Kia Rio Review & Prices
Description
he Kia Rio has a well-built cabin and efficient petrol engines, but it’s dull inside and you can have more fun behind the wheel in other small cars for the same money
The Kia Rio is a sensible five-door hatch with decent space and a solid cabin. But is that enough when you consider the Rio is in the same shopping basket as the Ford Fiesta, Seat Ibiza, Volkswagen Polo and Peugeot 208?
Next to that lot, the Rio is a bit like going out for dinner at the Ritz and ordering a ham sandwich. It just doesn’t have the same sort of pizzazz as many of the alternatives, either inside or out.
Kia has tried its best, but the Rio is basically an evolution of the sensible style set out by its predecessor. The similar face to the old car has new, piercing headlights flanking the slightly narrower ‘tiger nose’ grille while the front bumper is lower and wider, with more prominent fog light surrounds.
The cabin has seen the most significant improvements over the old model. The materials are higher quality, while mid-spec models and up have a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen and a high-definition colour display between the instruments.
There are four trim levels to choose from and the Rio’s interior quality is easily a match for the VW Polo – the benchmark of cars like this. The plastics used on most of the surfaces are soft to the touch and the fit-and-finish of every component is superb. Its design just won’t wow you like the Peugeot 208 interior would.
But if boot size wows you, you’ll be pleased to see the Rio’s is bigger than that of a Polo or Fiesta, though its rather awkward shape means it’s not quite as easy to load as those cars are.
