AS a promotion, Kia should offer a shortrange time machine (say, 15 years) with every purchase. That way you could head back with your brandnew Rio and blow a few minds - that's a Kia? Plus you could prevent George Lucas from releasing The Phantom Menace and buy a few more stocks in Apple and PayPal. It's win-win for everyone.
Mind you, Kia dealerships might as well save the money on the development of time-travel and simply put an extra-large mirror in the showroom so you can see just how good you look driving this thing. Amazing what counts as entry-level these days.
The old Rio, released in 2000, was a rather humourless potato of a car: styling by russet, pricetag by Yukon gold. It was cheap, and that was pretty much its sole redeeming feature, and since Canadians are a skinflint bunch, it sold rather well. If you think about it, the Rio wasn't that dissimilar from the philosophy behind the Hyundai Pony, released in Canada some 30 years ago.
Like kissing cousin Hyundai, Kia's been on the move lately, coming out with stunning design after stunning design. The Optima sedan is like a Jaguar/Audi hybrid. The new Cadenza full-sizer, while apparently named after a chest-ofdrawers, makes the Genesis sedan look like it was based off of Worf's forehead.
And then there's this, what I feel to be Kia's best current product - her name is Rio and, thankfully, she has absolutely nothing to do with Duran Duran.
Design The day Kia poached Audi designer Peter Schreyer was a sad day for the Volks at Volkswagen. Sure, the new Golf that's coming soon looks pretty good, but park this little car beside a current-generation Jetta and it's like seeing a tailored suit set down next to a pair of jogging pants and "Fahrfrumgrüven" T-shirt.
The little Kia is sharply styled, with crisp creases down its flanks and an angular set of taillights. Both five-door (hatchback) and sedan are good-looking cars, the profile of the four-door car very much resembling what an Audi A2 sedan might look like.
Standard cars wear perfectly acceptable 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps where the EX and up carry at least 16-inch alloys. Top of the range SX models have huge 17-inch alloys that give the tiny car the look of some Hot Wheels special.
Everything gets a spoiler, mudguards and bodycoloured doorhandles and side-mirrors. The most basic Rio doesn't at all look like a cost-cutting, economy-grade penalty box.
Move up a level and the features start adding up faster than the price. Mid-range models get a sunroof and mirror-mounted signalling lights. SX models get luxury-car level trim like LED taillights and projector headlights.
Don't tell the neighbours what you paid, cover up the Kia badge, and everyone will just assume that you've somehow snuck some Euroonly hatchback past the Canadian border guards.
Environment Like the stylish exterior, the inside of the Rio is also a cut above its pricetag. The base model has a nice feel to the layout and the switchgear is again set out in Audi fashion.
The old Rio's wasteland of hard plastic shouldn't really even be mentioned in the same breath as the new car.
The current Rio is very well screwed together and features plenty of soft-touch plastic everywhere your eyes come to rest.
This being a compact car, rear seat room is decent but not great, and trunk space for the five-door is also not going to surprise with unexpected roominess - it's fine for the class though. The sedan doesn't have any more cargohauling ability either, but these are both small cars and people needing more capacity should be checking out one of the Forte variants.
Even so, Kia has done an exemplary job of cramming their smallest offering full of unexpected features. Let's take a look at the SX trim as an example.
At the top-end of the Rio range, you get a backup camera, touchscreen navigation (Kia's UVO system is excellent), leather heated seats, dual-zone climate control, and even a heated steering wheel. Sure, these are all optional extras, but so too are they when you head over to the BMW or Mercedes store.
Performance All Rios, regardless of sporting trim, come with a gasoline direct-injection 1.6-litre engine producing 138 h.p. and 123 foot-pounds of torque. That's plenty of power for a car this small, though it's worth noting that torque levels are not quite as strong as they might be - load the Rio up and tackle a hill and you'll find that just a little more grunt might be needed.
The rest of the time though, this little compact machine is a delight to drive. Yes, it's not exactly a barnburner, and folks hoping the six-speed manual option will somehow transform the SX sport-tuned model into a budget Mini might not be impressed.
The 1.6-litre engine is willing enough but doesn't offer zany rev-happiness. Instead, it's tuned for refinement, and is very smooth in its delivery of power. While your humble author is a die-hard threepedals-and-a-stick kinda guy, the six-speed automatic is probably the way to go.
Other manufacturers offer wonky dual-clutch setups or just plain cheap out with a four or five speed auto, but the Kia's six forward gears are very nicely paired to the direct-injection engine and again give the car a feeling of refinement unexpected in this segment.
Handling is marginally improved in the SX model, but it's really more of a looks package than a corner-carver. All Rios can handle the curves without difficulty, and offer reasonable steering feedback while erring on the side of crowd-pleasing light effort.
Of course, if you've gone for the SX model, some of that ride quality evaporates as the large wheels and stiff suspension give the car a jarring ride on rough pavement. Highway warriors would be better off sticking with an EX model.
Here in the middle there's another option to be pondered: the EX Eco model. This aptly named package groups together options like a more fuel-saving (and thus slower to respond) set of programs for the automatic transmission, smaller alloy wheels with low rolling resistance tires and even an automatic start-stop system.
How much fuel can you save? Kia projects official figures of 0.3 litres/100 kilometres better in-city but it's extremely variable - the start-stop system might be worth it for someone with a traffic-light-infested commute, but will be somewhat useless if you're coming in to work along the Trans Canada at off-peak hours every day.
Features Calculating fuel economy for the little Kia is a bit more complicated than simply taking the Transport Canada figures (6.9 l/100 km city and 5.3 l/100 km highway for the six-speed manual) at face value. In fact, much to Kia's chagrin, the efficiency numbers were recently found to be a trifle too optimistic, leading to a reimbursement program for owners.
More realistically, the Rio should get mixed-use mileage equivalent to a slightly larger Honda Civic. That's no bad thing as the Civic is already a gas-sipper, but in the compact class, it does place the Rio at a bit of a disadvantage.
Of course, do the math on how much fuel-savings you'd actually be looking at by spending more to get something like a Ford Fiesta, and it's pretty paltry stuff for the average Lower Mainland driver. Add in the Rio's bang-for-buck factor and the Kia claws its way back into the must-drive category for subcompact shoppers.
Aside from the already mentioned base LX, midrange EX, and SX top-trim models, the Rio range has other little pockets of value to be explored. Take the $17,150 LX+ model for instance. This comes packed with stuff: cruise control, fog lights, internal music storage, voice-activated radio, even heated front seats.
Adding an automatic transmission to this package will set you back $1,100, and the Eco stop/start system a further $800 on top of that. Green light Excellent styling; smooth drivetrain; outstanding feature content in high-trim models; great bang-for-buck entry models.
Stop sign Fuel economy of a compact; small-car cargo capacity; stiff ride on SX models.
The checkered flag A slick, stylish little car - pocket-sized luxury.
Competitor Hyundai Accent ($13,749) You don't have to go far to find the Rio's main competition. In fact, you don't even have to shop outside the company really - both Kia and Hyundai are separate entities but they share ownership. Both the Accent and the Rio have the same drivetrain and basic body structure.
The Accent might not quite have the sharp styling and heavy feature load of its Korean brother, but it does
have a compelling pricing structure and a badge better recognized for value. That means better resale down the road.
Add in the fact that the Accent is this year's Automobile Journalists Association of Canada car of the year and one has to ask, what is the price of fashion? Certainly the Rio is the prettier of the two, but the Accent is a compelling choice - hence its bestseller status.
