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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  KIA SORENTO EX - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Fran DiIorio - June 15 - 10:00 am

  OVERALL I FEEL THIS VEHICLE IS EXCEPTIONAL FOR THE MONEY I SPENT. IF I WERE TO BUY AN AMERICAN SUV WITH THE SAME OPTIONS I WOULD HAVE SPENT ABOUT EIGHT THOUSAND MORE THAN I DID. I OWN AN AUTO BODY REPAIR FACILITY AND AM ABLE TO DRIVE ALOT OF DIFFERENT VEHICLES. I FIRMLY FEEL THIS VEHICLES BUILD QUALITY IS COMPAREABLE TO THE BMW X5, THE RX 300, AND THE VW TOUREG - FOR HALF THE INVESTMENT. OVERALL I DONT BELIEVE I COULD HAVE PURCHASED A BETTER VEHICLE FOR THE MONEY. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED!

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  Glad We Got It... - 2005 Kia Optima
  By MLegend - June 8 - 8:23 pm

  So far, so good. The very first week, we took it on a round trip of 500 miles and it averaged right at 30 mpg. That should increase somewhat as the engine breaks in. We feel we got a good deal on the car. The warranty and extras are what sold me as compared to what the local Toyota dealer was willing to give us. With the price of gas continuing on an upward spiral, were glad we got the 4-cylinder engine. Its got enough zip for us.

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  24/35 MPG? ...Yeah right! - 2011 Kia Optima
  By kookoo4cars - June 7 - 8:33 pm

  Purchase my Kia Optima EX 9 weeks ago. In this day of $4-5 gallons of gas, I bypassed the turbo engine with the idea that it would just make me want to drive faster burning more fuel. With the posted MPG on the sticker of 24/35, I was expecting somewhere around 27-28 combined. What Im getting after 9 fill ups is more like 19 MPG - which is a big disappointment. So now I have a car with no power and no great fuel savings either. The 186 HP engine is a slug - feels like the pistons are going to come through the hood, and the car sounds like a go-kart. Otherwise, a pretty decent car for the money. If youre considering it, go turbo - if only to get you out of danger while merging onto highways

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  Very poor gas mileage - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By J. KELLY - June 6 - 7:56 am

  After seven months of driving, 5,900 miles to date, according to the digital display I am "averaging" 12.5 mpg. The published mpg is 17 city / 20 highway. I am using 87 octane fuel and occasionally use mid-grade even though the manual calls for the 87 octane.

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  Pros and Cons - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By brookeb - June 2 - 2:55 pm

  My Kia Spectra gets 35 miles to the gallon average. Since my purchase in June 2011, I have put 11,000 miles on my car, raising its total to 141,000. I have already replaced one tire, the engine damper, a shift cellanoid, two taillights and a headlight, and am currently in the process of replacing the trans relay switch. My transmission occasionally slips, and it doesnt have a "floaty" ride like some sites claim because the shocks quickly disintegrate. Overall, I do love my Kia despite severe hail damage and some minor issues. The cost of repairs thus far has cost me around 750$, less than half of what I paid for it. However, I likely wouldnt buy a newer model Kia because of poor reviews.

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  user friendly - 2002 Kia Sportage
  By oh ya - June 1 - 10:10 pm

  the kia is an affordable and economicly sound purchase. It could use some more horses under the hood, but for the price its worth it. Powerful when in four wheel drive, still limited to slow accelaration.

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  TOO MUCH PLASTIC - 2010 Kia Soul
  By bud - May 29 - 1:20 am

  Although the exterior is a plus, the interior has way too much plastic. There is no cushioning on the arm rest or console, Wish the window sill was wider to rest you elbow and arm. Lastly, I get a strong reflection from the dash on the windshield and in sunny Arizona it is quite a distraction. Driving with sunglasses makes it hard to see the instrument cluster which is recessed quite a bit. Otherwise it is a neat little car. Time will tell about reliability.

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  My second Forte - 2017 Kia Forte
  By Forte Pro - May 28 - 3:19 am

  Bought a 2010 Forte LX (5 speeds manual) back in 2010. 160K miles later, I had to trade it in for a 2017 Forte LX (manual 6 speeds). What an improvement ! First of all, not one problem, itch or snooze on my previous Kia. Never opened the hood. All oil changes done by professionals. I already had great mpg, but this new one ? Even better. Manual says 32 city/39 Highway. I get 41 city/45 Highway. Of course, my commute (120 miles per day - 20% city and 80% Thruway) is pretty much on flat road (no hills) and the temperatures are constantly over 40 degrees. Good dry conditions. Speed of 70-75 mph when Tach read 2,750 rpm. this cars purrs and swallows the miles one by one. Comfort is what you can expect from a "small" car. Everything being new, you need some time to get used to it, or for the car to get used to you. Now, odd enough, no spare tire nor donut in the back trunk. Just some kind of fix-your-flat-yourself-kit with a plug-in pump (and patch?), enough for 50 miles to get to a station (?).The dash boards illuminates nicely and I still have not figured out why the outside temperature reading starts flashing when it get under 40 degrees Farenheit. Acceleration is nice, although there seem to be a soft spot when starting in 1st gear which obliges you to push and reach 4,000 rpm or shift into second very quickly. The sound is definitely not premium. Automatic windows is a nice upgrade from my previous Kia and the electronic lock/unlock is also a nice addition. I hope to have it last a long time. From previous experience, it will.

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  Never buy another Kia - 2006 Kia Sedona
  By taxilady7 - May 26 - 8:54 pm

  This 06" kia Sedona was used with 70,000 miles. The first thing I had to replace was the sway bar and ended up getting it from a junk yard becasue the KIA parts are so very expensive. Then I replaced the brake pads and had a lot of trouble with scrapping noise! I finally replaced the rotors, did not help! I finally found out the rotors were worpped and it was causing the pads to go bad! DO NOT GET brake pads from any NAPA stores! They did not work on these Kias. The biggest options I have had to over come is the turn signal blubs blowing, the head light blubs continually blowing. I found out what was the problem with turn signal, the socket had to be replaced.

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  2002 Kia Spectra - 2002 Kia Spectra
  By RIpper2131 - May 20 - 10:00 am

  Purchased in Jan 2001 solely as a commutter mobile...30000+ a year going from Baltimoire to Falls Church, VA all at 32+MPG for an automatic! Not the sportiest thing on the road but get me from point A to point B