Kia Rio

Model reviewed: Mk4
Score: 6 / 10
“The Kia Rio has come on in leaps and bounds since the no-frills original, but the fourth-generation model isn’t a huge step on from the Mk3. It has merely average ride and refinement, and some hard, cheap-feeling interior plastics that all hurt its cause.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6 / 10
“The Kia Rio offers good value and practicality, but it’s a safe pair of hands in a talented supermini class”
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Model reviewed: 1.4-litre diesel manual
Score: 6 / 10
“While the new Kia Rio gets the basics right, it doesn’t do enough to stand out in the competitive supermini sector. We take issue with the unexciting design, mixed cabin quality and so-so ride and refinement. This diesel might sip fuel, but the 1.0-litre turbo petrol would be our choice in the range.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol manual 3
Score: 6 / 10
“In isolation the new Kia Rio is a capable supermini, thanks to a neatly designed interior, range of efficient engines and big luggage area. Unfortunately, it’s entering a market with many excellent competitors that beat it in virtually every area, so it’s a tough one to recommend.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7.4 / 10
“It’s all too easy to sound like we’re damning the Kia Rio with faint praise, but this really is a very decent car that does its job extremely well. It’s not quite class-leading in any way, but as an overall package, it has an awful lot to recommend it, and no major weaknesses.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0 T-GDi 48V 2021
Score: 6 / 10
“Updated Kia Rio supermini gets new engine with, in its pricier forms, economy-minded accoutrements.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“It’s an even more practical, parsimonious and mature prospect than the car it replaces, and you could hardly ask for a more resolutely worthy, servile or grown-up supermini. Yet for all its functional virtue, the Kia Rio is made to look one-dimensional by the opposition.
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol manual 3
Score: 6 / 10
“The Kio Rio is a well-equipped, cheap-to run and relatively spacious supermini. As a tool for getting from A to B, it’ll do the job nicely. Yet in class of such broad and varied talent, the Rio is overwhelmed.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol manual 3
Score: 7 / 10
“It may not match rivals like the Ford Fiesta but the Kia Rio is a great-value, well-equipped and practical supermini. In top spec ‘3’ grade, it comes with all the kit you’d ever need. The 1.0-litre petrol engine is a fantastic unit, both around town and on the motorway, too.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7.8 / 10
“The Kia Rio is a competent supermini, but because it doesn’t excel in any one area, it’s difficult to recommend over the competition.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6 / 10
“Believe it or not, the Kia Rio supermini is the Korean brand’s best-selling model. The latest fourth-generation version wades into a congested field dominated by established rivals including the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Skoda Fabia.”
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Model reviewed: 1.0-litre petrol manual 3
“The Kia Rio appeals not for its particular strengths, but in fact for its lack of weaknesses. That might not sound particularly interesting, but will make for a rewarding ownership experience backed up by Kia’s seven-year warranty.”
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Model reviewed: 1.4-litre diesel manual 3 Eco
Score: 7 / 10
“The new Kia Rio is ideal for people buying cars. It’s easy to drive and easy to live with. But it’s rubbish for motoring journalists because there’s nothing to complain about. It just does everything as it should do. There are no quirky, annoying faults.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“It might not have the all-round classiness and capability of the SEAT Ibiza or the dynamic sparkle of the Ford Fiesta, but the Kia Rio is a very capable hatchback that does everything well enough. Factor in the seven-year warranty and it’s a sound buy.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“With each generation, the Kia Rio has got better to drive and far better finished, though even in its current guise it’s one of the more basic cars on the market, aimed at those who really value its combination of practicality, affordability and the peace-of-mind offered by its seven-year warranty.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 6.8 / 10
“There are few reasons why you wouldn’t buy a Kia Rio, but when the competition is so strong elsewhere it’s hard to recommend it over the rivals.”
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“I’ve had more fun threading a Kia Rio down my back roads than I would in something expensive.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 7 / 10
“The Kia Rio might not be the most fun car to drive in its class, or as comfortable as some rivals, but it scores well most other areas, whether it’s in the space on offer, the low running costs, excellent reliability record, or value for money.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 5 / 10
“An appliance carefully targeted at people who are uninterested in cars.”
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Model reviewed: Range overview
Score: 8 / 10
“The Kia Rio is a promising small car with price on its side, while its turbocharged engines are perfectly competent both around town and at faster motorway speeds. However, rivals such as the Ford Fiesta ride much better and are overall more fun to drive.”
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