Ace-Garageguy Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I'm seriously thinking of buying one of these for general fuel-efficient, air-conditioned transportation and parts-chasing; all my old vehicles need WORK, and are becoming increasingly unreliable due primarily to lack of maintenance. Time to do the work. Anybody have any actual experience with recent Kia products? The factory offers a 100k warranty, so they can't be too bad, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelercarl Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Bill, After a couple years of retirement I looked around for something to do that wouldn't require excessive mental effort (was Director of Engineering when I retired), and eventually was hired by Hyundai/Kia engineering center to test drive their vehicles before they were launched for sale to the public. We drove 8 hours/day in all kinds of environments....urban, suburban, expressway, gravel, rain, snow, etc. At one time we had three of these vehicles in the fleet and put over 100,000 miles on them in a year's time. At first some of the drivers didn't want anything to do with these because they were small, manual transmissions, and being prototypes they were stripped down models. I absolutely loved driving these cars. They were fun to drive, handled extremely well and the engine and trans were sized appropriately for the size of the vehicle...very responsive in any traffic situation. Eventually they became the most popular cars in the fleet with all of the drivers and you can be sure that they were driven very hard...that was part of our job description. Of all the different models of test vehicles in the Hyundai/Kia fleet over the 20 months I worked there, the Rio's presented fewer problems than any other model, and those that did occur were minor. You have to keep in mind that the Rio as a "commuter vehicle" being very limited in interior space, although they do seat 2 adults comfortably and they do get exceptional gas mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Plus it's darn cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thats a good looking little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Personally, I'd pony up a little extra and get a Ford Focus hatch. More room, about the same mileage and a fair bit more space. I'm not exactly small, and find a Focus fairly comfortable. Alternately, a Hyundai Elantra Touring would also offer more/about the same as a Focus, perhaps for a bit less money. Want still more space for less money as it will be older? If you can find a nice, low-mileage 2000-07 Focus wagon, you'll be very happy with it based on the reports of a few people I know that have them. 35-38 mpg on the highway is pretty regular, with about 30 in-town. Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 Personally, I'd pony up a little extra and get a Ford Focus hatch. More room, about the same mileage and a fair bit more space. I'm not exactly small, and find a Focus fairly comfortable. Alternately, a Hyundai Elantra Touring would also offer more/about the same as a Focus, perhaps for a bit less money. Want still more space for less money as it will be older? If you can find a nice, low-mileage 2000-07 Focus wagon, you'll be very happy with it based on the reports of a few people I know that have them. 35-38 mpg on the highway is pretty regular, with about 30 in-town. Charlie Larkin The reason I started thinking about buying a Rio is that I kept noticing them and wondering "what's that cute but still aggressive looking little car?" I happened upon one in a parking lot and read the badging, looked in the windows and checked out the fit and finish. After reading the response in post #2 from Carl, I'll definitely be testing one soon. The published "road tests" I've seen so far have read more like "Consumer Reports" than "Road and Track", and how the car feels and reacts when pushed hard is of importance to me. I rarely carry passengers and have trucks for big hauling jobs, so this thing looks to me like just the ticket for a gas-sipping daily grocery-getter. I also enjoy LOOKING at what I'm getting in to drive, and if there's no visual appeal, it's not for me. I just wish it didn't have any silly electronic gadgetry. I'll definitely be going with the 6-speed manual gearbox, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I don't have any experience with the Rio, but my dad has a 2012 Sportage Turbo and my mom has a '13 Soul. Both have been completely trouble-free and the build quality is excellent. The Soul in particular is a really engaging little car to drive. If I were looking for a modern subcompact, the Rio would be right up there with the Mazda 2 or the Honda Fit. Kia really has come a long way in the last five years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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