Full Test: 2001 Kia Rio
Primary Point A to Point B Transportation
By John DiPietro, Automotive Editor, Edmunds.com | Published May 10, 2001
0 Ratings
Back in the day, I bought a new Subaru Justy. At the time (late in 1988), I had a 1969 Pontiac Firebird convertible and didn't care for the idea of exposing my classic 'Bird to any more harsh New England winters than it had already seen. I found the Justy (a 1987 leftover) advertised at a local dealer for $6,200. It was a GL with air conditioning, a stereo, a tachometer and cloth seats. To make a long story short, I drove the trusty Justy for 100,000 miles with nary a problem except for the A/C giving up the ghost at around 60,000 miles. And that was not a great loss in light of the fact that when the A/C was turned on, acceleration was not an option. But it was a great little car that served me well and was still in good shape when I sold it with 102,000 miles on the odometer.
The Kia Rio, which is currently the lowest priced car sold in America with a base price of $9,118 (including destination), initially reminded me of my old Justy. Like the Subie, the Kia comes with a number of features that are surprising given the low price point. Standard on the Rio are such niceties as a height- and tilt-adjustable driver seat, dual trip meters, dual remote mirrors, rear window defroster, low fuel light and cloth upholstery with matching inserts on the doors. And then there's Kia's "Long Haul" warranty program that includes 10 years/100,000 miles of limited powertrain coverage, 5 years/60,000 miles of limited basic coverage and 5 years/100,000 miles of anti-perforation protection. Also provided is 5-year/unlimited mileage 24-hour roadside assistance. In addition to the options our test car had, the Rio can be ordered with antilock brakes, a four-speed automatic transmission, alloy wheels, an AM/FM/CD stereo and a rear decklid spoiler. Those who've gotten used to power windows and door locks will be dismayed to learn that these luxuries can't be had in the Rio.
But unlike the boxy old Justy, the Rio is perhaps the sharpest car in its class. To our eyes, the Rio has a more upscale visage than some other low-buck cars such as the Toyota Echo and Daewoo Lanos. The blackout window trim, wide bodyside molding and cat's-eye headlights give the Rio some distinction, but the thin grille opening reminded some staffers of a mail slot.
Inside the cabin, we found plenty of hard plastic trim and funky seat fabric, but everything seemed well screwed-together, and the dash design was uncluttered. But then again, what would it be cluttered with? Conspicuous in its absence was a tachometer, which is something we like to have when piloting a car with shift 'em yourself gears. Headlights and wipers are operated via stalks next to the steering wheel, a setup familiar to anyone who's driven most any Japanese (though the Kia is Korean) car of the last two decades. Likewise, the climate controls are simple, consisting of intuitive twist knobs. We found it easy to get a comfortable position behind the wheel with the adjustable driver seat and tilt wheel. And a fold-down armrest for the driver's right arm helped make long interstate drones more bearable, though it got in the way (and was thus useless except when cruising on the freeway) when it was time to change gears.
Under the Rio's relatively svelte skin beats a 1.5-liter 16-valve inline four, which produces a respectable 96 horsepower. This is down a bit compared to the Echo (108 horsepower) and the Lanos (105 ponies) and isn't going to give you a thrill when you lay into it, though a 0-to-60 mph performance of 11.3 seconds isn't as bad as it sounds. The Rio actually felt peppy around town, provided it was revved up, and on the freeway it happily cruised at 75 mph. At this speed, however, don't expect a quiet cocoon, as wind roar becomes prominent. Without a rev counter, one must shift by ear and speedometer. After driving the car for a while, we figured out what the best shift points were, and should one over-spin the engine in an attempt to dig up more power, a rev-limiter will step in to save the day (and the engine). Performing said gear changes was an exercise in blind faith in our driving abilities: The Rio's gear shifter felt like it was moving around in a bucket full of soft rubber balls and had us wondering if the gearshift linkage was comprised of thick rubber bands. Though it never balked and we never blew a shift, we were amused to discover that it was possible to move the gear lever laterally over 4 inches, as if it was in the neutral gate, when it was in gear. This was one of a couple of reminders that we were driving the lowest-priced car available in the U.S. Without ABS (which is available as a $400 option), our test vehicle stopped from 60 mph in a rather long 153 feet. Our road test editor stated that the binders offered enough feedback to make threshold braking (the point right before lock-up) possible, though not easy, and he would expect a shorter distance from an ABS-equipped Rio.
Another reminder of the bargain-basement mission of the Rio was its suspension performance, or lack thereof. We discovered that the Rio liked to dance. Accelerate hard (especially on broken pavement) and the resultant torque steer will have the steering wheel wiggling like Ricky Martin as he sings "Livin' La Vida Loca." What affects the Rio's handling the most is the road's condition. On smooth, twisty pavement, the Rio can be fun as the car maintains a stable, flat cornering attitude, and the economy-biased tires (P175/70R13s) offer surprising grip and plenty of warning before they let go. And under these ideal conditions, the steering feels tight and precise. Throw in some bumps, however, and the Rio loses its composure as the car hunts around the line you've set your sights on. The ride quality could also get harsh over choppy pavement. The Rio's suspension design, consisting of the obligatory MacPherson strut setup in front with a semi-independent rear, seems sound enough, but there's no question Kia could stand to improve this area of the Rio's engineering.
As the Rio has yet to undergo frontal and offset crash testing, we can't comment on its safety in those areas. However, it did score three out of five stars in the side-impact tests, for both front and rear, which is considered average.
The general consensus around here is that if you simply must have a new car, the Rio seems like a fairly safe choice, given Kia's 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. But by and large, if you enjoy driving even a little (or a lot, as we do), a two-year-old Honda Civic would be a better choice for the same money.
The Kia Rio, which is currently the lowest priced car sold in America with a base price of $9,118 (including destination), initially reminded me of my old Justy. Like the Subie, the Kia comes with a number of features that are surprising given the low price point. Standard on the Rio are such niceties as a height- and tilt-adjustable driver seat, dual trip meters, dual remote mirrors, rear window defroster, low fuel light and cloth upholstery with matching inserts on the doors. And then there's Kia's "Long Haul" warranty program that includes 10 years/100,000 miles of limited powertrain coverage, 5 years/60,000 miles of limited basic coverage and 5 years/100,000 miles of anti-perforation protection. Also provided is 5-year/unlimited mileage 24-hour roadside assistance. In addition to the options our test car had, the Rio can be ordered with antilock brakes, a four-speed automatic transmission, alloy wheels, an AM/FM/CD stereo and a rear decklid spoiler. Those who've gotten used to power windows and door locks will be dismayed to learn that these luxuries can't be had in the Rio.
But unlike the boxy old Justy, the Rio is perhaps the sharpest car in its class. To our eyes, the Rio has a more upscale visage than some other low-buck cars such as the Toyota Echo and Daewoo Lanos. The blackout window trim, wide bodyside molding and cat's-eye headlights give the Rio some distinction, but the thin grille opening reminded some staffers of a mail slot.
Inside the cabin, we found plenty of hard plastic trim and funky seat fabric, but everything seemed well screwed-together, and the dash design was uncluttered. But then again, what would it be cluttered with? Conspicuous in its absence was a tachometer, which is something we like to have when piloting a car with shift 'em yourself gears. Headlights and wipers are operated via stalks next to the steering wheel, a setup familiar to anyone who's driven most any Japanese (though the Kia is Korean) car of the last two decades. Likewise, the climate controls are simple, consisting of intuitive twist knobs. We found it easy to get a comfortable position behind the wheel with the adjustable driver seat and tilt wheel. And a fold-down armrest for the driver's right arm helped make long interstate drones more bearable, though it got in the way (and was thus useless except when cruising on the freeway) when it was time to change gears.
Under the Rio's relatively svelte skin beats a 1.5-liter 16-valve inline four, which produces a respectable 96 horsepower. This is down a bit compared to the Echo (108 horsepower) and the Lanos (105 ponies) and isn't going to give you a thrill when you lay into it, though a 0-to-60 mph performance of 11.3 seconds isn't as bad as it sounds. The Rio actually felt peppy around town, provided it was revved up, and on the freeway it happily cruised at 75 mph. At this speed, however, don't expect a quiet cocoon, as wind roar becomes prominent. Without a rev counter, one must shift by ear and speedometer. After driving the car for a while, we figured out what the best shift points were, and should one over-spin the engine in an attempt to dig up more power, a rev-limiter will step in to save the day (and the engine). Performing said gear changes was an exercise in blind faith in our driving abilities: The Rio's gear shifter felt like it was moving around in a bucket full of soft rubber balls and had us wondering if the gearshift linkage was comprised of thick rubber bands. Though it never balked and we never blew a shift, we were amused to discover that it was possible to move the gear lever laterally over 4 inches, as if it was in the neutral gate, when it was in gear. This was one of a couple of reminders that we were driving the lowest-priced car available in the U.S. Without ABS (which is available as a $400 option), our test vehicle stopped from 60 mph in a rather long 153 feet. Our road test editor stated that the binders offered enough feedback to make threshold braking (the point right before lock-up) possible, though not easy, and he would expect a shorter distance from an ABS-equipped Rio.
Another reminder of the bargain-basement mission of the Rio was its suspension performance, or lack thereof. We discovered that the Rio liked to dance. Accelerate hard (especially on broken pavement) and the resultant torque steer will have the steering wheel wiggling like Ricky Martin as he sings "Livin' La Vida Loca." What affects the Rio's handling the most is the road's condition. On smooth, twisty pavement, the Rio can be fun as the car maintains a stable, flat cornering attitude, and the economy-biased tires (P175/70R13s) offer surprising grip and plenty of warning before they let go. And under these ideal conditions, the steering feels tight and precise. Throw in some bumps, however, and the Rio loses its composure as the car hunts around the line you've set your sights on. The ride quality could also get harsh over choppy pavement. The Rio's suspension design, consisting of the obligatory MacPherson strut setup in front with a semi-independent rear, seems sound enough, but there's no question Kia could stand to improve this area of the Rio's engineering.
As the Rio has yet to undergo frontal and offset crash testing, we can't comment on its safety in those areas. However, it did score three out of five stars in the side-impact tests, for both front and rear, which is considered average.
The general consensus around here is that if you simply must have a new car, the Rio seems like a fairly safe choice, given Kia's 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. But by and large, if you enjoy driving even a little (or a lot, as we do), a two-year-old Honda Civic would be a better choice for the same money.