Kia Rio sedan scores as the bottom-dollar car in the country
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Well past the morning rush, traffic flows at a brisk clip along the I-35 expressway as we head north out of San Antonio on a course that will eventually reach Fredericksburg, but not before meandering through the Texas Hill Country.
Objective of this jaunt is to assess the poise and capability of a new subcompact sedan promoted as the bottom-dollar car in the country.
Out of the box with no frills attached, the Rio sedan by Kia of Korea carries a bottom-line price of $8,595.
Tack on the unavoidable delivery fee of $450 and the figure bumps to $9,000 plus change.
Then add air conditioning and an audio package, the two options that would be difficult to do without in any car, and still the price seems sparse at $10,115.
To pare prices to such a low level, one might logically assume that a cheap set of wheels like the Rio would be constructed out of cardboard or some equally flimsy material, and it would behave in a manner that fits the sum of inexpensive parts and cost-conscious assembly.
However, that's not the way Kia works the Rio.
This little sedan contains an impressive list of mechanical components, carries rather comfortable seats in surprisingly spacious quarters, and, as our drive quickly proves, the Rio can hold its own in freeway traffic or out on the open road.
Apparently, Kia the manufacturer has developed so much confidence in the quality of Rio's design and the assembly of its components that it supports the car with an impressive guarantee called the Long Haul Warranty. The program extends well beyond protection for other vehicles -- the powertrain is insured for ten years or 100,000 miles and there's a five-year or 60,000-mile shield against defects plus five years with unlimited mileage for a roadside assistance program that includes emergency towing service.
Conformed as a notchback four-door sedan with seats inside for four (or five in a pinch), the Rio traces in lineage to various subcompact predecessors developed by Kia in previous alliances with partner automakers such as Ford and Mazda of Japan. But Kia, owned now by the larger Korean automaker Hyundai, spent the past several years on its own developing this new vehicle, which is produced at Kia's vast assembly plant in Korea.
It rolls ashore in America with rather dressy styling for a single trim set with one engine, a zippy four-pack.
In the new design as a 2001 model, Rio's wheelbase stretches for almost eight feet and the width expands to five and a half feet. The resultant area serves as a generous foundation to craft a spacious passenger cabin and a trunk with nine cubic feet of storage space.
The cabin structure is tall so the driver and passenger ride high in the two front bucket seats, followed by a rear bench with indentions for two riders. These seats, contoured to fit even a full-frame adult, feel supportive and firm. Each seat position including the back bench has more than adequate room to fit heads, shoulders and legs.
Driver sits in a high stance like you might rest in a living room chair, which sets up excellent visibility through large expanses of window glass. The entire car, by the way, has been wrapped in glass that dominates the exterior shape and contributes significantly to Rio's superb visibility characteristics.
All of the controls -- handy in positions either left on the door, right on the console or ahead on the instrument panel -- mount in logical positions and operate with exacting precision.
The instrument panel and central stack of ventilation and audio systems unite visually through a common black-tinted plastic material. Large rotary dials for ventilation are easy to use.
Clustered beneath a bubble cowl, the analog instruments include a bold speedometer at the center with flanking fuel and coolant temperature gauges.
All surfaces for dashboard and doors, clad in a soft-touch synthetic material, feel sophisticated, which is not what you might expect to find in a bargain-priced vehicle.
Overall, we give the Rio high marks for the quality of its interior, logical design and placement of all instruments, and some comfortable seats.
Exterior styling also shows sophistication.
Although the shape consists of the familiar three-box sedan style, whereby a tall central box for the passenger compartment sandwiches between smaller boxes fore and aft for engine and trunk, Rio's form eases all hard edges with soft shapes that seem even more fluid due to the extensive use of monochromatic fascia, moldings and bumpers.
At the prow, large triangular clusters of multi-lens headlamps anchor front corners on either side of a narrow horizontal grille highlighted by chrome.
The arched roofline looks even more streamlined due to blackened center pillars that fade into the window glass.
In back, large corner lamps cap the blunt tail.
Like its other automotive products, Kia has stocked the Rio with respectable mechanical components that produce commendable handling characteristics.
The suspension with independent elements up front combines MacPherson struts with coil springs and an anti-roll bar.
Steering, quick and lively, has a rack and pinion device with power assistance.
Brakes hold discs in front and drums in back with hydraulic power assistance and a four-channel anti-lock system available.
The four-cylinder engine, displacing 1.5 liters in an iron block with aluminum heads, packs twin cams on top and four valves in every cylinder.
Output only reaches to 96 hp, but torque skews toward lower speeds and good gear ratios in the manual transmission help pump up the action so Rio scoots off a starting line, and at a fast pace on a freeway it still feels gutsy.
Our time in Rio led to a romp on the River Road that matches every serpentine kink in the Guadalupe River as it slithers through the Texas hills. To our surprise, the little sedan ran the twisty course in agile fashion and showed a certain poise and finesse in the process.
Optional gear loads Rio's bottom line, but not severely. Extra items include an automatic transmission ($875), air conditioning ($750), an audio kit ($320), upgrade package ($380), ABS ($400), tail spoiler ($85) and alloy wheels ($275).
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| 2001 KIA RIO VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Subcompact 4-door sedan
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| Model Options: |
Subcompact 4-door sedan
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| Wheelbase: |
94.9 inches
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| Overall Length: |
165.5 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 1.5-L I4
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4
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| Drive: |
Front
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| Braking: |
Power disc/drum/opt. ABS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front)
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| Gas Mileage: |
M/5: 27/32 mpg
A/4: 25/31 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
$ 9,045 to $ 12,500 |
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