CAR COMPARISONS: 2013 Kia Rio S manual owner review

Fact: if your car is red and has a Nurburgring bumper sticker it will go faster.
Owner: Lucas

Plucking sixth gear flat to the floor hurtling my way towards the Foxhole, one of the Nurburgring’s most infamous sections… okay, that might be a little furphy. How about we replace the Nurburgring with the M1 and Foxhole with the big hill near Mount Colah? I’m pleased to say my Kia Rio can keep 110km/h for almost 95 per cent of green hell, I mean, that infamous incline.

I’ve had my 2013 Kia Rio S manual now for a decade, and it has been a workhorse for me in every way. It was the bargain of the century. It set me back $13,990 drive-away, and the way the second-hand market is going, I’m sure I could get something close to that amount today.

It’s no race car, but when I mention I own a red three-door hatchback with a six-speed manual, I sometimes leave out the rest of its official title. This Rio punches above its weight and has features I wouldn’t have expected from a bottom-of-the-barrel purchase. Let me share with you what I love about this little runabout and where it has missed the mark in my 10 years with it.

So why was it such a great deal? It had to do with timing. Kia was just starting to find its feet in Oz. For example, Drive awarded the Kia Sorento as the best mid-size SUV for 2012 Drive Car of the Year and the manufacturer was trying to find market share. Part of the plan started at the entry level; however, Kia wouldn’t have the city-sized Picanto in Australia for another couple of years.

That left the bigger small-car-sized Kia Rio taking on city cars like the Fiat 500 and Nissan Micra, and to do so the price had to match those offerings. Cue an end-of-financial-year sale and that great price tag with one catch. This was only a few months before Kia would offer its well-known seven-year warranty.

Sitting inside the Rio, the best way to describe it is bare-bones. You’re greeted by a steering wheel with some basic controls, an analog instrument cluster with a tiny digital screen for driver’s information, and a centre mono-colour infotainment screen that at best gives off Nokia 5110 vibes, but what can you expect from this end of the market?

Something modern car designers could take some cues from is the amount of physical buttons. I don’t need to take my eyes off the road to change the air conditioning, volume, switch to Bluetooth, and with Siri working on my phone it’s almost equivalent to a ‘hey Mercedes’ capability. There are power options aplenty with two 12V ports, one USB, and even an AUX port with “iPod” written on it! Remember those?

It’s not all roses, though. The cloth manually adjustable seats are comfy enough, but no lumbar adjustment makes longer drives less comfortable. The three-door version of the Rio has longer, heavier doors than its five-door sibling; they are quite heavy and have not been the easiest thing to use on a daily basis.

Access to the second row has also been a thorn in my side. The passenger side tilts forward and slides; however, the driver’s side only tilts. “Go around” is usually the call when a friend is trying to jump in. However, it is hard to complain and not feel like a picky beggar considering its competitors at the time.

There is one thing I don’t need to worry about and that’s torque steer. The Rio is powerful enough for around town, and it’s never been to the track despite my Nurburgring bumper sticker. It was more powerful than most of its entry-level brethren at the time, including the Mazda 2, but there is a catch. The peak power is produced at 6300rpm, but the redline is 6500rpm, which I wouldn’t call a broad band of power.

Having the six-speed manual means you do have a chance of getting there, and by all accounts, the four-speed auto was underwhelming. The manual really is the Rio’s saving grace. Yes, the car will struggle with a few people on board, but change your driving to suit and it is not such a big issue.

The ride for the most part is uneventful, but it can crash over sharper bumps, and for bonus points if you are on the brakes at the time, the pedal almost feels numb for a second. I was never expecting an S-Class magic carpet ride, so I’m happy with how it handles most imperfections on the road.

Visibility out the front is quite decent; however, looking back, the C-pillar is almost cartoonishly large. Another chink in the Kia’s armour is the road noise. Day to day it’s manageable, but stretch the Rio’s legs on the highway or a country road and you are almost yelling to talk with your passengers.

The biggest surprise for me driving the Kia (admittedly after many handbrake hill starts) is the hill hold assist. It works only on steeper inclines, but is so handy to have and was an inclusion I thought wouldn’t make its way down to a car under $14,000.

What keeps Rio from getting a big head? Fuel consumption, which has sat around 9L/100km around town. On longer drives, it will dip down to around five, but for a small car it sticks out like a sore thumb.

The Rio does the job it was intended to do and it does it well, clever in its simplicity. It’s only the butt of a handful of jokes from friends and colleagues. For me, it all comes back to the sticker price and ownership. Yes, the fuel consumption, road noise and bland interior detract from the experience.

But was I expecting anything more from it? No. Has it started every time? Apart from leaving the parker lights on and getting a flat battery, yes, and even then I could hill-start it. A good warranty and no major mechanical issues, what else could you wish for? If you adjust for inflation on my purchase price, you can buy an MG 3 or a Picanto today, so there is no way I’m going back in time to change my mind on this purchase.

Picking up a Kia in the early 2010s felt like a turning point for the company, going from cheap and cheerful to a big player. Looking at the vehicles Kia is producing now is super impressive, and having my Rio for the last decade makes me feel like somewhat of an early adopter.

Owner: Lucas