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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  Forte for me! - 2017 Kia Forte
  By Melissa C. - October 10 - 6:09 am

  I spent a good deal of time on the day that I decided I was buying a car with looking at different types online, reading reviews, checking prices, my credit score, blah blah blah. By the end of the day when it was time to go to the dealership, I had decided a Kia Rio was gonna be the best for me. After back and forth with my salesman, we decided I would test drive a 2017 Kia Forte, a car I hadnt even considered all day. It was great! Spent some time after that dickering the price down to something I could live with and hit the road in my new vehicle. I havent had it terribly long yet, but it drives like a dream so far. And the warranty they gave with the vehicle gives me the peace of mind knowing that if something should arise, it will be taken care of. Many thanks to my local Kia dealership!

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  What a wonderful car - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By Roger the Dodger - October 9 - 1:53 pm

  I have owned the Amanti for two years and traveled 54,000 kms without any problems at all. Comfortable, stylish, fun to drive, and most of all reliable. Great car with good acceleration and nice ride.

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  THE WINNER IS..... - 2007 Kia Spectra
  By P00T - October 6 - 9:40 pm

  My daughters first car - she wanted the Spectra5 from the start but I made her check out ALL other makes and models first. Long process but worth it since the Spectra5s value is far superior: vibrant styling inside and out, standard equipment that is optional on others, superb warranty, excellent safety features and of course, great gas mileage. Go ahead and check out the others but youll end up in the Spectra5 when youre done!

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  Love my Kia - 2006 Kia Optima
  By Lady Florida - October 6 - 2:50 pm

  I love my 2006 Kia! It has a lot of acceleration (it is a V6). Although, I have only owned it for a month, I like it more and more each day. I like the side air bags on the front seats and the defoggers on the side view mirrors. It has a smooth and quiet ride. In one month, it is hard to tell the "built quality" and the "reliability"; I only have 633 miles on it. However, I think I am going to enjoy my Optima for many years to come.

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  2005 Sedona - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By packardman47 - October 6 - 8:43 am

  I especially like the body style on the exterior. This is not a foreign design, but a very pleasing multi-national one. I have owned a Mopar minivan and had high praises for it, but this is better than the 89 we had.

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  Love my car but - 2010 Kia Soul
  By filickar - October 5 - 10:13 pm

  Love my car. Interior skuffs easily. At 15300 km I found a bulge in my tire. Dealership claims it is my driving, the tire store says the belt has shifted. The tire is a Nexen CP662 P225/45R18. Anyone else finding the same problem??

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  Love it - 2005 Kia Sedona
  By Perry White - October 2 - 3:33 am

  I love this van. They the reviewers keep commenting on the weight. As far as power for the weight I have no problem she gets to the interstate speeds real quick. I think when Kia is around for a while and skeptics like me buy them then watch out all the optioned out overpriced competition.The way I see it the competition is going to do all they can to make Kia look bad. If you stay out of the pedal you can stretch the so so gas milage. Nice ride,nice handling and more power than I am going to need. Oh I forgot the interior is not gaudy and just enough for the average non show-off. Traded in a Spectra 2002 60000 on it loved it also.Kia will bring the resale value with time. Good job.

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  great van!! - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By kimpap - October 2 - 2:00 am

  Ive had little problems with my van at all - and Ive put it through some serious testing. Ive had great service at the service dept. and they have done way more than I ever expected. I have friends that have more problems with their Toyota Camry and GMC truck than I have with my Kia. Its our first new car and we couldnt be happier!

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  Go KIA! - 2003 Kia Sedona
  By Martha M - October 2 - 2:00 am

  I am so glad I did research before hand and bought the KIA. If I spent the same amount on a caravan, I never would have gotten all the features I wanted and needed. Best buy for my money and my budget.

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  Great SUV for price - 2006 Kia Sorento
  By Alex - September 28 - 9:53 am

  I purchased my SUV new in Sept. 06 as I needed a reliable car for commuting to work. I have put on over 91000 miles on it and it is still drives like new. I have replaced the fluids per factory schedule and new set of tires at 60000 miles. The only minor problems are the break light bulbs had to be replaced each year and both power side mirrors stopped working recently. Power train is still going strong along with everything else. I strongly recommend this care and would by another one.