The new Rio from Korean giant Kia gets ten out of ten for progress. The budget ‘B’ sector supermini is now a decent car.
I’m in the five-door hatch this week and much to my surprise find it hard to fault. It is a value for money car that does the job without too much fuss.
The exterior is now better looking thanks to European design input while the car has grown taller and wider, while in hatchback form it’s now shorter than the outgoing piece of rubbish. Rio was a joke. It had terrible seats and it’s only saving grace was that you got a decent amount of square footage for your cash but up to now if you asked me to choose between a pile of poo and a Rio I would have had to seriously think about it!
The new car on the go isn’t bad, the 1.4 litre can do the needful on the open road and with 95bhp on tap it is the leader in its class for power output.
12.3 seconds are needed should you feel the need to rush to 100km/h while top speed is 177km/h (110mph). Fuel economy averages at 6.2 litres per 100 kilometres. Grip is surprisingly good with cabin noise reasonably well suppressed thanks to better aerodynamics.
The interior is smart without being remarkable. Annoying niggles include the dash instrumentation that at night is illuminated a little too brightly (especially the heater’s temperature control) while the stereo is as with virtually all Korean cars a fiddly aftermarket affair. To turn it on you must press ‘Source’ what ever happened to a good old ‘ON‘ button. Those with failing sight or in fact perfect sight will need a magnifying glass to read the other buttons at a glance.
The five-speed gearbox is only slightly vague but I never missed a gear. My test car’s handbrake could benefit from slight adjustment to make it bite on the standard three clicks. The hatchback boot holds 270 litres but the seats split and fold and thankfully offer better support than the outgoing ‘yoke’.
Rio is a good value for money car with prices starting at just €14,299 for the LX rising to €16,500 for the four door ‘EX’ automatic saloon. My test car in EX trim costs €15,299 and features the introductory offer of free air con, front fogs and alloys (offer ends March ‘06). A 1.5 CRDI diesel is on the way as well as a sporty version in early 2006.
Kia Ireland is enjoying a huge growth period and while the old Rio was the company’s biggest seller the new Rio will I’m sure get there on merit. Other nuggets in Kia’s range include the chunky Sportage (great value SUV) and Picanto town car.
Rio is pleasant to look at while easy on the pocket. The sister company of Hyudai is getting on top of its game and could soon catch up with their benchmark manufacturer Toyota in terms of build quality in the coming years. The new Rio is no joke.
Michael Sheridan
