Kia's smallest cars punch above class level
The Rio and Rio5 are Kia's equivalent to the Hyundai Accent, but they seem to offer a bit more...
Redesigned in 2011 for the 2012 year, the Rio and its hatchback version called the Rio5 are Kia's versions of the Hyundai Accent sedan and hatchback. They are Kia's smallest and least expensive cars sold in North America. Since 2010, Kia has really tried to distance itself from Hyundai by designing their cars with more sporty looks and offering even more features compared to Hyundai's more elegant and luxurious designs. Are the new edgy looks and added features enough to make people switch to Kia?
Take a look:
Different Styles:
The Kia Rio comes in sedan and hatchback form, which they call the Rio 5 to reference the 5 doors. It only comes with one engine, a 1.6L 4 cylinder. The transmissions are either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed auto.
Styling and Comfort Impressions:
The Rios certainly do look cool on the outside. With large wheels and lights combined with the aggressive stance, they look quite sporty. I'm not a fan of the very wide grill look, with either the black or chrome trim (it sort of looks like a clown with the added makeup on). The wheel choices are pretty cool though unfortunately, the larger 17-inch ones look a bit too large for a car this small. An interesting thing is that in Canada and in Europe you can get 15, 16, or 17 inch wheels while in the US you can only get 15 or 17 inch. One thing that is noticeable is that the windows are pretty small and high up. This aids with the sporty looks but will hamper visibility later.
Going inside, the sporty looks continue. While the materials are mostly hard and or shiny plastics they are put together well and it looks good. The front dash and console have a simple layout with both the regular and upgraded radio trims. It also has two cool features. Some of the air controls are like toggle switches (sort of like the Mini) and there is a small square opening in the dash with a rubberized bottom. While this spot could be handy for your cell phone, it almost is promoting having the phone at an easy reach, which to me seems like a bad idea for drivers... The overall lines of the front are solid and smooth, very well put together-looking. The seats are good, but for how sporty the car looks they could be a bit more supportive. There is OK head and leg-room up front. The standard comes with 4 speakers but any trim besides the base comes with 6 speakers and they sound great. The mid trim levels come with heated seats and an Eco setting which I will discuss later. It comes in a black / grey cloth, a beige leather, chocolate brown leather, or black leather interior. I think the beige or chocolate interiors are actually very nice looking for this car.
Take a look inside:
Its looking good up front but going back a row, its a different story. The sedan has not so good headroom; the hatchback is fine. But legroom isn't the greatest sitting behind myself and for some reason Kia thought it would be a good idea to add hard plastic backs to these seats, meaning any extra room you could get by putting your knees into the seat are gone. Visibility isn't the greatest either due to large head restraints (there is no center one though) and in the hatchback the rear corner pillars are huge meaning a large blind spot for lane changes. Visibility is actually a bit better in the sedan.
Getting to the trunks. The sedan has adequate trunk space and a good sized pass through. The hatchback is obviously more versatile with much more room. However, a warning to new time drivers: these cars do not come with a spare tire. In Kia's wisdom they thought that the slight weight they save with no spare is that much better for fuel efficiency and they only supply a tire repair kit. I find this very stupid for a number of reasons. First, if your tire has more than just a very small hole this kit doesn't work. Second, after one or two uses you need to replace the kit, a spare can be used a number of times. Third, Kia has a longer roadside and warranty period than most other brands, so they figure most people will just use that. I believe that most people will more likely want the faster and easier way to get going again rather than waiting for a dedicated company to come find them and fix whatever the problem may be.
Driving Impressions:
Even though the Rio and Rio5 are based on the Hyundai Accent, they do behave differently. First off, yes the engine is the same and it does feel a bit under-powered. However, there seems to be more sound insulation because the engine is noticeably quieter in all situations.
Let's start with the shape and size. Since the Rio is so short with a stubby nose and rear it is very easy to maneuver in parking lots and tight streets. Unfortunately it doesn't have the best turning circle due to the option of huge tires. Even in the mid-trim a backup camera is available, which is certainly needed in the hatchback due to the large blind spot created by the rear pillars. The sedan has a high trunk so visibility isn't much better out the back. A nice touch is a small window in front of the mirrors that gives you a view of what is near the front to the sides.
While driving, the engine is nice and quiet except under hard acceleration. In the city it works well to keep up with traffic and zip around, however out on the highway it does seem to need a bit more. It does have a manual shift gate for the auto which is fun to use sometimes.
A cool feature of the Rios is the Eco button on the mid and upper trim levels. This button actively changes the way the car drives. It delays and pulls back throttle input, so if you step on the gas after a light instead of shooting off and revving high, it forces the engine to rev up slowly and change gears quicker. While this may seem a bit annoying at first, it's actually very helpful and nice to have on the highway. See, the Eco button can only dumb down the throttle response so much, so if you really push hard you can get it to cut out fairly easily. This is nice to do on the highway because if you need to overtake a car or something, instead of stepping on the gas and hearing the engine killing itself trying to find enough power and high revs for the first second or two, it holds back. In this brief moment the car does start to pick up speed and then you instinctively let off a bit, this means once the Eco setting is surpassed, the engine and revs don't shoot up as high as they otherwise would have. It just gets a bit of getting used to, but I would drive with it on the whole time. On the upper trim levels this Eco setting goes one step further with idle engine shut off, turning off the engine when idling at lights or in traffic and turning it back on automatically. The Rio doesn't make too much wind noise on the highway, and with smaller tires it's good, however, the large 17 inch tires do mean you hear and feel a lot more while driving.
So, not bad for a small car, could use a bit more power, but at least the engine isn't super loud.
Overall:
I would say that the Kia Rio is an on-par pick against the Accent. It really depends on what your preferences are. Are you looking for more elegant designs and more space? Or are you looking for a sporty car with cool features and less space? The Rio unfortunately has the added downfall of the lack of a spare tire. As they are otherwise the same car, you can expect good quality and reliability from the Rio. A plus is you can expect to find used Rios at a better price than the Accents due to the still perceived quality difference most people still have. It wouldn't be bad for a second car or a smaller person's first car. Personally, I wouldn't pick it over the Accent due to not liking the outside look too much. However, I assume that most people may like the look.
Extended drive update:
I was visiting family in Winnipeg over the holidays and decided to rent a car for the few days I would be there. Being basically the cheapest option I chose the Rio 5. After driving it for a few days in a row, in very cold temperatures I can now give a slightly better picture of the car as a daily driver.
On uneven roads the car is very rough and bumpy sending jolts up your back. There is a lot of tire noise on the highway, even on the smaller 15 or 16 inch wheels. The visibility for driving through he city and dealing with people walking around the car in parking lots is awful in almost every direction, the front due to the front glass being so far forward, the back because of the small window and the sides to due to small windows and thick pillars. The trunk is quite small and truly only fits about 3 small suitcases when the seats are up. The radio and speaker system is pretty weak and the EQ controls are not easy to find. It is however, really easy to maneuver into tight parking spots ( good for parallel parking) and the heat, defog, and heated seats come on fast and warm. Also, even with two people and a bit of junk in the trunk (I'm hilarious, I know...) after 4 days of pretty constant city driving we only used about 1/2 a tank of gas. The temperatures were also a constant -28C. So as a daily driver would I pick this car, no. But it did serve as a very good rental car.
Facts/ Figures:
Price ( for mid trim level): $19,000+
FWD
MPG (approx*): 27 city, 36 highway
Cargo room (approx*): 14 (16/49) CuFt
Length: 172'' (160")
Width: 68'' (68")
Tank Size (gal): 11.4
Miles on one tank (using combined MPG figures): 353
Average used price with 60,000KM or less: $12,000+
* when I say "approx" I usually am using the numbers given by the actual manufacturer or Consumer Reports, minus 1 to be a bit more realistic.
Links:
Kia Canada
Enjoy!
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J.K.
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