Kia Rio 2005 Review

OVERVIEW
Kia's Rio has been a strong performer in the red hot Australian light car segment. Together with the licence-to-print-money Carnival, it's played a solid part in the Korean car-maker's elevation to a coveted Top 10 Makes market share ranking.

In both the Rio and Carnival, the winning formula has been long equipment lists and a price that's right, especially in their respective price-sensitive market segments. In fact, the Rio has long been the cheapest four-door car on the market.

Now, there's a new, better-looking Rio with an even longer features list and, again, a rock-bottom pricetag.

The new Rio addresses a lot of the criticisms levelled at its predecessor. And it's definitely a better car, with an impressive standard equipment list. In terms of driveability, however, it's not a new light car benchmark.

In many ways, the Korean car-makers have benefitted from the huge leaps made by the Japanese makers during the 1970s and '80s. In effect, they Korean makers have been able to fast-track their own progress, given the benefit of hindsight. Where the Japanese took 20-odd years to build their solid car-making reputation, the Koreans have been able to fast-track their progress.

However, the Korean makers still have a way to go before they're on level ground with the Japanese (although the new Sonata is getting close). The new Rio is another step towards that goal, but – in terms of chassis refinement, especially – Kia's not there yet. In real terms, the Rio is still built to a priceline, and its driveability suffers in some ways as a result. But more about that in a minute.

The Rio Hatch is said to be Euro-inspired, while the sedan is "in the US mould", we're told. Both are more compact bodies on a longer wheelbase and with wheel-at-each-corner modernity. Their interiors are virtually indentical, too.

Apart from their obvious hatch vs notch rears, the biggest visual difference between the cars is their tail-lights; the hatch's take a dramatic downward sweep, while the sedan's are more conventionally big blocks. Both hatch and sedan were designed in-house, but we can't give you any names because Kia doesn't name-check its stylists.

Historically, Australian buyers have bought Rio Hatches in greater numbers than sedans (70:30 per cent) and have optioned automatic transmissions in their Rios (in the same 70:30 ratio). The number of female versus male Rio buyers is marginally greater, we're told.

Importantly, this Rio will be one of the first new models distributed here when Kia's Australian distributor for the past six years, Ateco Automotive steps aside on March 1, next year. After that date, Kia distribution here will be handled by the car-maker itself. Ateco Automotive says the transition will be "seamless", and Kia owners won't be effected by the changeover.

So, is the new Rio a hell of a deal? Or nothing special? Actually, it's a bit of both. Depending on your expectations, of course.

FEATURES
At $15,990 driveaway for both hatch and sedan, the new car costs $1000 more than its predecessor's non-driveaway price. The four-speed automatic we didn't get to drive at the Australian launch –none were made available to the media - adds $2000. Anti-lock brakes (with EBD, or electronic brake force distribution) are an $850 option. The only other option is metallic paint, at $210.

Ateco Automotive says there's about $1000 worth of added equipment in the new Rio, and the unofficial worth of a driveaway price is about $2500.

And that long equipment list with so-called "surprise and delight" features is a bonus.

Standard equipment highlights include: driver- and passenger-side airbags; air-conditioning; power windows all-round; power side mirrors; remote central locking; newly tweater-enhanced, six-speaker, MP3-compatible CD/radio; height-adjustable steering wheel; three-point seat belts on all five seats; 60/40-split rear bench seat; and, height-adjustable driver's seat.

Those "surprise and delight" features include: 12-volt socket (and lighter); parking car holder in the centre console; removable ashtray (the vacated space becomes another cupholder); driver's seat front armrest; vanity mirrors on both sun visors; and, in the hatch only, a recline-adjustable rear bench.

COMFORT
Fit and finish inside the dark grey-on-black interior – saved from being too gloomy by white-flecked seat inserts - is good, with better quality plastics, better design, and a big advance on the previous Rio's.

The dashboard sweep helps create more of a cockpit ambience, too, with the centre console angled slightly towards the driver. The cutaway effect on the passenger side helps make the car feel more spacious.

And, in fact, it is. Despite the shorter bodies, interior dimensions are said to be bigger all round.

Much emphasis on NVH has been placed on the new car, we're told. And so it proves on the road. There's a muffled, fairly rorty engine note when you press on, but very little road and wind noise.

The front seats are firm enough but lack side support. The driver's seat benefits from the twin-knob cushion adjustability.

Rear legroom isn't bad, but six-footers should leave their Stetsons at home. The rear seat back can be locked in two positions, with 20mm-odd incline adjustability.

SAFETY
The Rio now gets driver and passenger airbags as standard -- although the car gets full-length curtain and side airbags in the US as part of Kia's push for six 'bags in each of its US market vehicles. Ateco Australia says it went with twin airbags here because of the price sensitivity in the light car segment. It could monitor customer buying patterns and introduce the additional 'bags "within six months" if there was demand for them. That's theoretical, of course, since Ateco steps aside on March 1.

"We could've optioned the car with leather and climate-control air-conditioning," Ateco's Edward Rowe said. That, however, would hit the Rio well and truly out of the light car market ballpark, we're told.

The three-abreast lap-sash belts in the rear get big ticks; the centre sash feeds into the 60/40 split seat back. Big ticks also for the trio of baby capsule/child seat anchorage points.

More has been made of pedestrian safety, too. Like most car-makers, Kia obviously has seen the value pedestrian safety credentials bring to crash-test ratings. The car-maker is aiming for a 5-star US rating and 4-star Euro NCAP, although the Rio hasn't yet been tested in either market.

MECHANICAL
Underneath both bodies is the next Hyundai Accent chassis and drivetrain (Hyundai owns Kia, you see, and the old Rio's chassis was Mazda 121-based). Which means the new Rio's wheelbase is 90mm-longer than its predecessor (although the new hatch is 250mm shorter than the old car). The chassis is said to have been tuned for Australian conditions during hot weather testing here about 18 months ago.

The 1.6lt four delivers maximum power of 82 kiloWatts at 6000rpm and 145 Newton-metres at 4500rpm (the previous Rio offered 72kW/135Nm). The manual-gearbox version is said to now devour 0-100kmh in 10.2 secs. That's hardly electrifying, but a second shaved off the old car's pace, anyway.

Kia's also proud of the fact that the engine is a CVVT. It says so in bold chrome letters on the backs of both cars.

Europe gets a 1.4lt petrol and 1.5lt turbo-diesel Rio at its impending launch. But we're told neither will come here. Ateco believes turbo-diesels make more economical sense in big cars than in small.

Wheels are 14-inch steel rims, shod on the launch cars with Hankook Centum 175/70 R14s, which don't do the car any favours. There's a full-size spare under the boot floor.

Brakes are discs at the front and drums at the rear – not our favourite combination, but pretty much par for the course at this end of the market.

We can't yet tell you how the biggest-selling version of the new Kia Rio drives because there were no automatic transmission cars at the media launch. Hmmm.

COMPETITORS
The Rio has been a regular top five performer – sometimes top three -- in a light car market that's been long dominated by Toyota's Echo, with Hyundai's Getz a strong second place. Other strong players in that market segment include Suzuki's runaway-success Swift, Honda's Jazz and Holden's Barina.

ON THE ROAD
Underway, the Rio's power steering feels about right (now 3.1 turns lock-to-lock, rather than 3.3), the clutch is typically small-car light, and the gearchange is an improvement on the previous Rio's vague shift. Visibility is good all round, helped by those big, power-operated side mirrors.

The engine is willing and offers more torque than its predecessor's 1.5-litre four. But it's obvious when you hit the open road that the car is low-geared. At 100kmh in fifth gear, the engine's already revving at 3000rpm. Obviously, the emphasis is on city, not highway driving.

Smooth bitumen ride with driver and front seat passenger onboard is relatively good, but anything bumpier means things get decidedly choppy and bouncy inside the car.

Press on, and the Rio's inherent understeer kicks in. The fairly ordinary Hankooks don't help matters, either. Let's just say we'd be ticking the ABS option box if we were thinking about going to Rio.