The Kia Rio has come on leaps and bounds since the no-frills first generation car was launched. Unfortunately, this new model isn’t a huge step on from the Rio that preceded it. An uninspiring design inside and out, merely average ride and refinement and some hard, cheap-feeling interior plastics all hurt its cause in a competitive supermini class.
Still, the Korean supermini still has a number of selling points. It’s reasonable value, features a tech-filled touchscreen on top models and offers a decent amount of space for passengers. The 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine is our range highlight, offering strong performance and efficiency. It also comes with the brand’s ever-admirable seven-year warranty. It’s just a shame that Kia played it safe with the new Rio’s styling, meaning it fails to stand out in this hard-fought sector.
Kia has made no bones about its desire to push the Rio upmarket, tasking its German and Californian design studios with the challenge of injecting its supermini with some premium appeal.
With its solid proportions and smooth curves, the newcomer is clearly a more grown-up proposition than before, but it’s also far blander than its handsome predecessor. Under the skin, the Rio follows the same template as its mainstream rivals. There’s an all-new platform with a longer wheelbase and greater strength, but the chassis features the same strut front suspension and torsion beam rear axle as the VW Polo.
Climb aboard and it’s clear the brand’s designers have tried to give the cabin a mature look like the exterior. The dashboard features a heavily sculpted design that flows into the doors, while the silver-trimmed climate controls look like they are heavily influenced by those used in Audi’s smaller models. Unfortunately looks are deceptive, and closer inspection of the plastics reveals a hard and brittle finish that’s a long way behind the Polo.
Still, there’s lots of kit on the Rio 3, with sat-nav, a heated steering wheel and seats, climate control and a reversing camera. Also included is faux leather trim, but it looks and feels rather low rent.
Sat-nav and infotainment
The entry-level Rio models get a standard radio and CD unit with Bluetooth connectivity, while ‘2’ versions add a five-inch touchscreen. Step up to the ‘3’ and you get the flagship infotainment that boasts sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Also included is a seven-inch touchscreen interface that’s easy to navigate and responsive, but hobbled by blocky and dated looking graphics.
Hooking up your smartphone is fairly straightforward, and once linked you can make call and stream music. There’s also a voice control function - you’ll pay £195 extra for this kit on the VW. However, there are no online in-car apps, unless you connect to the unit via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to make use of the services already installed on your phone.
Other handy features include a reversing camera with on-screen guide lines, plus there’s a pair of 12V power connections and a USB port for handy charging.
The Kia Rio shares much with the Hyundai i20 under the skin, including the chassis and some of the powertrains. Kia claims its car has been tuned differently, however, with focus on improving both comfort and driveability.
Unfortunately, the result is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the Rio handles tidily enough, with good body control in the bends, accurate (but feel-free) steering and a decent agility. It lacks the sense of involvement or fun found in the Ford Fiesta, yet it’s acceptable for the class.
The moderately engaging handling comes at the expense of ride comfort and refinement, though. It’s by no means uncomfortable, but the Rio feels quite firm over all but the smoothest surfaces and can get a bit crashy over big bumps. Refinement isn’t all that impressive either: wind noise is kept at bay, but road noise is noticeable on the UK’s poor surfaces. Both these issues only get worse with the larger wheels of top-spec cars. In this respect, it’s no better than the previous generation Kia Rio.
That’s a shame, because around town the Rio is likeable enough, thanks to good all-round visibility, a slick gearshift and light clutch, plus those smooth and nippy engines.
Engines
We’ve yet to try the four-cylinder, naturally aspirated 1.25 and 1.4 litre petrol engines in the new Rio, but experience with them in the old model tells us they’re likely to be refined but short on torque, needing revs to get the best out of them. Those looking at the 1.4 would likely be better served by the new 1.0-litre turbo – it’s also the only Rio available with an automatic gearbox (a dated four-speed unit).
The three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit produces just one more brake horsepower than the 1.4, but significantly more torque at 171Nm. It means it’s much more flexible at low revs, and more refined thanks to the reduced need to rev it out. It’s not the best three-cylinder turbo on the market by any stretch, but it injects some much needed urgency into the Rio’s driving experience. The unit is also available with 118bhp and useful extra top-end performance, but only on the pricey top-spec First Edition model.
Diesel superminis aren’t hugely popular, but Kia continues to offer them anyway. The super frugal 1.1 litre diesel has been ditched, which is a pity, but the 1.4 CRDI is offered in two power outputs: 76bhp and 89bhp. We’ve yet to try the former, but the latter offers strong performance thanks to a healthy 250Nm of torque available from just 1,500rpm. It isn’t as willing to rev as the best small diesels, however, and the petrol options are still quieter and smoother
Kia has worked hard to shake off its budget brand image, and on the evidence of its recent Driver Power performances, it’s clear these efforts are paying off. For example, the brand finished a creditable 14th in the 2016 survey, five places ahead of more upmarket VW. Better still was its dealer performance, which bagged 9th overall in the same poll.
The Rio also boasts impressive safety credentials, with autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and six airbags featuring on all models. The car is too new to have been tested by Euro NCAP, however.
Warranty
The Kia Rio comes with a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, just like all other models from the brand. That means it’s best-in class in this area, handily beating the three-year period you get as standard on most European and Japanese superminis. It was a huge selling point for the previous car, and continues to be for this model - especially as there’s not much else that the Rio stands out for.
Servicing
The servicing packs available for the car in the UK are called Care 3 and Care 3 Plus, which cover routine work over three or five years respectively. They cost £299 and £599 respectively, and are transferrable if you sell the car.
The Kia Rio is bigger than before, so there’s more space inside - although the Rio’s best point is its roomy boot rather than a particularly large cabin.
Storage inside is taken care of by some handily-sized door bins, a large glovebox and a deep centre console cubby that has room for a smartphone, as well as a pair of cupholders.
Size
The Rio is 5mm wider than before (at 1.72m) and has a 10mm longer wheelbase (2.58m) for more space inside. The car is 15mm longer (at 4.07mm) than the previous model in total, but it’s actually 5mm lower (1.45m) as well. Designers will tell you that contributes to a lower stance, but unfortunately the dull looks don’t do much for the Kia’s image.
Legroom and passenger space
Wile the Kia boasts impressive luggage space, the interior isn’t quite as roomy as the competition. In fact, our tape measure revealed that there’s around 10mm less legroom in the rear than the VW Polo, and a massive 100mm less than in the Suzuki Baleno. That said, there’s enough space to carry four adults in reasonable comfort, while the wide-opening doors make access straightforward. There’s plenty of space up front, with the driver also getting a reasonable range of seat and wheel adjustment.
Boot
An increase in length by 15mm and a 10mm stretch in wheelbase over the old car have helped make the Rio one of the more practical models in the class. For example, the boot now has a healthy 325-litre capacity. The load bay is well shaped, too, with a reasonably wide opening and small lip.
Low running costs are often at the forefront of buyers’ minds when choosing a new supermini, and the Rio excels in that area. It might not be the cheapest to buy any more, but it won’t cost the earth to fuel or maintain.
The entry level 1.25 litre petrol engine manages a claimed 58.8mpg combined and emits 109g/km of CO2. The 98bhp non-turbo 1.4 litre fairs slightly worse, managing 56.5mpg and emitting 114g/km of CO2. While those figures aren’t bad, and you’re more likely to be able to get near the MPG in the real world than you are with the turbo engines, they’re a bit off-the-pace considering the limited performance on offer. The dated four-speed automatic option on the 1.4 really worsens things, too, only managing 46.3mpg and emitting a whopping 140g/km of CO2.
The 1.0 litre turbo fares much better. In its cheapest form it undercuts both the petrols above on emissions, producing 102g/km of CO2, while managing a claimed combined economy figure of 62.8 mpg. Even the 118bhp version is a better bet, too, emitting 107g/km and managing 60.1mpg. While those figures are pretty strong, they can’t quite match the impressive 65.7mpg of the VW Polo 1.0 TSI.
If it’s fuel economy you’re after though, it’s diesel to the rescue again. The 1.4 litre CRDI unit manages a claimed 80.7mpg in its lowest powered form, though that only rises to 74.3mpg in the higher-powered version. CO2 emissions are 92g/km and 98g/km respectively. That means both are free to tax for the first year, although the rules are changing in April of this year – however, the low company car Benefit in Kind (BiK) rate remains unchanged.
Insurance Groups
No insurance group data for the Rio has been announced yet – though we expect the figures to be roughly in line with the supermini class best. For reference, the previous model started at a lowly group 2, rising to just group 7 on the top models.
Depreciation
No depreciation data has been revealed for the new Kia Rio as yet. The seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty is transferrable between owners, which is a real selling point on the second hand market. Despite that, the previous Rio only managed to retain around 38 per cent of its value after three years.