2018 Kia Rio: Like an Optima, only smaller
The Kia Rio no longer looks like a tiny jack-o’-lantern on wheels. Keeping up with the overall maturation of the Kia brand, the new fourth-generation Rio has further developed into what looks like a shrunken Optima, and its features have maintained pace as well. We got a glimpse of this new design when the Euro-spec hatchback made its debut last fall, and we were even able to drive one, but the U.S. launch includes never-before-seen updates to the sedan variant.
The previous-generation Rio didn’t have much depth to its front-end design, but that changes for 2018. Replacing the rounded, one-dimensional snout is a more sculpted and textured face. Pronounced bumper features that look like air inlets and a sportier hood give the Rio a more assertive and upright stance, while streamlined headlights and a thinner version of Kia’s tiger-nose grille make for a wider and more planted appearance.
A lowered window line provides an even path across an otherwise restrained body. The former crease sweeping from the front tires to the rear quarter-panel is gone now. The straight and easy-to-follow beltline gives off a faux stretched feel compared with the old model, especially on the sedan. The rears on both models look as if they’ve been doing squats, thanks to redesigns of the bumper, hatch, and taillights. While the old models looked soft and bubbly, the 2018 Rio appears more chiseled and
defined.
So the redesigned body gives off specific impressions, but how different is the car really? Well, Kia’s compact is just a teeny bit larger this time around. The 2018 sedan grows to 172.6 inches from 172.0, and the hatch is 160.0 inches long, up from 159.4. The shared wheelbase is extended to 101.6 from 101.2 inches.
CABIN COURTESY
The interior of the 2018 Rio is completely new. The door panels, dash, steering wheel, shift knob, and just about everything else has been rethought to provide what Kia intends as a more modern and upscale experience.
Kia reworked the door trim, used new material for the headliner, and altered the dash to create more space. Because of those changes and the slightly bigger profile, passenger volume, as claimed by Kia, improves from 88.4 cubic feet in both the sedan and hatchback to 89.9 cubic feet in the sedan and 90.5 cubic feet in the hatch. The sedan’s 14 cubic feet of trunk volume remains the same, while the hatchback sees a significant improvement from 15 to 17 cubic feet.
The outgoing generation failed to create any sort of continuity or sightline across the dashboard; the new model establishes a horizontal theme with an upscale-looking insert that stretches from door to door. At the center is a new floating tablet-style infotainment screen rather than one embedded into the dash. A 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and UVO3 voice recognition functionality is only available on the top-level Rio, however. A 5.0-inch display is standard on other models. Bluetooth connectivity and a backup camera are both standard.
Trim levels have also been slightly rearranged. The base model remains the LX, but a new S trim sits in the middle, and the EX is now the top trim. The previous top hatchback model, the SX, is no more.
SMALL CAR, SMALL POWER
The 2018 Rio keeps the same powerplant under the hood, the Gamma 1.6-liter direct-injected four-cylinder, but it has been retuned. It now makes 130 horsepower, down 8 from the previous model, and 119 lb-ft of torque, down 4 lb-ft. Kia said the changes were made to improve fuel economy (numbers have yet to be announced) and improve throttle response. The 1.6-liter four can be paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission in both sedan and hatch.
As with the engine, the front strut and rear torsion-beam suspension setup carries over to the new Rio, although its suspension geometry has been altered. Kia claims that this, along with revised spring and damper tuning, simultaneously improves both ride quality and handling. Although that should help to avoid accidents in the first place, Kia said it expects the Rio to achieve the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award as well as a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — neither of which the 2017 Rio achieved.