Kia Rio Si 2010 Review

Kia Rio Si

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $18,840
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint $400
Crash rating: three-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 91 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.7
CO2 emissions (g/km): 160
Also consider: Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i20, Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris

About our ratings

Any company with the slogan 'The Power to Surprise' is surely setting itself up -- which possibly explains why Kia is now going with 'Cars for the real world' in its latest marketing. But is this a case of the Korean company setting its sights too low? Is it easier to build cars for the real world than cars that will surprise?

Ironically, just as Kia has raised its own standards in recent times with new models like the Cerato, Sportage and Sorento, it jumps ship with a new slogan that is better applied to an older model, the Rio. Despite a recently-introduced Schreyer-look facelift, the tiny Kia is nearing the end of its design life. It's arguably a known quantity, yet even the Rio indeed has 'the power to surprise' in some degree.

During its time with us, it impressed for its reasonable build quality, commonsense packaging and even its dynamics. Turn-in was excellent for a car of this price and market position, and the steering was very communicative. Roadholding was significantly better than anticipated -- not least of all in the wet, when the front-end grip proved quite respectable for a basic light-segment car.

Handling was very consistent and, in the one instance when the Rio was pushed beyond the limits of its grip it remained close to neutral on a trailing throttle, four-wheel drifting rather than ploughing ahead or stepping out at the rear. Only on one occasion did we experience axle tramp in the wet, but straight-line traction was generally very good.

While one wouldn't say the Rio is quite up there with Fiesta, Mazda2 and Polo for cornering ability, nor is it that far behind.

A couple of minor gripes about the Rio included the occasional instance of steering-rack rattle accelerating through bumpy corners, and the noisy suspension. On the one occasion when the antilock brakes activated the system was a bit detached from proceedings, taking a long time to reduce speed in the wet.

Unlike the three light-car rivals mentioned above, the Rio errs more on the side of cornering than ride comfort, which can best be described as 'so-so' in the Kia.

The surprises continue with the Rio's engine -- some pleasant, some unpleasant. In spite of the autobox's shortcomings the powerplant delivers linear acceleration right up to the redline, thanks to the flat torque curve. Unfortunately the brisk acceleration comes at a price: NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). The engine is raucous beyond midrange speeds, even by the standards of other light-segment cars.

At least it delivers a strong launch from a standing start, but the Rio's accelerator pedal is a hair trigger affair. As an example, reversing into a parking spot on a slight uphill grade requires a high degree of finesse, otherwise the car actually wants to kangaroo-hop in reverse -- and that's with a torque converter smothering the torque to the drive wheels.

The Rio with the optional automatic transmission simply deserves more than four speeds. While the transmission itself is dependable enough and changes smoothly, it's compromised by the lack of a fifth gear. Third is too low a ratio in some circumstances, too high in others. Second gear is just too high launching out of a corner, if you want to drive the car in a spirited way.

And inside the car, the overdrive button on the side of the shift lever is practically prehistoric. In fairness to Kia, however, four-speeders are still commonplace among the Rio's light-car rivals.

At cruising speed the engine noise drops right away, but then there's some audible road noise. The Rio is otherwise composed on the open road, but it's better around town. With a compact turning circle, good field of vision and a tiny footprint, it's amazingly easy to park.

Compact exterior dimensions don't compromise the Kia's interior packaging badly.  Access to the rear is easy, and there's plenty of headroom for average-sized adults in the rear -- plus adequate kneeroom -- but not that much legroom to stretch out.

Nevertheless, for a car as small as this to accommodate adults as well as the Kia does is testament to clever use of the available space. Kia's interior designers have certainly earned their pay. The Rio also offers reasonable luggage capacity and a full-size spare. Once again it proves it's big on the inside, small on the outside.

We liked the secondary dome light for rear-seat passengers, which could be switched to operate with the doors opening, independently of the principal dome light in the front.

The driving position was acceptably good, despite tilt-only adjustment for the steering column; and the seat came with its own folding armrest (captain's chair), which is welcome if you like that sort of thing -- but easily banished by folding up out of the way if you don't.

All controls were clearly marked and exceptionally easy to use: indicator stalk on the right, wipers on the left -- and turn knob on the end of the stalk for the rear wiper. Similarly, the large-faced instruments were easy to read.

One minor niggle was the lack of a temperature gauge and no blue warning light -- as in the Mazda2 and various Subarus -- to keep the driver advised that the engine is not up to operating temperature.

Another niggle was the vanity mirror on the flip side of the driver's sunvisor. Without a cover for it, it provides a constant distraction when the sunvisor is lowered, reflecting back the top of the dash or the steering wheel, depending on how the sunvisor is positioned. Reflecting movement in the periphery of the driver's vision, it frequently draws attention away from the road.

While not the best in class, the seats were reasonably comfortable and supportive. The interior is plainly styled throughout the car, although the materials used seem durable enough.

Bluetooth connectivity for the Rio is an integrated feature of the audio system. Much as we tried, we were unable to pair a mobile phone with the car. That might have been a problem with the phone itself, although the phone did detect the Bluetooth system in the car and has paired with many other cars in the past.

During the week the car was in our possession, two different ‘civilians’ drove the Rio due to a minor family emergency. One, a neighbour, expressed his surprise at how good the Rio was and another, a family member, was pleased to be able to jump into the Kia and just drive it without needing to spend 20 minutes learning the placement of controls and anything quirky about the car.

Perhaps it's true to say that the Rio also has the power to surprise by being unsurprising...

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi.