KiaRio

2023 Kia Rio Review

　　Mark Takahashi has worked in the automotive industry since 2001. He has written thousands of car-related articles and tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Mark has also contributed to Motor Trend, Auto Aficionado, Chevy High Performance and several motorcycle magazines in various roles. Mark is also a juror on the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards and can be seen regularly on the zzdcar YouTube channel and sometimes representing the company in media interviews.

　　One of the smartest decisions you could make when buying a car is to get the smallest vehicle that meets your needs. Subcompact sedans and hatchbacks are some of the smallest you could get today, but they're often overlooked by shoppers who have their hearts seemingly stuck on SUVs. That's too bad because these small cars offer more versatility than you might expect, along with better fuel economy and a smaller footprint that's easier to maneuver.

　　This current-generation Rio debuted for the 2018 model year and has had only nominal changes since then save for a slight restyling for 2021. Because of that increased interest in crossovers and SUVs, many automakers are slowly eliminating extra-small cars. In fact, the Rio's corporate sibling, the Hyundai Accent, was discontinued for the 2023 model year.

　　Kia hasn't officially said what it's going to do for 2023, so for now we'll assume the Rio is going to hang around for one more year. We hope so because the Rio is a solid pick for an affordable set of wheels.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Below Average

　　7.1

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

Performance

　　How does the Rio drive? The Rio is underpowered and underwhelming on the road. The 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine makes just 120 horsepower, and while that's typically enough for city streets, you have to use every single one to get up to speed on the highway. Lane changes and overtakes require more caution than anything else, and gaps that would be easy to exploit in most cars require more thought to slot into thanks to the Rio's prevailing lack of punch. The one saving grace has to be its continuously variable automatic transmission, which is smooth and does a commendable job of exploiting what power the Rio has.

　　Because of the Rio's soft suspension tune and near gripless all-season tires, it's not all that enjoyable to zoom around city streets. The steering is far too eager to recenter itself and has an elastic feel to it. The Rio is a car that's happiest at half speed, and for its target audience, that's likely more than enough.

Comfort

　　How comfortable is the Rio? The Rio's price of entry might be low, but that doesn't mean you're getting something that isn't sophisticated enough to deal with the ruts, lumps and bumps of day-to-day driving. A squishy suspension tune and tall tire sidewalls mean that the Rio rides surprisingly well. It isn't perfect, but the ride is better than you might expect.

　　Unfortunately, we can't stop there. The soft ride is a plus, but wind noise is almost always audible inside the cabin, and even if the suspension is set up for comfort, you do get shocks through the seat while going over bigger bumps. The seat itself is conventionally shaped, but it offers neither above-average support nor comfort. Also the absence of any armrest padding just feels inconsiderate.

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