer service at the shop sucks, which I have since reported to Kia Consumer Care. Otherwise, the performance of vehicle, the ride, look, everything is great. Contacted an attorney today to discuss the matter. It will get resolved one way or another.

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  Kia Soul MPG - 2011 Kia Soul
  By cohen2011 - September 24 - 1:00 pm

  KIA Soul the real MPG usage is 21 MPG I just bought the car and drove with it 1,500 miles. I drive 50% in highway and 50% in the city. The current average of mile per gallons is 21. Yes, the average is 21mpg !!! so it is not efficient as it says ....I did not make any mistake I am finance person who deeply want to understand his spending !!!

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  excellent car all around - 2005 Kia Sportage
  By eric nees - September 24 - 10:53 am

  just moved across the country about 2700 miles in 4 days. car towed a trailer wiht no problem. of course with in factory specs. ran real well up and down hills. would recommend to a friend.

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  best car for the money - 2004 Kia Optima
  By mack11 - September 20 - 2:00 am

  For the money, it is the best car I ever owned. Underated by the media. Ready to buy their new, best model now. KIA is gaining momentum very quickly.

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  Disappointed - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By brianandr - September 17 - 4:23 am

  One of the big selling points for me was the HWY MPG. It has been a BIG disappointment so far. I have put 6000 miles on it and have yet to get better than 24MPG. KIA states 32...HOW?! My last 3 Nissans(Rogue, Versa, 350Z) all got at or above what the factory claimed, including the Rogue(which I should have gone with again). I love that it has plenty of room and comes at a great value but if I had known I wasnt even going to get in the ballpark of their HWY MPG, I would have gone a different route.

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  Nice, a no frills but great on gas car. - 2008 Kia Rio
  By rkkeller - September 16 - 6:13 pm

  I bought my Rio as I needed an inexpensive but good on gas car. I was not expecting a lot but I really like it and glad I bought it. It is fun to drive and handles well but it can be slowish at times. The interior is really roomy for a small car and its way bigger on the inside than you might think. I have a Jeep Cherokee and the Rio has way more front seat room and better seats too. The radio with single CD and 4 speaker setup sounds nice and is just loud enough if you want to turn it up. It might not be loud enough for some though but for me its fine.

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  2nd Kia - 2011 Kia Sportage
  By korensoul - September 16 - 3:22 pm

  Traded in my 10 Soul for the 11 Sportage. I wanted something with AWD and the reliability of the Soul was awesome. Nothing besides oil changes at 78,000 on the Soul! The sportage has be extremely reliable as well. at almost 30,000, it has needed nothing except a switch replaced (covered under warranty). I am short at 5, and it was hard finding a car I fit in comfortably, I drive 70+ miles a day for work, and my butt never goes numb like on past cars.

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  POOR gas mileage - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By horse8 - September 15 - 10:02 pm

  Excuses by Bairl Kia in Pgh for poor gas mileage: the snow, the hills, and the government sets those gas mileage ranges! I cannot get over 20mpg on the highway going 70mph. I bought this vehicle for the listed gas mileage. Not even close! The ride is hard. It has the bells and whistles but I would have liked what was advertised by Kia. I am disappointed.

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  The Rio has it where it counts! - 2005 Kia Rio
  By VonSpyder - September 13 - 5:36 am

  I can honestly say Kia built a tough little car with everything one would need a car to do. The 5 door wagon has more than ample cargo space and the front seats offer A LOT of leg room (Im 65" and comfortable!) the handling is great, the acceleration is adequate but nothing to write home about and at 4.00 a gallon I fill up on about 40 bucks (due to the 11 gallon tank) I was in a wreck on I-285 in this car and while extensively damaged the car held together and even made it home and to the collision center and will be road worthy again in a week! This car saved my life! She can take a beating! Stereo system is great, view of the road is excellent! Lots of cargo space for a tiny wagon!

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  so far, so good - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By mamabear - September 12 - 10:00 am

  We bought our Kia Sedona EX in July 2002 and have put about 1000 miles on it, both city and highway driving Massachusetts. It has leather interior, ABS, sunroof, homelink and two tone paint. We were amused by the professional reviews saying that the van had sluggish acceleration. We dont know what the reviewers were comparing it to, but compared to our old mini-van this car has plenty of pick up and go. We baby-sit our grandkids and have two carseats to contend with when we pick them up. The dual sliding doors are convenient especially for loading and unloading the toddlers. Were still learning about the vans features but we are pleased so far.