Kia Rio

No-frills motoring ain't what it used to be. Sam Purcell spends time in one of Australia's cheapest new city cars: a 2022 Kia Rio S.

If you're in the market for an affordable light hatchback under $30,000, the Mazda 2 and Kia Rio will really impress.

After a fun to drive, but friendly, city hatchback on a budget? Look no further than the turbocharged Kia Rio GT-Line.

Light cars are experiencing a sales resurgence in Australia. Let's take a drive in one of the segment's most established nameplates to find out why.

Dealers have been advised to stop taking new orders for the Kia Rio city hatch, as production of the current model winds down.

Different car markets have different needs and tastes, so who is buying what around the world?

Prices across six Kia models have risen for the new year – with the Stinger sedan hit with the largest increase of all.

Kia Australia has stopped taking orders for its turbo Rio GT-Line city car, as it works to clear six to 12 months of backorders amid low supply of its unique engine and transmission.

Doing what we do, CarAdvice writers are often asked by friends and family, and through our contact page: which car is best for me?

Compact hatch impresses on foreign soil.

While CarAdvice specialises in reviews and comparisons of cars in all price brackets, it's often important to consider the perfect first car for somebody new to driving. CarAdvice reader Emily e-mailed us wanting to know what car she should buy as a first car.

Learning to drive is one of the most eagerly anticipated rites of passage for any young adult. Freedom, fun and adventure are all finally within reach and getting the keys to your first car is something you’ll never forget.

I had spent a number of years driving a W202 C240 Mercedes purchased second hand on an online auction. This was the most comfortable car I have ever had the pleasure of owning. After passing it on to my son because I have always had a passion for French cars I purchased a Renault Lagune Tdi II, also cheaply via auction. Whilst I got 80,000 k’s out of it with the persistent help of a mechanically minded friend and eBay, eventually the continuous electronic gremlins got the better of me. When the engine light came on I decided that I desperately needed reliable transport and sort to trade it in on a new vehicle with a seven year warranty. I had a choice between a Honda Jazz, Holden Astra and the Rio. Holden and Honda were also offering a seven year warranty at the time. As the Renault has left a bad taste in my mouth, despite an unbelievable trade in figure being offered on the Renault, I decided I wasn’t prepared to risk another European car’s gremlins. And so, without bothering to test drive the little Rio, I made my decision and ordered one in white with cruise control added. It was only after I decided to read some reviews regarding the pairing of a four speed auto with a 1.4l engine, did I start to question the wisdom of my desperate decision for a reliable vehicle. I live over a hundred kilometres from Perth and most years drive at least 25,000 kilometres, with regular trip to and from the city. The Rio actually drives really well in most situations and is a confident and stable handler on the long back roads, largely unaffected by passing trucks or wind. It’s fuel economy is also good and with 60% country driving and 40% city driving I rarely see it use more than 6.5 litres per 100 kms. What is not so good is the four speed auto gear box. Going up hills with the cruise control sees the little engine becoming very noisy as the gearbox hunts gears and the revs go through the roof. Likewise overtaking requires a fair degree of planning, as getting up enough power and speed to get past anything needs a long stretch of bitumen. Whilst the interior is basic, with hard cabin plastic everywhere, the seats are comfortable, it has apple car play, a reasonable stereo, three usb points and enough basic mod cons to keep everyone safe and happy. On some of the course chip bitumen roads I traverse, noise levels can be quite intrusive. Whilst it is far from a perfect car and it would be much better simply for city use, thus far, 70,000 k’s of trouble free driving has been something I can’t complain about. It is a vehicle that could be better described as an appliance. But, at least, it does the job and I am no longer concerned that I will find myself stranded in the middle of nowhere. With the addition of a small child and all the extra accoutrements he requires, a slightly larger vehicle would have been handy. At the time the child was unforeseen, so the Rio’s size was perfect. Generally, however, it is a spacious little vehicle and does all that is required. It just does it a little slower than I might like.

Extremely pleased with the car only downfall is the brightness of the display for air conditioning controls.There is no adjustment to make it brighter.Also the car tells one if a door or lights are open or left on but get low on fuel and if you don't notice the fuel light or gauge your out of luck no audio to beep at you.Trouble is the top half of tank is larger than the bottom,it takes ages for the gauge to get to half but it goes down quickly.I love the lights that come in when you turn a corner so glad I bought the SLI it is well worth the extra money.Handles like a dream and a guy pulled out in front of me one day the emergency brake assist worked fabulously and stopped me in no time otherwise it would have been an accident for sure.My partner is 191cm with a large build and he fits in comfortably I was surprised when I went hunting for a new car to find one that could fit him and 155cm thin me as well.There were a few new cars that didn't including the new civic I had my eye on but as said extremely pleased with the car plus no need to take it back for air bag replacement like many other new car owners have had to do.I love the auto wipers and lights plus having intermittent wiper on the rear door is handy,i wish that was auto too.Comfortable seats with ease of rear parking camera and sensors.Easy to use entertainment unit and it has GPS inbuit.I like the school zone warnings are said with speed zones displayed too.I use android auto all the time so easy to make phone calls and no worry of getting booked holding a phone.I miss an overdrive off button I have to select a lower gear manually if need to engine brake it can be annoying at times other than that I only know when it changes gear if it has a hill when cruise control is selected, the jump to second gear is obtrusive.Overall a great surprise for such a reasonable price with all the options as standard in the SLI, I am glad I bought the car it runs and drives like a dream and we often argue over who is driving the car. Lol ?

Picture this: Late 2011. Seventeen-year-old me, 6 months or so into my first real job, needing an immediate replacement for my terminally unreliable VL Commodore. Unfortunately, living in Central West New South Wales has it's downsides. In this case, lack of choice regarding new, affordable, reliable cars. I needed something with a warranty and low weekly payment s. With only two dealerships locally, it was knowing people at the Kia franchise which ultimately made my decision. The Day after the test drive I was handed the keys to the then brand new UB Kia Rio. At first, the little red Rio was a blast to drive. Compared to my previous cars it was zippy and the steering was incredible. And I have to mention the great shift feel from the six-speed manual transmission that almost every other review has included. Fuel economy was great with my twice-weekly highway commute, hovering around 4.5L/100Km. It does me well now driving exclusively under 50Km/h and with a seven minute, 6:00am commute. but even though I maybe have to fill up once every one or two months, fuel consumption is high for such a small engine. About 8 or 9 litres per hundred kays right now... even with a light foot. If you want performance though don't even ask. 0-100 in twelve or so seconds and to be quite frank even with one passenger or a large suitcase you can feel the difference in performance. I had four people in the car once and didn't do it again. Worst of all if you like being cool and going up hills at the same time you are out of luck. Starting from rest on even a slight incline is not something the rio does well with the air conditioning on. You have to choose between revving high and looking like an idiot or remembering to turn it off just before accelerating. This isn't too hard with an attentive co-pilot. But is very necessary with the extra weight of a co-pilot. As for the interior and creature comforts, it was a huge improvement over the last generation of Rio, but aside from the seats every single surface is cheap, hard plastic. Design wise it's not a bad place to be and the controls and displays are sensibly arranged. But the plastic. THE PLASTIC. Higher models of the UB Rio received a bit of leather at least but at the end of the day it was a $17,000 new car so my expectations were never too high in the first place. The cloth on the seats is still in great shape after six or so years but it was always hard and a little scratchy and has marked easily. The lack of a centre armrest also takes away from the experience. The Cabin itself seems spacious from the front seats thanks to the huge dashboard but rear seat passengers aren't so lucky. Unless the driver and front passenger are conveniently packaged, there is next to zero leg room. The seats are supportive and comfortable for short trips, but anything longer than an hour and they become hard and uncomfortable. requiring regular re-adjustment of one's rear end. Finally the cupholders are absolutely awful. Not that many people think too much about them but even with the Rio's meagre acceleration any drinks will go tumbling back into the little hole where the centre console should be. I am happy to report that the storage hole there seems to be remarkably water-tight and holds liquids pretty well. well done Kia. Tech-wise, The Rio is sadly lacking. Although Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming is standard, it lacks standard cruise control (I added it later) which after installing the very cheap factory switch seems like Kia should have really included it from the beginning. The air-conditioning (higher trims come with real climate control) is okay but not great. it will take the edge off the heat but even when brand new could never have been labelled "ice cold." Two USB ports and aux input came in handy from time to time. and back in 2011 when iPods were still a thing, it was nice to be able to control it from the steering wheel buttons. All in all for basic transport it does its job. It has been reliable. It has even been loaded up with the rear seats folded allowing me to move house in one trip. So practicality has never been much of an issue for my needs. In reality the UB Rio would very much suit a L or P-plater wanting a easy to drive car to learn in before moving on to something a bit nicer once they felt the need. I know I feel the need. I feel the need so much I am currently selling the Rio. And moving to America. Although it wasn't exactly a love affair for the ages, the little Kia suited my needs well. Only ever missing a beat when I noticed a pool of oil under the car the day after a scheduled service. (Thanks to the apprentice that had forgotten to tighten the sump plug properly after changing the oil.) I have heard the new Rio is an improvement on the UB but I plan on never finding out for myself.

The 2012 Kia Rio, it's a good car but it has a major downside, the engine. I got this car from my parents in September 2016 to learn manual in and so far has been an enjoyable experience considering my car in white looks like a white good. This is the base S 5 Door model, with a 6 speed Manual Transmission. The gearbox is nice without a long throw and the clutch is light but you do sometimes miss the bite point. The engine is the worst part of the entire car, the 1.4L Gamma Engine, with it's lacklustre performance, yes it can do the usual station commute which I will be doing after getting my P's in September this year but that's about it. It's slower than a Nanna walking to the shops, even if you do go back down the gears, it struggles to get up to speed to overtake, the lack of cruise control does not help on long distance drive (especially driving to Sydney Airport and Back and not being able to walk). Fuel Economy is quite good at around 10L per 100km in urban driving and 7L per 100km highway and at just under $40 to fill and it last's about 4 weeks. The infotainment (or lack of it), it has it's Bluetooth, USB and AUX which I looked at when I got the car brings the infotainment up, but the Bluetooth does sometimes drop and reset the radio. The lack of a reversing car (nor sensors) also doesn't help with negotiating the kerb. Visibility out the back is average, the back window is large enough to see out of but the pillars on either side don't help with reverse parking, the wing mirrors are a bit small but do the job just fine. The ride is very very comfortable, you can go on long trips with the car without feeling tired (but I wouldn't do it without Cruise Control), the chunky tyres on the car (Yokohama C-Drive 2), along with the 15 inch Steel Wheels are nice on the road. The steering is very weird however, it weighs up when moving at low speed which makes manoeuvring it quite a workout and lightens up when at speed, it should be the other way round in my opinion. Safety was also a key buying criteria I had, with ABS Brakes, plenty of Airbags etc, it's definitely a safe car and the ABS works extremely violently as discussed in the next paragraph. I took the car to a defensive driving course and it did very well, it safely pulled up within the zone to pull up with the exception with the 80km stop, it also negotiated a lane change procedure at 45km with flying colours. I have racked up nearly 1500kms in the 6 months I've driven it and I'd recommend the car to people who are learning to drive Manual but I wouldn't use it on long drives without the optional cruise control.