Kia Rio

Getting there

They can do the looks now, the quality is improving....just need to sort the driving experince out. Fiat, Pug, Reault etc are screwed, Ford are getting worried and maybe VW need to look to their laurels.....

By wmtmarine on 23 August, 2011, 11:26am

Nice effort but

to much like a Seat Leon from certain angles especially the rear - it doesn't seem like a very original piece of design.

By cousins11 on 23 August, 2011, 12:45pm

But the steering!

I drove the new Picanto and liked pretty much everything about it, except the steering. This was truly awful, being too light in town and having a totally artificial weighting and no self centering at all; you have to consciously turn it back to the centre line. This and all the fake aluminum on the dash ruined an otherwise decent car. If the new Rio is anything like as bad, and the test infers that it is, this is definitely not a car for anyone who enjoys placing a car accurately on the road and driving for enjoyment.

By Alexan14 on 23 August, 2011, 3:16pm

Looks quite ordinary, where's the flair?

Kia may have come leaps and bounds in quality and dynamics in the last few years, but let's be honest here, the image is like skoda it's just naff and somewhat of a joke. I disagree with the first comment, Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen & Renault are masters of small cars, Kia will never have that flair or sopthistication let alone the design and creativity, that's why they employ a European as head designer!

By JTravolta77 on 24 August, 2011, 11:26pm

@Travolta (wow...), your comments about Skoda is correct, ...10 years ago! so liking Kia to Skoda is not such a bad thing, and def not a joke anymore. Then, you say Kia will never have the flair etc. of the others mentioned, but like you say they are employing a European designer now, so you might have to swollow your words quite soon. This particular car looks great. Much better looking than Polo, less carnival (flashy but dating) than Fiesta. And lets be honest, Peugeot has lost design flair ages ago. only now they seem to be getting their act together on some of the bigger cars, but 107, 207, 308 are horribly ugly. Good on you Kia, this is really a good, beautiful product!

By danielbez on 30 August, 2011, 11:35am

I think wmtmarine is right, they are getting there and fast. I note the test mentions targets Ford and Renault, with the latter in particular all the Koreans need to do is build a reliable car to beat them. Renault are still trying to clear the customer hurt from their recent offerings.

By sherbo1959 on 4 September, 2011, 8:59am

Disappointing in the metal

I wanted this car to be good (7 year warranty etc) but the interior has cheap feeling seat fabric, unappealing dark hard plastic on the centre of the dash and headroom is tight, especially in the rear. Legroom not great in the rear either and the boot, whilst a reasonable size, has a false floor that covers a large whole where the spare wheel should be but isn't - it just houses a tray for the jack which wastes lots of free space (if UK cars don't get spare wheels).

If the way it drives is disappointing too, why is a car that now costs the same as its competitors still getting such favourable reviews? This is no longer a cheap car so can't be forgiven for being disappointing in so many areas!

Keep an open mind, don't believe the hype and try for yourself!

By gavsmit on 5 September, 2011, 7:55pm

Choose the right spec

gavsmit whicjh model are you referring to sounds like the base 1 spec,the 2 spec car has soft touch dash and premium quality seats plus leather wheel and gear knob plus a host of other extras all for not a lot of money,
If you opt for the early bird (Buy before the end of Sep') you save £750.
In my view this car offers a lot for the money.

By armac31 on 6 September, 2011, 10:15am

Agreed, sounds good on paper but.....

...it was the '2' spec car I sat in, but even the alloys looked like wheel trims.

After all the previews I'd read, I suppose my expectations were set too high. As I said above, forget the reviews and try for yourself. I personally was disappointed.

By gavsmit on 10 September, 2011, 5:11pm

Very Reasonable

Recently had a test drive in the 1.4 Petrol and was mightily impressed. Decent if unspectacular handling and performance but loved the roomy, comfortable, quiet interior, so superior to most of the competition in this class. As for the specification, the top level '3' which I would recommend, has more goodies as standard than anything else in this sector of the market (£13.5K). I also think it looks better than any of its competitors and build quality is very high (no wonder you get a 7 year warranty). It may not corner as well as a Ford Fiesta, but the majority of purchasers are going to love this car.

By YoungAtHeart on 19 October, 2011, 11:01pm

List of problems with our 1.1 crdi in 2,000 miles

Problems (month spent in dealership for attempted fixes):
- A significant rattle from the dashboard that progressively got worse.
- An annoying creaking noise from the arm rest/centre console between the seats.
- A rattle from the interior light (which could be stopped if you hit it).
- Balancer shaft failure.
- Central locking failure.
- Spare Key couldn't be recoded (required new one)

Secondary problems:
- Steering wheel replaced off centre.
- Problem with reverse selector on gear stick.
- Small dent in door after repairs (which dealership said was already there).
- Dashboard creaking slightly.
- Interior light never fixed

Car was bought back by dealer and we lost quite a bit of money.

By MrDriver on 1 March, 2012, 10:28am