Kia Rio 2012 test drive and review

Kia Rio 2012 test drive and consumer car review

Today at Test and Review blog we are going to take a closer look at the 2012 Kia Rio.
First of all we should say the new redesigned Rio looks awesome. It now ha much more settled looks and sporty design and feels more upmarket in general. The 5-door Rio is a small car but the way the interior space is used it could easily fit four adults and a fair amount of luggage.

     

For the 2012 model Kia Rio is offered with 1.6 petrol engine producing 138-hp and 123-ft. of torque. This engine is shared with the new Hyundai Accent which is produced on the same platform as the 2012 Kia Rio. With this engine the Rio achieves great fuel economy with both the 6-speed automatic and the 6-speed manual gearboxes.

2012 Kia Rio dashboard

The interior of the new Rio is well laid out with stylish design features on the dash but you can still find some cheap plastics around the cabin. A very nice entertainment system with iPod and Aux integration is offered for a few bucks more or standard in higher trims.
As I said luggage space is more than generous for a car of this size.

2012 Kia Rio sedan

The price of the 2012 Kia Rio is somewhere in the middle of this class. Depending on the trim level you choose the new Rio will cost you around $18 000 which is not the cheapest in this price segment but considering the qualities of the car and the long warranty it is probably one of the best deals for a new sub-compact car.

2012 Kia Rio test drive - video


What we think of the 2012 Kia Rio - it is a good car and definitely an improvement over the previous generation. The variety of the offered models is also a big plus against the competition in this segment.

We definitely recommend the 2012 Kia Rio, you can hardly go wrong with this one - it is compact, it looks modern, it drives well and the build quality is also on a very good level.

2012 Hyundai Elantra