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Comments
I don't mind the color though, because my '88 Mustang 5.0 has a black molding that goes entirely around the car. The car is a candy apple red, so I think the two colors contrast nicely.
The same goes for the Rio. I think the molding will defintely look good on the red, blue, and orange colors. White is about the only color where there's maybe a bit too much contrast, but oh well.
And I agree on the size and placement being good too. I abhor door dings, and so far I've avoided them with my Spectra in the structures and lots I park in.... but it takes some work and intelligent parking to accomplish it. People can be complete morons when they pull in and just whip their doors open into your car. I once had my Acclaim swung into 2 days in a row while I was finishing up a radio segment before getting out of my car. Did I ever give those people the evil eye! :mad:
So... the Rio gets two thumbs up in the body molding category from me!
-SM
I also like the placement of the '06 Rio's side mouldings, they are intelligently placed to actually stop dings. It's a nice feature of the car.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2. Side moldings... I actually kind of like them.. adds an interesting visual element to the car. Is also kind of retro. Look at it this way.. No one in a late 80s early 90s BMW ever complained about the black molding on those cars and they are now classics .
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I know that they've got a bunch of 2005's to get rid of, which NOT having the 2006's around will help do, BUT.... I really want to take a test drive, esp. in a Rio5.
What are the rest of you folks seeing on the dealer lots out there, as far as 2006 Rio inventory goes? Has anyone even seen a Rio5 anywhere yet?
-SM
Happy motoring
I really like the way Kia is heading with all of their new models...they get better and better each model year IMHO. The Long Haul Warranty remains yet prices don't seem to climb. Ya gotta love that aspect of the Kia shopping experience. This new Rio will sell in large numbers in Europe-in fact, Kia says it already is selling like hotcakes there.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I was impressed with the '06 Rio's stature and exterior look in that black color. All I could think when looking at it at night was how it would be to drive it and would it be too small. Guess that's what test drives are for.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
FWIW, I've owned some cars that were smaller than the Rio, including a '85 Civic S hatchback. I really enjoyed tossing that little car around, so driving a small car doesn't bother me as long as Kia got the crash protection right. I wouldn't buy a Rio until the crash test results are out--I got burned before by Hyundai, buying a brand-new design before the crash tests were released, so I won't make that mistake again.
I'm thinking about putting the Rio 4-door sedan on my futures list, which also includes the 2006 Kia Spectra SX, 2006 Kia Spectra5, 2006 Kia Sportage and also the 2006 Scion xA and 2007 Toyota Echo/Yaris/Vitz. From all 6 of these cars will come my probable next car, but not until the '01 Sportage 4x4 gives me a strong reason to discard it.
Whatever my next rig ends up being it must have a 5-speed manual tranny in it.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
It will be hard to let go of the "sitting up higher" driving experience of the '01 Kia Sportage 4x4 and what I am thinking the sitting position will be on the 2006 Kia Sportage. I really like the job Kia did with the new Sportage and I really like the new Hyundai Tucson as well. Fantastic new designs and Kia has already won JD Power awards for the new Sportage and Amanti designs.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I went there to buy a 2005 Rio Cinco Please don't anyone tell me I should have bought a Spectra instead! However it worked out great as they had a 2004 Rio Cinco with 1,917 VERFIED miles on it (I had it checked it out myself) Sure saved me a bundle!
I saw the 06 Rio, and it definitely looked serviceable. The 5-door would just fit my needs more.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
The web says that KIA was planning on losing 10,569 units of production due to the strike. I couldn't find out if that number was ever confirmed or increased. I couldn't determine how that loss was spread across models either.
One interesting factoid I discovered while looking this up was that Hyundai only owns 38% of KIA. This means that KIA must still have some autonomous capabilities of its own. Interesting enough, that's about the same percentage of ownership as the Ford family has in voting shares (40%) in the Ford Motor Company.
-SM
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2005/nf2005106_7775_db016.htm
Excerpt:
"It has come to this: even Texans are having second thoughts about their big trucks. In Fort Worth, deep in the heart of truck country, the Mortiz Kia used-car lot is packed with big sport-utes and minivans that buyers have traded in for cars that look pint-size by comparison, including the Sportage small SUV and Spectra compact."
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=13504
Excerpt:
Automotive News / October 07, 2005
Peter Butterfield has left Kia Motors America, Inc. as president and CEO, the company said Friday. He has been replaced by J.H. Lee, who was senior executive vice president of Kia Motors Corp.
Volkswagen's former head of North America, Len Hunt, 50, will join Kia Motors America as its COO.
The details behind Butterfield's departure were not immediately available.
-SM
The '06 Kia Rio's are probably just on the verge of hitting Kia sales lots all over America. Give it a few more days or a week or two more before getting too nervous about it.
That is interesting about Hyundai only owning 38% of Kia. This is a subject that I'd love to get more information on. I'd love it if a Kia and/or Hyundai worker, or people that work at each company, would write a book about what goes on in their neck of HyunKia. Inside the factories. I'd buy it in a second.
I have always read that Hyundai owns 51% of Kia. Kia owns the remainder, but not all. South Korean banks own a percentage of non-Hyundai/Kia share as well, as a result of some serious financial difficulty Kia had right around 1998. I was just starting to follow South Korean cars then and it was not sure if Kia would pull out of that mess. The devaluation of the Korean Won didn't help matters and a very troubled Korean economy made things tense at Kia Motors. Hyundai swallowing up Kia has helped Kia financially, yet it is my humble opinion that Kia Motors would have always kept afloat by virtue of their lessons learned with Mazda and Ford Motor Company through the 80's and 90's. Kia is South Korea's oldest car maker. Kia's engineering department is vey capable, and in 1998 I was quite sure that another, large car maker would find their talents irresistable and buy them out. Look what GM decided to do regarding Daewoo. That's a horse of another flavor for another day, though, I realize.
spectraman, were you following the trouble Kia was having back in 1998? What are your thoughts on that debacle? They have certainly come around and are going very strong exporting all over and building all over the world now. I'd say their future is so bright they best be wearin' some solid Burton Cummings-Randy Bachman shades from here on out. :shades: :shades:
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Here's one recent reference to the percentage of ownership I found:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:HMC&Feed=AP&Date=20050902&ID- - - =5068366
Hyundai, maker of the Sonata midsize sedan and the luxury Equus, has ambitions with Kia to become the world's sixth-largest carmaker by 2009. Hyundai owns 38.7 percent of Kia.
And here's an older reference I found from around 1998 which explains that 51% of KIA's stock had to be auctioned, and that Hyundai would also find some additional investors (to probably share some the stock with).
"The third largest producer, Kia Motors Corporation, was forced into bankruptcy and its creditors forced the sale of 51 percent of Kia‘s stock at auction. No companies submitted bids during the two previous auction attempts.
On the third attempt, bids were submitted by three Korean auto companies, Hyundai Motor Company, Samsung Motor Inc., and Daewoo Motor Company, and one foreign company, Ford Motor Company. (Ford owns 9.4 percent of Kia and Ford‘s 30 percent-owned Japanese affiliate, Mazda Motor Corporation, owns 7.5 percent of Kia.)
On October 19, 1998, Korea‘s largest auto company, Hyundai, was selected as the winning bidder by the panel overseeing the auction after they disqualified Ford's bid. Following the auction, a Ford Motor Company spokesman stated that the auction had been a fair one without prejudice against foreign participants.
Hyundai‘s chairman announced that the company would seek additional foreign investors, including Ford, in Kia. The acquisition of Kia would give Hyundai control of over 60 percent of Korea‘s automobile market."
And no... I was not a big follower of either Hyundai or KIA until I bought my Spectra a year ago. I *did* have a friend that swore by his '86 Hyundai Excel though. It looked like a piece-of-junk, but it always started and got him where he wanted to go. That was the limit of my experience until I purchased.
Until last year, I was a combination Plymouth/Ford/Chevrolet owner. I guess KIA can claim me as a "conquest" sale.
-SM
I do know that I sure liked the looks of the 2006 Kia Rio sedan I saw in eastern Idaho last week. Those stamp-mouldings looked great on a black Rio sedan, that they did. Can't wait to see the 2006 Kia Rio5.
You seem to really love your Spectra sedan, spectraman. Are you gonna hold or look for another car in the coming year?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
As old Kenny Rogers says in his song "The Gambler", I *know* when to hold'em! :-)
I plan on keeping the Spectra for at least 7-10 years, as long as it stays relatively problem free. It will probably become my oldest daughter's car when she start's driving in 3-4 years
My last daily driver (a '93 Plymouth Acclaim) was in our stable for 11.5 years and 126k miles. It was a great car, and still had a lot of life left in it. It was in mint shape, and I was still able to get $2k for it. The initial year of ownership for the Acclaim had a few trips to the dealership for annoying odds and ends, but it really was the most trouble free car I'd ever owned.
So far the Spectra beat the Plymouth (and all of our Fords) hands down for first year ownership problems. Time will tell how the long term situation plays out.
My wife's everyday vehicle's a Chevy Astro van, and I also have an older (but extremely good shape) Chevy pickup for towing my pop-up camper and snowmobiles. We're thinking of getting rid of the van and the pickup when my elderly father-in-law decides he doesn't need his 4x4 Chevy pickup.
My interest in a Rio5 would be for the wife to drive as a daily grocery and kid getter, and transportation to her part-time job. With gas pushing $3 a gallon, the Astro and the pickup aren't very economical for the daily short runs she does.
The one thing I tell myself though is that both are paid for, and even if I can pick up a Rio5 for $11k (which is becoming more unlikely as gas stays high), I'd be making payments on it.
Decisions, decisions!
-SM
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
* Rio5 has side curtains and side airbags, while the Elantra has only side air bags.
* Rio5 has alloys, fog lamps, and rear spoiler.
* Elantra has traction control, cruise control, and a moonroof.
* Elantra has more interior room, particularly rear leg room. Its cargo compartment has more surface area, but the Rio5's is taller.
* Rio gets better fuel economy, 29/38 vs. 24/32. (However, in the real world I get upper 20s around town and upper 30s on the highway with my automatic Elantra GT, so the Elantra's fuel economy is adequate for the few miles I drive.)
* Elantra has more power and torque, but weighs more than the Rio5--but Elantra still has a power/weight advantage.
* Elantra has interior niceties such as front center armrest with storage compartment, heated mirrors, adjustable lumbar support, padded door armrests (most other plastic trim is padded also), dual map lights, and sunglasses holder.
The other thing that might be a big factor in 2006 is that the all-new Elantra will be on its way next fall, so there could be good closeout deals on the '06s. What all this means to me is that the Rio5 looks less and less of an option for me. One thing that would be a big plus for the Rio5 is if it aces the NHTSA and IIHS crash tests, especially the IIHS side test where the Elantra did poorly. This is the car I would turn over to my daughter when she turns 18, and that she will probably learn how to drive with, so crash safety is important.
This time there were 2 additional new Rio sedans on the lot. In addition to the Olive Beige they've had for several weeks now, there's a Cashmere Beige (sort of a Gold), and a Tropical Red model.
The red exterior with the black interior looked good. The black interior is basically monochromatic though... thus it's a pretty dark place in there. That said, it still looks "higher rent" than the tan/beige interior to be sure. The seat cloth also has some extra accents woven in the cloth in the black interior. If you check out the http://www.kiario.com website, it is the black interior that is used for *all* of the interior shots. Coincidence?
The tu-tone tan interior looks "okay" in the Olive Beige model since it's tan/beige on a light green exterior. However........... the tan/beige interior in a Cashmere Beige exterior model clashes BIG time!
The Cashmere Beige is a *beautiful* color from the outside. It really is. But KIA's only offering two interior colors for the North American Rio. A tan/beige, and a black. The tan has an offbeat kind of "orangey" tinge to it. When you open the door the contrast/clashing between the "Cashmere Beige" exterior and "Beige" interior colors immediately jump out at you. KIA for 2007 needs to either lighten up the Beige interior a notch or two (to a yellow-tan vs. an orange-tan), or provide a third color such as a darker brown.
Nitpicky stuff.... I know. BUT the proper matching of interior to exterior color(s) should not be so prohibitively expensive that it is unobtainable in an automaker's lower-end models.
KIA needs to remember that color conscious buyers (aka: females) will more than likely make up a large percentage of purchasers of the Rio line. The importance of issues such as color matching should NEVER be underestimated when considering the success of an automobile model. Not in this day and age of global automobile hyper-competition.
-SM
I've seen this same advertising technique in our newspapers being used by a Chrysler/Dodge dealer. It is really one of the cheesiest schticks going.
Obviously the goal is to get you to stop and examine that particular dealer's ad. Whenever I see stuff like this, I immediately think: d-e-s-p-e-r-a-t-i-o-n
-SM
thanks, cougar7
Anyone have any experience with it yet?
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosconsumer/0510/19/F03-353600.htm
The article is summarized by this paragraph:
"Too bad we don't give half-stars in these reviews. Because I might be tempted to give Kia four and a half stars for the Rio5. They have now polished their reputation so much in the United States that they almost don't need to keep giving buyers extras like a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty and free 24-hour roadside assistance. But they still do. . Intangibles like that are all part of the total value equation, and the Koreans do that almost better than anybody."
http://www.autobytel.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_page_order_in- - t/1/article_id_int/754
It paints the Rio5 in a favorable light, BUT... the shortcomings that are described (that I *know* aren't in the Spectra line) would make me think twice of purchasing a Rio5 if KIA tries holding the price line anywhere near the $15k mark that a Rio5 SX with power pack and automatic trans will list at.
I only paid $13,373 (not including tax and dest) for my Spectra EX just last year!
The Rio5 equipped as described above had *better* come in somewhere between $11-13k (not including tax and dest) to keep my interest.
-SM
P.S. If you can wait a bit, the Rio's cousin the Accent will be out soon and it has ABS standard.