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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  Nice interior but poor handling - 2006 Kia Amanti
  By Jeremy - September 2 - 4:10 am

  Its a nice comfortable car from the inside. Very spacious. Quiet engine.

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  Nothing lasts forever..! =( - 2000 Kia Sephia
  By loves2drive1 - September 1 - 9:53 am

  I bought this car last year from a woman on Craigslist who she was sad to sell it, and I quickly found out why! I paid less than $400 for it with 180k. I did not have to do any major work at all! I do a lot of back & forth driving & this car was perfect for me & my child.Great gas milege,the car was very well cared for before I got it&I kept up w reg maintenece.Only issue I had was rear defrost didnt always work. AC needed charging.The cup holder design is terrible,as others have posted.Today,it has 201,982 mls & will be heading to the scrap yrd,sadly it has a minor crack in head & w this many mls,I am getting something else,but am sad to see it go!I def say YES to Kia, we had a great run!

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  I LOVE THIS CAR - 2012 Kia Soul
  By kiafan1 - September 1 - 2:12 am

  I never take the time to write reviews, but I made it a point to find the time to give my opinion on this car. Thank you KIA....you have made a GREAT car for an incredible price. Occupy wall street should hail you for doing your part and giving back. I have the car about 6 months now and loving t. My first car is a BMW and I cant wait to get into my KIA SOUL. It is spacious, fun, easy to drive, great on gas, lots of safety features, high tech....and I think I mentioned the value. Love the way it Zips around. What else could u possibly need or want in a car.

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  Amanti Lover - 2004 Kia Amanti
  By OBie - September 1 - 1:43 am

  I have owned this vehicle for four years and cannot say enough good things about the Amanti. The way it looks, the way it drives, the comfort of the interior are all comparable to a luxury sedan at a more affordable price.

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  A True Luxury car - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By Rob - August 31 - 12:20 pm

  I bought the car based on comfort, safety, and price. The exterior and interior is like a Jaguar, only better built. The body style and driving characteristics however are like a Lincoln Town Car. The Amanti is more enjoyable than "fun" to drive, and is not a good choice for someone seeking a sporty ride. Don’t be turned off because it’s a Kia either. The Amanti is far better than the Chrysler 300, Ford 500, Buick LaCrosse, and the new Toyota Avalon even if price is not a factor!

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  Nice Car - 2013 Kia Optima
  By webelnv - August 31 - 6:46 am

  We bought the SXL. It looks great and drives nice. It does have a few blind spot you need to get use to. Weve had the car for 3 months now and are fuel mileage for street and highway has been about 21-22 mpg. We havent taken it on a road trip yet. The only thing I didnt like about the SXL is you can only get white or black interior. In the northwest I really dont like black interior so we went with white. It would have been nice if you could get tan or a grey interior in the SXL. We have had some problems with the nav. system not working. Have had to turn car off and restart it to get it to work.

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  horrid, horrid, horrid car - 2001 Kia Optima
  By cleo - August 30 - 1:10 am

  nothing but problems from the get go, quite expensive, 3rd set of brakes, alternator, batteries, electrical problems, expensive replacement parts, never ever ever ever ever buy a kia, only car i ever had that came close was a renault

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  Worst Car Ive ever owned - Avoid at ALL Costs - 2002 Kia Sedona
  By Bob Lasher - August 29 - 11:39 pm

  In my life, I’ve owned numerous cars includeing Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota & Ford, but none have been as huge, unreliable money pits as our 2002 Sedona. We bought it used with about 50K miles on it about a year ago (13 months) during that time, we’ve been forced to replace the following: The Brakes Struts - twice Water pump Pulley system that attaches to the water pump The timing belt The catalytic converter Drivers side power window switch (that stupid thing was $180) Front wheel Bearings Front CV Joint & Bearing Ignition coils (two trips to the shop) strut bushings (separate from the strut trip) Tires Alternator Engine Mounts Its an automotive nightmare!

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  Good Ride - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By John - August 29 - 8:16 pm

  Lots of fun to drive. The tide is better than reviews show. Great ride for the price. Have experienced minor electrical problems with the outside temperature display.

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  Most fun and value out there ! - 2010 Kia Soul
  By Mikeinphoenix - August 29 - 4:30 pm

  Purchased our Dune Exlaim after 1 year of driving everything in this class. Purchase experience from Joe at Liberty KIA in Prescott was the best. Meets all our needs for space, gas mileage and sound system. Build quality is superior to American cars owned. Love the driving position / visibility and its fun to drive. Glad we did not get the automatic as 5 speed is more fun but takes some time to drive it smoothly. Clutch is very light and easy. Ride is firm but controlled as expected. Love the Dune color and interior design. Controls are in easy and sensible reach. Has all the goodies my Saturn Aura XR had for 1/2 the price. Its not a high speed driving machine but what do you want for 17K.