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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  Good deal. - 2003 Kia Spectra
  By braedyn - August 25 - 10:00 am

  Dont pay attention to the editors. They think everyone can afford a BMW. I have a 2002 Spectra GS, with air, auto and a nice sounding cd player. With incentives, I paid less than $13000 for the car out the door. Ive put over 18000 miles on the car and have not had a single problem. The car is comfortable to drive, handles quite well, and looks very nice inside and out. If you dont have alot of money to spend, but need a new car, I highly recommend looking into a Kia.

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  NO REAR VIEW - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By LUVKIA - August 14 - 10:00 am

  Just got my 2004 Kia today. Love it!!! Mine is black w/ the side running bars. What a fantastic ride. My partner just got a Lexus RX330 and he compares my Kia to his Lexus as a comparable vehicle.

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  Great Quality & Service - 2004 Kia Optima
  By Capt 4 - August 13 - 9:53 pm

  This is the first automatic I have owned in years. The car has style, a great sound system and is worth the money. Good value by far, for what you get. Many come up and ask me how do I like the car. Are there any problems? I tell them for about $9k less than the Japanese brands, with the same features and no problems its a good value. I will say the service is by far # 1 on their agenda - they do a good job of pleasing the customer. The only bad feature is outdated colors for the newer cars. We had all the green and dark grey cars to last for another century. Especially when you want to attract younger buyers. Take a tip from Toyo and Nissan when its color time Kia and Hyundai!

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  Good SUV - 2012 Kia Sorento
  By jrgleason2003 - August 11 - 9:19 am

  I purchased the LX with the GDI Engine. So far I am impressed with the way it drives. I had a 2010 ford escape that was plagued with problems. Leith Kia in wendell, NC really worked with me to get me into a 2012 sorento. It really drives smooth, Im not sure why they say its a firm ride...has anyone rode in a civic? Thats a firm ride. I got the LX w/convenience pkg for a little over 23K. My only complaint is that at low speeds (idle or under 5mph), the GDI engine seems a little "rough". However it does accelerate VERY smoothly (smoothest tranny Ive felt) and gets up to speed adequately. The GDI engine wont blow your hair back or anything, but there is a little extra pep to get into traffic

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  NOT BAD - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By TRUECRITIC - August 8 - 2:00 am

  WELL IT HAS A SMOOTH RIDE,SLIDES IN SNOW (MAYBE ITS THE TIRES THAT CAME FROM MANUFACTURE)THE CUP HOLDER THAT PULLS OUT UNDER THE RADIO THE CLAW THAT TIGHTENS TO HOLD CUP BROKE.LEANING ON FENDERS PUTS A DENT.THE PAINT CHIPS VERY EASY.THE ONLY TIME YOU GET GOOD EXCELARATION IS WHEN YOU SHUT OFF THE OVERDRIVE FOR ON HIGHWAY RAMP.THE FABRIC SEATS IN THE FRONT HAVE LITTLE FABRIC PULLS FROM GETTING IN AND OUT.(I NEVER LIKED LEATHER ALWAYS HAD FABRIC AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SEEING THE FABRIC PULL OUT FROM SIMPLE USE)DRIVER SIDE MIRROR INSIDE MOTOR WILL NOT ADJUST OUT (CLICKING NOISE)CANNOT SWITCH REAR BUCKET SEATS TO MIDDLE AND MIDDLE BENCH TO REAR.

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  sedona - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By truedale3fan - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Love it....runs great responds wonderfully. We bought it because of the standard package items that were additional on most all the other vans and love it because of the things that are not standard.

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  Nice car for the money - 2008 Kia Spectra
  By ikillbugs - August 7 - 4:26 pm

  I bought my 2008 Kia used but with very few miles on it. I love the looks and the overall ride is excellent, even at 80 mph on the interstate (although past 80 it does get a bit shaky). I got the EX model, and given a choice (after the fact) I would certainly look for an SX model with the sportier suspension. It does not handle that well in tight corners, but I bought it for a commuter, not a race car. I rated it at 8 for BUILD QUALITY and RELIABILITY simply because I just dont know. I have only had the car a month. So far so good ;-)

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  I got SOUL - 2010 Kia Soul
  By reivilo - August 7 - 2:43 pm

  After owning the car for 9 months i can say I am still in love with this vehicle. Im 63" and fit very comfortably in here. All the gadgets are a blast to use.

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  2003 Kia Rio - 2003 Kia Rio
  By KiaRio - August 5 - 8:13 pm

  I have had this car for 4 years now and have had no issues with it. It has been very reliable, although a little small and not a lot of power. The fuel economy is great, I spend about $40.00/month driving it when gas prices are lower and about $60.00 per month in the summer season. The only thing that has ticked me off is that the paint on mine has started to chip off the door handles and the clear coat is coming off, not sure if this is a defect that only I have had issues with.

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  Will never buy a Kia again - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Tonya - August 3 - 7:43 am

  I loved this car until the windshield washer pump went out three times. I have a headlight go out about once a month. After changing the timing belt at 60,000 miles the engine locked up and the dealer told me it needed a whole new motor which would not be covered by warranty. I took it somewhere else and had it fixed for $600, no new motor needed after all! A CD is stuck in the CD player. The paint has chipped all over. The gas gauge is broken so I have to remember to reset the trip meter every time I fill up. The back passenger door latch keeps falling off. Poor MPG. Every time I have taken the car in, my complaints are not covered by the "bumper to bumper, 100,000 mile warranty."