Rio is a cracking car

Oct 26 2009 Peter Hayward

I'VE driven both turbo diesel and petrol versions of Kia's latest Rio supermini and it is a cracking not so little car.

A very reasonable new price undercuts mainstream competitors by at least £1,500 and means that it also comes cheaper a couple of years down the road.

Yet it gives little away to the competition in performance, economy, comfort or anything else. It really is very capable and a great buy.

Power comes from either a four cylinder 1.4 petrol with an excellent 96bhp or a 1.5-litre turbo diesel with a very good 109bhp

The diesel pulls well from a low 1,700 revs and should average almost 50 miles per gallon and although it does have to be revved to get the best, the petrol also has very good performance.

Like most cars these days both come with air conditoning, but don't forget to turn it off when its not needed - i.e.most of the time - because economy and performance will be hit.

Good performance demands agile handling and it has that too, with only a small amount of roll and very good grip. Even the ride is better than some much more expensive cars.

Interior

The Rio is good looking and bigger inside than some in the class. It comes well equipped with all the home comforts we want these days, including front and side airbags, electric windows, remote locking and alloy wheels.

The power steering gives plenty of feel at speed and help when parking, but there is a point where it is too light in some corners, just like recent Renaults.

FAST FACTS

Kia Rio

Price: Pay about £4,200 for an '05 05-reg GS, £5,700 for an '06 56-reg LX or £6,000 for an '07 57-reg Ice

Mechanical: 109bhp, 1493cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving the front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 110mph

0-62mph: 11.5 seconds

Combined mpg: 60

Insurance group: 5

CO2 emissions: 121g/km

Marks: 10/10

Main rival: Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207