2006 Kia Rio

The small, front-wheel-drive Kia Rio has helped change some old thinking about "cheap wheels." While decent, it's lacked the refinement of most rivals. It mainly has made a name for itself since its arrival as an $8,895 sedan in late 2000 because it's been the lowest-cost car sold in this country for most of its life.

The Rio also has been backed by a long warranty from Kia's parent company, South Korea's Hyundai. Many buyers have figured that the Rio had to be at least fairly good if it had a 5-year/50,000-mile basic warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

The same long warranty has helped draw people to Hyundai-badged models, and Hyundai correctly predicted that the warranty would attract Rio buyers. Of course, the warranty would have meant nothing if Hyundais and Kias fell apart, but that hasn't been the case.

Major Improvements
The redesigned new Rio, which continues with the alluring warranty, remains among the lowest-priced autos. But it's built on a new platform and has slicker styling, more power, additional room and added safety features.

The new Rio couldn't have arrived at a better time for Kia because high gasoline prices have made small cars more popular this year. Kia expects that the small car market will grow by about 30 percent over the next two years—or probably more if gas prices become higher.

Horsepower of the Rio's small-but-sophisticated 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine is up from 104 to 110. The fastest acceleration is with the standard 5-speed manual gearbox because the engine is small, although the manual shifter has an imprecise action. Acceleration is average at highway speeds with either the manual or $850 4-speed automatic transmission, and engine revs are high above 65 mph even with the manual in overdrive fifth gear.

But Kia says the Rio's fuel economy is up 20 percent despite the additional horsepower.

Good Fuel Economy
Both sedan and hatchback Rio versions, which weigh 2,365 to 2,487 pounds provide an estimated 32 mpg in the city and 35 on highways with the manual gearbox and 29 and 38 with the automatic transmission. Only regular-grade fuel is required.

The moderately handsome Rio is sold as a sedan with a conventional trunk in the $10,570 base and $12,445 LX trim levels—and as the sportier $13,500 Rio5 hatchback in SX guise.

Both Rio versions have increased width and height to provide roomier interiors, which comfortably accommodate four tall adults.

Longer Sedan
The sedan and hatchback both ride on a 98.4-inch wheelbase, but the hatchback is 158.1 inches long, whereas the sedan is 166.9 inches long.

Newly standard are front-seat side airbags and full-length head-protecting side-curtain airbags. The wheelbase is longer to help provide a smoother ride, and there's a wider track for better handling and a more purposeful-looking stance.

Quieter Interior
The interior is quieter and has easily read gauges and a refreshingly simple dashboard layout. As might be expected, there's lots of interior plastic, but cockpit materials look pretty good for a low-priced economy car.

Front seats offer only marginal side support in curves, but climate controls are large and audio system controls are mounted high for convenient use.

Stripped Base Sedan
Anti-lock brakes are optional for the LX sedan and Rio5, but not for the base sedan. In fact, the base sedan is strictly an entry-level model. It isn't offered with air conditioning, power steering, an audio system, a tilt steering wheel, split-folding rear seatbacks and power windows and door locks with remote keyless entry.

A $600 Power package with power windows, door locks with remote keyless entry, power heated mirrors and tweeter speakers is offered for the LX sedan and Rio5 SX.

The LX sedan has standard air conditioning, an AM/FM/CD audio system, power steering with a tilt wheel and a 60/40 split-folding rear seat.

The Rio5 hatchback has all the LX features and adds 15-inch alloy wheels with wider tires for slightly better handling, fog lights, a rear spoiler, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, metal-grain interior trim and metal pedals.

Roomier Hatchback
Those who want the most cargo room should opt for the hatchback. It has 15.8 cubic feet of cargo space, compared with 11.9 cubic feet for the sedan. However, the sedan's nicely shaped trunk has been enlarged and is roomy for the car's size.

The hatchback provides 49.6 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks folded forward, while Kia says the sedan's cargo area totals about 24 cubic feet with its rear seatbacks folded forward.

Average Roadability
No Rio should be bought for driving fun. The Rio sedan has average steering and handling, partly because it has only narrow 14-inch wheels. The hatchback handles a little better with its larger wheels and slightly wider tires.

However, all versions have a comfortable ride for a small car. And the brake pedal has a linear action for smooth stops, although stopping distances are average.

The new Rio sedan and hatchback are expected to appeal to younger and slightly more affluent buyers, evenly split between men and women. They're still mainly for those on limited car budgets, but don't look or drive like economic hardships.