Kia - Rio

2001-05

The Kia Rio is midway between the size of Ford Fiesta and Focus. That means it serves neither of those two groups of buyers particularly well. It may be rather dated in its appearance and the way it drives and is too large to be considered a small car, but offers no-nonsense value, and very affordable.

	Relaible
	Focus size hatch for less than a Fiesta
	Tidy looking
	Running costs
	Handling rough at speed
	Heavy depreciation from new

Rio was always a cheap new car, used ones are affordable to almost everyone. Base models are spartan, but further up the range there's air con and a CD player. There's the option of a 1.3 or 1.5. Neither is particularly quick or refined, though the 1.3 is better around town, cheaper to insure, more economical and adequate for most buyers.
The ride is acceptable at low speeds, though it gets rougher the quicker it gets. Rio rolls through corners and has imprecise over-light steering and its performance noticeably tails off when it's full.
There's loads of room inside and two adults can easily sit in the back. The seats themselves are a bit thin and not supportive, but they're fine for short trips. Running costs aren't especially cheap: parts can be expensive and it some models fall into surprisingly high insurance groups, although fuel economy and road tax are reasonable.