2012 Rio - reviews
need a separate thread for reviews for both the US and Canadian models, here is one from Autoblog testing the SX in Korea
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/01/2012-kia-rio-5-door-first-drive-review/
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/01/2012-kia-rio-5-door-first-drive-review/
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These have standard XM/CD/mp3/USB, yea! However, I was told you CANNOT get the power pack (windows, locks, keyless) with the manual.
BTW, the Rio base model comes with bigger wheels and tires than the base Accent, 15" vs 14". I'd get snow tires for the steel wheels and get some alloy wheel from Tirerack. On clearance, you can get them for nearly what steel wheels would cost.
The base model has no fake chrome on the grille, which looks much better since the grille is the only ugly thing on the car besides the dash, which is at least better looking than the Klingon one on the Fiesta.
My local dealer is discounting Rios an amazing $1300-1600! Surely this won't last.
I'm 6' but fit amazingly well in the back seats with inches to spare overhead. The seats fold fairly flat so you could put a dog back there if he is spry enuf to jump up that high.
I was hoping to get a manual with power pack but alas, I seem doomed to accept the auto. Which ain't that bad cuz the manual shift mode is rather fun and somewhat duplicates the experience. mpg is the same anyway.
My only other real disappointment was no map light in the base model. You could probably pull one out of an old Japanese car in the junkyard tho. No sunglasses holder but there is a space for one since the useless roof handle is missing on the driver's side.
First things I noticed were that the plastic wheel is fat and comfy, and the HVAC controls could be from a $40k car with their chrome and piano black accents and smooth operation. The materials quality of the rest of the interior (except for the wheel and lane changer) looked a notch below those HVAC controls, but not bad for the price point. Would have liked some padding for my left elbow (Kia, call Nissan re the nice padding on the Versa). The driver's seat bottom felt small to me, but seemed comfortable enough on my short drive.
The drive was on suburban roads and highways, all pretty smooth except for cracks and expansion joints. On those, the Rio5 was louder than I'd like. The ride felt firmer than the Accent GS I drove a couple of weeks ago. But the steering also felt a tad firmer. Handling was fine, and the car tracked straight without the need for constant corrections. Power even with the AT was adequate, but I didn't press the car (new engine, test drive of a car I was not going to buy). I reset the FE meter when I got up to speed on the highway, and in a short drive got close to 40 mpg which included a couple of stops at stoplights. Speed was around 60 mph. So the car should be able to hit its 40 mpg EPA highway mark even when new at moderate speeds.
Back seat room was just adequate in my sit-behind-me test (5'9"). It was about as much as in some larger cars such as the Focus, Cruze, and 2012 Impreza. Enough for short to moderate height folks for an hour or two. Headroom was sufficient but nothing to spare. Cargo room was OK but less than in its cousin the Accent. I appreciated the 60/40 fold-down seats with a fairly flat load floor (but with a little step behind the seatbacks) after driving a Focus sedan that cost $2000 more but had a one-piece seatback that tilted up considerably).
Overall it was a fun little car to drive, but for the price ($16.5k) I'd have to go with cousin Accent GS for its standard cruise control with the AT, greater cargo volume, and smoother ride. I also like the dash design of the Accent more, but I'd take those HVAC controls of the Rio5 any day.
It has 4 wheel disc brakes, traction and electronic stability control, and behind the wheel it almost feels like a luxury car.
The front seats are extremely comfortable, I love the overall sleek look, the LED running lights, the LED lights on the outside mirrors, and the rear LED lights. Can you believe the outside mirrors are heated and fold into the car with the touch of a button?
Storage capacity is only 15 cubic feet with the rear seats up but when they're folded down that expands to almost 50 cu feet.
While driving only the highway, I get about 39 mpg. When driving in the city in stop and go traffic, I'm only getting about 23 mpg. I estimate my combined mileage between 31 and 32 mpg.
Minor complaints: Why doesn't KIA provide an inside the cabin hatch release button or a coin box? The white on black instrumentation is very clear but I prefer the orange on black combination found in the Forte SX. Finally, I'm disappointed that the RIO doesn't have that nifty storage bin that comes with the Forte SX under the rear compartment.
The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2015 Golf TSI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
I compared the 2012 RIO to the Accent and I think the RIO looks better and it definitely has more high tech features such as:
A Rear View camera when backing up
LED Running Lights / LED Tail lights / LED turn signals on the side mirrors
Outside Mirrors fold up at the push of a button inside the cabin
Microsoft UVO for radio and bluetooth
Very easy to drive around the city and surprisingly solid on the highway even on a windy day. More road noise at higher speeds than I'd like, but suspect a good bit of that is due to the tires. Rear camera makes backing into a parking spot a snap, since the small, high rear window doesn't give you much to go by. UVO system works great when it understands you properly (yes, I did the training). I was surprised that the system, if it's off, can't be woken up by pressing the talk or off-hook phone buttons on the steering wheel. Want to make a call, turn UVO on first, then the buttons on the steering wheel work. I downloaded the latest UVO software from Kia and updated by USB - very easy.
So far I've noticed the following convenience features that aren't documented in the owner's manual (at least not the one that came with ours):
1. Three-blink turn signal flash for changing lanes - loved this on other, more expensive cars, but figured the Rio didn't have it since the owner's manual instructs you to hold the turn signal lever while you change lanes, then release. Surprise, it does have the "touch it once, get three blinks" feature after all.
2. If you shut the engine off with the headlights on, get out and lock the car with the remote, the lights stay on. Press the "lock" button again, the lights go off. When you come back, unlock the car with the remote and the lights come on again. I wasn't expecting "welcome" and "follow-me-home" lighting on a car this cheap either.
Looking forward to spending more time driving it.
They're both fantastic vehicles and each has it's own advantages. The Forte has a 19.4 cubic foot storage area with the seats up while the RIO has only 15 cubic feet. The Forte SX has more interior room and very powerful acceleration with the 2.4 liter engine. The RIO's 1.6 Liter GDI engine has very good acceleration for a small engine but it cannot come close to the 2.4 liter version in the Forte. On the plus side, interior room in the RIO is excellent for a small car, plus it's extremely comfortable.
The RIO obviously wins on fuel economy while both cars handle extremely well. I think both of them are lots of fun to drive and each car model is sleek and aerodynamic. The Forte SX has that nifty storage container under the rear compartment and I don't understand why KIA doesn't provide it in the RIO SX.
The RIO has a price advantage over the Forte, although KIA seems to offer better deals on the Forte. I would compare the Forte with the Ford Focus while the RIO should be compared to the Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent, and Honda Fit. Both KIAs are better than the competition.
Even though the Accent uses the same engine and transmission, the RIO wins out on looks and more high tech features such as a rear view camera, LED lighting, and outside mirrors that fold with the press of a button. In addition, the outside mirrors are heated on the RIO.
Played with the lights some more tonight since it was the first time taking it out after dark. The car actually uses the "auto" light system to decide whether to activate the welcome or follow-me-home lighting (or "headlamp escort", if that's Kia's term for it). If you leave the headlight switch in "auto", it'll turn on the lights as you unlock the car with the remote, and leave them on for 30 seconds after you lock it - but only if it's dark. During the day, the lights stay off when you lock or unlock. Smart.
Inside, the UVO screen isn't dimmed with the rest of the dashboard lighting, and even in "night" mode I find it a tad bright, but it can be turned off completely. Also, there's a small LED light mounted in the ceiling, behind the sunroof switch, that shines down onto the centre console to provide some ambient light at night to the shifter and storage tray/power point area just in front of it. Another nice, unexpected touch.
On a different note, after a day driving around in a hilly city, I sure wish they'd put the hill holder on the manual transmission instead of only on the automatic.
Then there's the question of, what happens if the electric latch switch fails on the hatch? Some of these hatches don't have a keyhole anymore--not sure if the Rio5 has one.
My old Elantra GT doesn't have an interior hatch release, but the latch in back is mechanical plus there's a keyhole.
Is this a major issue? Of course not. However, with all of the high tech gadgets, such as a rear view camera, one would think an interior hatch release button would be standard. I had one on my Ford Focus and it was sooooooooo convenient.
does this look difficult to spot?
Rio 5's without remotes have a keyhole. All a release will do is pop the hatch it won't fully open so you still have to grab it and lift, so its not as if you was an auto version where it fully opened. A sedan is different as it will pop more open due to its size and weight.
As for if the electric latch switch fails - which would be extremely rare, then there is an emergency tailgate safety release which is mentioned in your manual.
My previous Rondo and now my new Soul doesn't have an inside mechanical hatch release. Not sure if the Rio has it but when I stop and put my Soul into park all the doors unlock automatically, so a passenger wanted to get something out of back just goes around and grabs the handle-latch and lifts the door to get the item out, I can't see a mechanical release would make it go any quicker. Never been an issue to me.
I had an older station wagon that had the mechanical release, but all it did was unlock it, the door barely moved.
Only the base model is cheaper and it depends whether you are talking about a sedan or a hatchback
Accent sedan manual - $12,545, Rio - $13,400
Accent sedan auto - $15,295; Rio - $14,500
Accent hatch manual - $14,695, Rio 5 - $13,600
Accent hatch auto - $15,895; Rio 5 - $14,700
Admittedly this sounds like a spoiled American but why not? As I mentioned earlier, this is a trivial flaw in an otherwise fabulous vehicle.
If that isn't enough, the KIA has UVO so you can control Sirius Satellite Radio and your phone with voice commands.
My "trivial flaw" is that the ignition has to be on to close the sunroof. Most cars give you 45-60 seconds to close the windows and sunroof after you shut off the engine, but on Kia vehicles this only works for the windows. Now there's something I wish they'd thrown in.
The 5 Door SX RIO handles extremely well, I describe it as nimble and I prefer it over the softer, middle of the road EX model. With the SX you sacrifice a little comfort over rough surfaces, such as expansion joints, for better handling. I'm not sure why he feels the car loses it's grip on rough surfaces because I don't sense that at all.
I also like the low profile 17 inch tires plus the beautiful aluminum wheels on the sportier SX model. But he's right about that, those tires and wheels definitely change the handling equation. Judge for yourself and see what rocks your boat.
The vehicles are shipped from the factory with very high pressure (usually over 40 psi) and a lot of times they are not checked when they get to the dealership, particular if they have not had time to PDI the vehicle.
Also, my tires had 40 psi in them when I took delivery, which I promptly lowered.
Having said that, look at the RIO SX because it is one fabulous vehicle. If you need more room, check out the KIA Forte SX. We have both and love'em.
Can you all chime in to define what Sport Tuned suspension actually means? I prefer a floaty driving experience; one that handles today's potholes with a bit more grace. I'm not one for (let's say) the Ford Mustang driving experience that you feel every crack/crevice/bump/hole in the road, and your back pays for it later.
As for the Forte, I'm a bit concerned that the 2.0 liter engine and steering are the same as what is in my current Elantra Touring. I really don't like the steering very much. I could drive all these cars, but since I'm still a year away from any purchase, I'll stick to your opinions since you've done all the driving for me
As for the suspension, any time you buy a car with sports tuned suspension and low profile tires like the Forte SX model, you will have much better handling on smooth roads. However, the ride will be stiffer on rough surfaces or highway expansion joints. It's like anything else in life, you have to decide if you want better handling versus a softer more comfortable ride. You can't have it both ways.