Kia Rio SX 5-door Consumer's Review

Kia Rio SX 5-door

As the gazelle belongs to the savannah, the Kia Rio five-door belongs to the stop-and-go traffic of town streets.

It’s cheap, snug and fuel-efficient, attributes that have created previous versions of Kia’s premier commuter-mobile the darling of urban dwellers in their mid-20s to late-30s.

Completely redesigned and jam-choked with new gadgetry, the 2012 Kia Rio SX could be a solid contender among competing subcompacts, like the Ford Fiesta or the Chevrolet Sonic. very similar to Hyundai, the opposite massive Korean manufacturer with a foot within the U.S. market, Kia’s return an extended approach since the times when it solely offered entry-level shoeboxes with short life expectations.

Slipping behind the wheel for the primary time, i used to be transported back to the car-racing arcade games of my youth. The steering wheel is smaller than expected, and therefore the pint-sized dials are set deep within the console. flip the ignition and therefore the gauges animate: sweeping utterly to the left, then back to the proper in a very friendly wave. I’m vi feet tall, however I still had many leg and headroom as each a driver and a passenger — though the last time i might have work comfortably within the back seat was your time within the late Nineteen Eighties.
Touch the accelerator and therefore the Rio leaps forward with the maximum amount enthusiasm as you'll raise for from a direct-injection, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine.

Our tester was equipped with power steering and sport-tuned suspension, and once I got it out on the road, it had been responsive and fun. obtaining conversant in the gas pedal took a number of spins round the block. bit the accelerator and therefore the Rio leaps forward with the maximum amount enthusiasm as you'll raise for from a direct-injection, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine. it's acres additional get-up-and-go than the equally spec’d late-’90s Hondas a number of us drive each day.

The six-speed automatic transmission comes with an “Active Eco System” — hit a button behind the steering wheel and, in exchange for a number of revs, save on gas. Fuel potency could be a major selling purpose for compacts, and therefore the Rio doesn’t disappoint. The 2012 redesign has taken the Rio’s mpg rating to thirty within the town and forty on the highway, up from twenty seven and thirty six. Kia has conjointly managed to spice up the horsepower at constant time: It’s currently 138, up from one hundred ten.

On the highway, the automobile was enjoyable and simple to drive, if not thrilling. The drivetrain created some sounds of protest once I accelerated into price tag territory. however let’s face it, the bulk of Rio drivers can pay most of their time commuting and running errands, that the proven fact that this isn’t a high-performance vehicle isn’t very a giant deal.

Downsides? The brakes are barely too grabby. The 15-cubic-foot cargo space is just grocery-haul roomy, not camping-trip roomy. Lastly, the SX’s 5-door style uses some fat C-pillars within the rear corners. This causes some blind spots and makes merging slightly tough. however a minimum of I continuously felt safe: twin front and lateral seat-mounted air baggage are customary, as are the side-curtain airbags that open along the length of the inside. Also, there’s an optional rear-facing camera that helps mitigate any potential visibility problems when backing up.