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FACT FILE
JUST the word is likely to conture up a stack of happy emotions. a new Kia Rio is now on sale and it’s such a game changer it actually deserves its name.
I’ve just had one for a week and I can’t believe how much I enjoyed it.
What’s good about it? Pretty much everything. Kia should have no problem meeting their target of selling 100,000 Rios a year in Europe, which sounds highly optimistic considering the current figure is 70,000.
Price
In fact, they should blast through six figures because the new Rio is brilliant.
For starters let’s consider the dowdy looks of previous Rios. Every one looked about as exciting as a washing machine. Talk about dreary, with its stone block looks, lack of space and jail cell kit (apart from the 2011 model) the Rio only had one thing going for it, which, of course, was its price. There was no other reason anyone would be tempted by PRICE (on the road): £16,295. Range: £11,995 - £17,445. 998cc, all alloy, 12-valve, three cylinder, DOHC, stop/start direct injection turbo (100hp, 171Nm/126lb torque). TOP SPEED: MPG: CO2: INS GROUP: one. Now you’ve got a car which really looks attractive. The front end is an ultra modern blend of style and class, with its piano black surfaces, projector headlights and swept back windscreen.
The smart hatchback layout sees enough leg room for three adults, never mind children, and a decent 2ft 3in boot which extends to just short of five feet with the back seats folded down. Nothing wrong there except that SATNAV is turning Brits into “zombie drivers”, shows a survey by black cab app firm mytaxi.
The company quizzed 2,000 people to find out that drivers waste 29 hours a year blindly following satnavs taking them the long way round or to the wrong destination.
Worryingly, half of those polled the seats don’t go completely flat. The front gets a decent mix of soft and hard-touch surfaces, black silver trimmed switches and a generous equipment list which includes satnav, cruise control and even (honest) a heated steering wheel.
Add to that 16-inch alloys along with, on all models, body coloured bumpers, door mirrors and handles and the new Rio is a great looking car.
Best bit, though, I’ve saved until last. Buyers can choose from two diesel and four petrol engines, but the smallest and cheapest, the three cylinder, 998cc turbo is a real surprise.
With 100hp and 171Nm (126lb) of torque its performance is astonishing.
It takes the unwary by surprise as it zooms off from the lights with surprising zest while, as a long-distance motorway muncher it’s more than up to the job of cruising happily at speeds Pc Gotcha wouldn’t approve of, while still returning 47mpg with total ease.
The handling may not be up there with the best but Rio buyers won’t care. It’s still good enough to provide excitement, but overall I’ll leave the last words to Duran Duran and the title of their 1982 hit.
That, of course, was called Rio Grande, which is exactly what the new Kia is. admitted they completely “switch off” once the satnav is leading the way and give little attention to road signs and landmarks.
A fifth of drivers confess they have lost the ability to navigate back home without satnav.
The study identified an average radius of 36 miles as the limit from people’s homes after which
Happy
they are unable to navigate without their auto-helper. And for 10% of those surveyed, this figure is just seven miles.
Mytaxi conclude: “Satnavs, once hailed as the high-tech saviour for directionless drivers the world over, have turned us into a nation of unthinking, unquestioning drivers.”