Kia Rio GT-Line 2022 Review

The Rio laneway

The 2022 Kia Rio is still hanging on to its sub-$20,000 banner pricing, with the entry-level Rio S model priced at $19,690 plus on-road costs.

That’s with a manual transmission and the same 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that powers all models other than the top-shelf GT-Line. Auto adds $2300.

From there, the mid-series Rio Sport (from $21,190 plus ORCs) comes powered by the same 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine as the S and, like the entry-level grade, can also had with a six-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.

Now subject to availability at dealerships, the sportier GT-Line tested here is listed at $25,590 plus ORCs and stands alone as the sole model with a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine that’s mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

For that money, you get 17-inch alloy wheels (instead of 15-inch steelies) with a space-saver spare, LED daytime running lights and an exclusive GT-Line body kit which sets it apart from the rest with a unique rear spoiler and blacked-out exterior bits.

The GT-Line also gets larger 280mm front disc brakes, compared to the 256mm discs used in lesser Rios, while every variant gets a conventional pull-handle handbrake.

Interior highlights include climate-control air-conditioning, sports pedals and ‘premium seats’.

Like all Kia models, the Rio is covered by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with roadside assist included over that period.

Services are due every 12 months or 10,000km and will cost $1105 and $2128 over the first three and five years respectively.

Generous safety spec

The amount of standard safety and driver assistance features on the 2022 Kia Rio GT-Line is generous, which makes it easy to drive and live with.

These include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – with pedestrian and cyclist detection – as well as lane keeping assist (with lane following assist), blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, driver attention alert, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and rain-sensing wipers.

All Rio models are protected by dual front, front side and curtain airbags that extend to the rear.

On a dimly-lit road, the GT-Line’s halogen headlights don’t offer loads of vision ahead, but are acceptable. It also has LED fog lights and (halogen) position lamps to light up a corner when you turn the wheel, which is a welcome function to aid vision at night.

Inside, there’s no electric park brake or keyless entry/start, but not a great do to complain about.

Behind the GT-Line’s supple sports steering wheel, conventional speedo and tacho gauges surround a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster which brings easy to access to the trip computer and more.

A small grievance we had when using the cruise control is that you don’t get a digital speed read-out for the set speed.

The car’s digital speedometer tells you how fast you’re going anyway – just not what your cruise control speed is set at – so you have to guess how many increments (or specific km/h) you’re going up/down by when using the steering wheel toggles. 

As with other Kia models, the Rio’s 8.0-inch touch-screen with Bluetooth and voice recognition is clear, responsive and easy to navigate, but I don’t love the wireless Apple CarPlay function.

Wired versions of the smartphone mirroring system just seem to have less niggles. 

Turbo triple power

The headline act of the 2022 Kia Rio GT-Line is the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which is peppy and builds speed well.

Although downgraded a little from previous versions that 88kW, the version here produces a useful 74kW at 4500rpm and 172Nm of torque from 1500-4000rpm.

It’s not what we’d call a soulful engine, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic does have some trademark DCT lagginess at low speeds. But when the turbo kicks in, and with peak pulling power readily available, the GT-Line delivers smooth, responsive and relatively strong acceleration.

At higher speeds, the 1.0-litre triple thrums along nicely, producing synthesised snippets of sound from the speakers, perhaps to make it feel like you have much more power at your disposal, or are going faster than you really are.

There are no shift paddles to toggle through the seven-speed DCT, but you can flick the gear shifter over to manual mode, where shifts are responsive.

The Rio’s drive mode defaults to ‘Eco’ every time you switch the car on, however Normal and Sport (to boost the faux induction sounds and increase revs) can be selected via a big button ahead of the gear selector.

Like us, you might also find yourself switching off the automatic engine idle-stop function with every start-up, as it’s not as smooth and instantaneous as we’d like.

Same goes for the Rio’s rather intrusive lane following assist feature, which can be manipulated via a button the steering wheel.

In our week with the Rio GT-Line, we achieved an average fuel consumption figure of 5.7L/100km, which is an excellent result after a combination of suburban and highway driving – and just over Kia’s combined-cycle claim of 5.3L/100km.

A sporty nature

On the road, give the 2022 Kia Rio GT-Line the right environment and it really shines.

You can zip through town and pin it around corners with confidence thanks to light and responsive steering, just as long as you slow it down for potholes or bumps, which can send tremors through the cabin if they’re big enough.

Suspension errs on the firmer side, which, combined with the GT-Line’s larger 17-inch alloys, means road imperfections are a bit more obvious.

That’s the price you pay for what is otherwise a fun and well-resolved driving package, with competent handling, high levels of refinement and decent braking performance, too.

Vision from the driver’s position is good, with the GT-Line adding ‘premium seats’ that aren’t as supportive as we’d like for such a sports-themed model.

That said, the seats have a firmness that will appeal to plenty of drivers (though not all), and the manual adjustments are generous in range.

Up front, storage for a car this size is good, with pair of shelves in front of the gear shifter, decent-sized door pockets, a roof-mounted sunglasses tray and a centre console.

The single-zone climate-control system works seamlessly, but rear seat passengers might sweat with the lack of air vents. A single USB outlet and bottle storage in each door is all you get.

There’s no centre arm rest and not much vision out the small rear windows, however taller people segregated to the rear bench will be happy with deep seat bases that provide plenty of under-thigh support, even if headroom isn’t much to write home about.

That warm glow

As far as ‘warm’ front-drive hatches go, the 2022 Kia Rio GT-Line does all the right things, without making a huge statement or fuss about it.

Even with our minor criticisms, the flagship Rio’s lively and fun-to-drive personality just makes it easy to like.

And while it’s not chock-full of bells and whistles, it packs in loads of value.

The main question now is how to get hold of one…

How much does the 2022 Kia Rio GT-Line cost?
Price: $25,590 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 74kW/172Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 124g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2017)

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