Combining practicality with sleek styling, the Kia Rio is a pretty car.What a pretty little car. The Korean marques have taken an all-new tack in styling in recent years and the Kia Rio is an excellent example of how small cars can be both pretty and practical.
From the front, Kia Rio can be mistaken for the larger Kia Optima.
It uses sleek styling and the now-established ‘Schreyer’ radiator grille, named for the company’s chief designer Peter Schreyer.
The upper grille shape is continued below the front bumper to give a strong hint of the large single-grille theme that’s in vogue in Europe these days.
Just as important as style in this low-cost market segment is price.
The Kia Rio costs significantly less than European cars of its size, yet offers many of the upmarket features that make the Euro models stand out in buyers’ minds.
All models come with Bluetooth connectivity and MP3 compatibility plus AUX, iPod and USB connections.
Kia engineers worked hard to minimise noise vibration and harshness (NVH).
This includes increasing the rigidity of the car’s body.
On smooth to moderate roads it’s impressively quiet, feeling and sounding more like a car from the next size up.
Rio’s suspension and steering have been optimised for Australian drivers’ tastes.
The ride is comparatively firm and may not suit all tastes.
However, those who enjoy driving will feel this is a small price to pay for the better feel through the steering and the willingness of the Rio to handle interesting corners.
It’s not a European machine in its handling, but it doesn’t miss out by very much at all.
The new Kia Rio is longer (by 20 mm), wider (25 mm), and lower (15 mm) than the superseded one. It features a wheelbase extended by 70 mm to increase passenger space and boot capacity.
That extra 70 millimetres is particularly noticeable from inside the small Kia as it makes for a rear seat that can be used by adults.
Legroom in the back is good even if the front travellers are tall and families with a pair of teenage children will be able to get by in a Rio if there budget is tight.
As is common these days, the rear seat is sculpted to suit two, with an extra area in the centre that can be used by small kids.
Boot space is good and despite the loss of some depth due to the use of a full-sized spare wheel/tyre, the Rio can handle decent sized loads.
Naturally, the rear seats can be lowered, in a 60/40 split, to make additional luggage space.
Kia Rio is sold with a choice of two engines matched to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission in the Si and SLi, and either a six-speed manual or four-speed manumatic transmission in the base model Rio S.
Our review Rio was the Si with a manual gearbox, the variant that’s likely to appeal to most buyers. With a recommended retail price of $18,990 it gives you a lot of kit for a modest outlay.
A 1.6-litre petrol engine is fitted to both the midrange Rio Si and topline Rio SLi. The engine is a thoroughly modern unit with direct injection and develops 103 kW of power and 167 Nm of torque.
The torque peak isn’t reached until the engine is at a very high 4850 rpm, an engine speed most owners may never use throughout their entire time with the car.
Thankfully, on the road, the engine feels reasonable grunty at lower revs and is happy from 1500 upwards.
The engine has a nice buzz as it works hard and keen drivers will find it happy to go up to 6000 revs in a very European manner.
Fuel consumption is impressively low, we found the little Rio only using five to six litres per hundred kilometres on easy paced driving on motorways and country roads. Even around town this seldom got out of the seven to eight litre range.
Note that the lowest priced model, the Rio S, has a smaller engine of an older design and not only has significantly less performance, but may actually use more fuel than the 1.6-litre unit.
Primary safety is strong in this
low-cost car as it’s aimed as the European market where Kia has been going from strength to strength in recent
years.
As well as having ABS, ESC and traction control, the Kia Rio has a sophisticated safety computer that monitors applies variable input to steering weight when the vehicle reaches the stability control threshold. Thus alerting the driver to possible problems.
Should everything still come unstuck you will be pleased to know the Kia Rio has a five-star crash-test rating.
The five-door Rio hatchback as tested is on sale now. Three-door hatches and four-door Rio sedans will arrive in Australia in early 2012.
