The Kia Rio, the Economical Korean Sedan, Spotted in the Philippines

    The Kia Rio, hailing from the red-blue pearl of the Pacific rim, its no-nonsense looks, simplicity in build and design, and cheap price may give some buyers a few ideas. However, is the Rio really worth the price? Competing with its Japanese rivals such as the Toyota Vios and the Honda City, the way it fares in the market is a bit more complicated than that.


    With the second generation introduced in 2005, the Rio debuted with a platform shared with the Hyundai Accent, and a 1.4L engine. The little car had a bubbly exterior, which came with standard features such as airbags, ABS brakes, and a radio with an AUX jack and Bluetooth support. Previously priced between ₱680,000 and ₱730,000 for the manual and automatic variants respectively, the Rio was a cheap alternative, just like the Accent, when compared to its Japanese counterparts, even being cited as one of the least expensive vehicles to insure, back in 2009, and winning the award for being the "Lowest Cost Car to Run in the State Motoring Clubs" in Australia.


    The Rio featured here, was its post-facelift version, gaining Kia's then-new Tiger nose design on its grille, and having its plastic mouldings around its body removed. The one here however, was its top-of-the-line variant, evident from its gold "Limited" badge, which came in equipped with rear parking sensors and a back-up camera.


    Inside, the premium variant also came with a touchscreen infotainment system, rather than a simple CD/MP3 radio. It had a 4-speed automatic gearbox mated to its 4-cylinder engine, capable of producing up to 95 brake horsepower and 125 Nm of torque. This gave it a top speed of 173 km/h and an MPG between 20 and 25.


    Although the Rio had less strides in the market then, compared to automotive giants such as Toyota and Honda, the Rio came in with more features compared to them, with a much more modern and fresher design compared to the Vios, and loads of more gadgets such as its parking camera and its infotainment system, unlike the City. Its go-kart like handling is also one thing to take note of, making it very enjoyable to drive.


    However, the Rio, being cheaper and all, brings in some drawbacks, its poor to average ratings in crash tests may bring in some worries, and its lack of electronic power steering, being substituted with a hydraulic power steering system instead brings in some issues in the long run. When pitted against each other, the Vios and the City wins in reliability standards rather than the Rio.


    Nowadays, the small Kia can be quite an uncommon car to see today, with many of its sighted remaining survivors being driven as taxicabs. Although it may be cheaper and less reliable, it is still a good and fun car to drive daily for years to come.

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