Kia Rio > All?
 

2013 Hatchback EX about 16.5k

For the wife. She likes its looks.

1.6 direct injection NA. We prefer a manual gearbox, but can not get it without the base trim.

What say you?


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The older (and shittier) ones are fun to throw around. Manual steering, manual trans, as basic as the DOT will let them be.


The new kia/hyundai's are pretty boring to drive (IMO), but have good reliability. Cheaper initial cost usually bites you in the ass for resale.

Look into resale, around me a Fit, Yaris or Mazda2 will sell for pretty much what a new base model is after a couple years but a Hyundai or Kia will not.

I just looked up local pricing, base $14.2k and a loaded one of these is $22.2k!? for a subcompact, a korean subcompact? Although I can get any trim level in manual.

In addition, Kia calls for timing belt intervals at 60K...wonder why?

They probably also tell you to change the oil every 3k miles.

Ford Fiesta
Toyota Yaris
Nissan Versa
Mazda 2

All of these things cost about the same (or less), are available with a manual gearbox, and aren't a Kia.

5000

But they will void your warranty if do not have documentation for the timing belt and waterpump at 60K.

nough said

I test drove a 2012 Kia Rio briefly last July when I was looking for a new car. I was underwhelmed by it in all way shapes and forms. I picked up a base model Mazda2 with the 5speed and I could not be happier with it. I have put a little over 10k miles on it and it has been a blast. Only thing I have had to do on it was change the oil and put in a little extra air in the tires this past weekend.

fiesta>rio

Drove the forte koup. Looked decent. But felt, like a toy. From the way it was built, to the way it drove.

Wait...

What the hell happened?

When I lived in the US, Kia Rio was somewhat of a joke. Back in 2004, a new car was in the $20K range (average) and the Rio was offered for $5999 in all its tin can glory.

At one point in the not too distant past weren't they giving away a free rio with the purchase of one of the larger sedans? Maybe that was Suzuki.

I like the way the new Kia's look and the specs look good on paper, but have heard not good things from people who own them.

Kia has come a long way.

Having wrenched on some previous years of this car I was seriously shocked at how terrible and cheap they were. This is a big improvement.

Kia still has a long way to go.

Resale value is a big indicator at how well a car holds up long term, which in turn is a good indicator of build quality. Kia and Hyundai throw a ton of cool looking doo-dads onto the cars, but after 20k when all those cheap plastics and pleathers are wearing down and tearing down, you realize why it was so much cheaper initially.

New Honda Fit with a 5 speed > Kia Rio

We were actually just shopping in the same market as OP: Compact hatch/etc.

Ended up with a '10 Prius IV loaded with all options. Paid high teens for it. COULD NOT BE HAPPIER with the decision. Hataz gonna hate.

Kia's are the most uncomfortable cars. Everything you would ever touch is a hard plastic. Even the seats feel like they were molded out of recycled tupperware.

Did this replace the TSX?

How many cars do you have, jeez...

LOL yes, actually sold the TSX yesterday.
Currenly only 3

The reason I'm raving about the Prius, is cause it is uber comfy, gets 51mpg consistently, uber spacious, and has every single bell and whistle you can think of (navi, back up camera, bluetooth, sattelite, smart-key, solar roof panels, etc etcetc too much crap to list).

It actually handles pretty decent for what it is too, I was expecting it to be a complete pig, its no worse than our previous 05 civic hybrid. And its actually got grunt at low speeds, esp when you hit the "PWR" button. It shuts off any time you're stopped, and the a/c is electric.

Lots of other stuff, like I said way too much to list, and we got a '10 with all options for what we woulda paid for a '12 yaris or fit with like 10% of the features this thing has.

Its also a huge step up from the previous pre-10 prii (sp?)

Sorry for the ramble..My point is you can get a couple year old one of these with low mileage for the price of that Kia, and its 300% better.

If not, I'd echo what has already been said: mazda2, fit, yaris, fiesta, etc are all better options to the kia.

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The versa is a crime against humanity. And the Yaris isn't much better.

I had a Mazda2 as a rental car about a year ago in Phoenix. The automatic transmission was underwhelming (no surprise there) but in every other way, I was really quite amazed by how horrible the car wasn't. I initially cringed when they gave it to me, but it turned out to be a very comfortable place to sit, handled reasonably well, and seemed very well put together.

Even though the Demio platform is assembled in some really screwy places (Thailand, Columbia, Vietnam, etc) there's something to be said for being competently designed and built of reasonable-quality materials in a plant designed and managed by people who know the difference between good shit and bad shit.


A friend of mine down in FL has some Kia sedan of relatively recent vintage (2008 maybe?) and while it has only slightly over 100,000 miles on it, it's more or less falling apart. The drivetrain is fine, but it's developed all sorts of little squeaks and rattles, the interior is coming to pieces, the A/C has crapped out twice, etc.


Kia is still an emerging company, regardless of what they'd like you to think. They are the automotive equivalent of the guy selling knockoff Louis Vuitton purses from a little kiosk on the street in Chinatown. Sure, they look a lot like the real thing, but they're poorly assembled from inferior materials.


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