Kia Rio (05-11) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 05 January 2010
The Kia Rio is a small hatchback that's often overlooked in favour of more stylish or well known makes. But the Rio has plenty going for it, especially as a good value and cheap to run town car. It's robustly built with a neat interior, the majority of models are well equipped and it's also easy to drive with light steering. It doesn't feel especially modern inside, nor on the move where it lacks refinement and can be quite noisy at higher speeds. But both engines in the range are more than capable and return decent economy, making the Rio cheap to run. All models from January 2010 come with an unrivalled seven-year warranty as standard, replacing the previous three year scheme.
3 out of 5

Other Kia reviews

3.5 out of 5

Safety

The Rio received a very respectable four stars out of five in Euro NCAP crash tests and all cars get ABS (with electronic brakeforce distribution) plus twin airbags as standard, while the LX (later Rio 3) has six airbags. Every car has an immobiliser and remote central locking.

NCAP Test

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Provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.

Visit Euro NCAP for more info

  • Adult Occupant Rating

    4 out of 5
  • Child Protection Rating

    3 out of 5
  • Pedestrian Test Rating

    2 out of 5
4 out of 5

Reliability

Kia has a strong reputation for reliability and all the engines in the Rio have been used in several other Kia models. However, unlike many other Kia models, the Rio originally only came with a three-year warranty. This was changed in January 2010 when a seven-year warranty was introduced as standard on all new Kia models.

Car check problem points

Body

No problems reported.

Engine/Gearbox

No problems reported.

Other

No problems reported.