Kia Rio: a surprise package

Kia’s burgeoning sales and stylish new cars have, in recent years, started to see the South Korea company living up to its brand strapline: ‘the power to surprise’. Since Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer arrived from Audi, Kia has blossomed with strikingly designed cars such as the Sportage. And now Schreyer has done it again with the new Rio, which has evolved from being a bland box on wheels to a car with real symmetry. It’s cute and curvy with a coupé-like roofline and that now- familiar Kia ‘tiger-nose’ grille.

The fourth generation of the Rio comes in three- or five-door versions. Standard features include daytime running lights, MP3-compatible RDS radio and CD player, multiple airbags and ABS with EBD. The ‘1 Air’ model adds air conditioning and the top of the range ‘3’ version has cruise control, heated front seats and 17-inch alloys.

The Rio’s EcoDynamics fuel-saving technology means that the 1.1-litre three-cylinder turbodiesel engine offers lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions than any other non-electric car on sale in the world: an outstanding 88.3 mpg and CO2 emissions of 85g/km. I tested the same engine but in a different spec, which still impresses with a none-too-shabby 99g/km emissions and a combined mpg of 74.3. Apart from money saved at the pumps, these figures mean 1) no dreaded London congestion charge and 2) no road tax.

Yes, I confess, the first time I turned it over the word that popped into my head was ‘taxi’, because it rattles away like a London cab. But at speed it’s relatively quiet and a real perky performer that works well with the slick gearbox. I couldn’t believe it only had 74bhp and its 0 – 62mph was 15.5 seconds. It felt much more powerful than that when I was driving.

Inside, the finish of the Rio is of a much higher quality than its predecessor; the cabin is spacious. It also has a good-sized boot, but the high sill can be an issue. The Rio has a big-car feel and is as comfortable over long journeys as it is in town, although the steering can feel a bit vague. This is no sports car, but Kia has done a good job with the ride and handling, even if it does pick up bigger bumps in the road.

* The Kia Rio range starts from £9995 and offers a choice of four engines: 1.1-litre CRDi 74bhp; 1.4-litre CRDi 89bhp; 1.25-litre 83bhp petrol and 1.4-litre 107bhp petrol. These are combined with a five or six-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearboxes.