Kia Rio
 (3.5/5)
expert rating
 (4/5)
owner rating
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Kia Rio UB (2013-Present) Owner Review

Share your experiences with the Kia Rio - Write an owner review

Do you own the Kia Rio? As the owner, you have literally sat in the driver's seat and discovered the ups and downs as you go about your everyday life.

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12 Owner Reviews
Date Reviewed
6 April 2017
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Vernon
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 8.0 km/litre (12.5 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,000 km/month
    I like to the look of the sedan. Bought new. Interior is very good, build quality is aesthetically very nice. Seats are comfortable and spacious. Drive handling is ok, at high speed cabin noise is apparent but not loud, so it is acceptable. Engine at high rev is pretty quiet too.
    Aircond is weak, you have rev the engine for aircond to start cooling in a hot day especially stuck in jam. Steering wheel is very light, almost too light for my liking. Pickup is very weak, very much underpowered. Drink fuel like water. Only managed 320km tops with full tank (43litre). I hear VW polo or Jetta can easilly double the mileage. A bit regret since the fuel consumption is very bad for this car. I expected it to go at least 400km on full tank. Have to extra careful when over taking on highway or merging into traffic at intersection since the pickup of sooooo bad!

    For someone who is never in a hurry on the road then this car is probably ideal. Once you start rev the engine, the fuel also goes with it. You can almost see fuel gauge needle drop everytime you rev the engine too much.
To Improve
Increase engine power! Very chiatlat the pickup. Increase fuel mileage efficiency for goodness sake.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
13 April 2015
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
D
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 12.5 km/litre (8.0 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,000 km/month
    - Good looking design with beautiful projector head lamps, DRL and LED combination tail light
    - top notch safety feature (6 airbags, DRL, ISOFIX, Stability Control, Traction Control etc etc)
    - nice handling, stable cornering (maybe due to the 215/45/R17 tyre)
    - feels stable crusing on highways on high speed
    - bunch of other feature like auto head lamp, auto wiper, keyless entry, push start/stop, electronic foldable side mirror, full size spare tyre, auto aircon)
    - underpower, acceleration is weak, over-taking is hard, need to shift down gear and floor a little to push the car going
    - fuel consumption for city drive is quite high (8-10L/100km) but highway is good (5-7L/100km)
    - rattling noice from door trim, dashboard and steering cover after half a year driving, after more than 1 year, knocking noise getting louder at dashboard
    - unknown sound from front suspension, knocking noise when go thru bumper
    - printed with RDS on head unit but the radio got no RDS function
To Improve
Should at least give 1.6 liter engine with this weight of machine. The car is too sluggish with 1.4 liter engine, struggling a lot when accelerating.

Later batch of car comes with RDS function, but Kia didn't bother to provide for older batch even after many attempts of asking and complaints, customer service is terrible, staff lack of general knowledge of car features. Wish if it's not facelift, if there is improvement, should make it available for all cars. Even the first batch of Rio is printed with RDS on the head unit panel but without the function, and later they add the feature back to the later batch of Rio.

Should put at least a layer of soft material in the door panel and dashboard to reduce the rattling and knocking noise. Need improvement in NVH.

I rather there is no sunroof and smaller tyre size/ smaller rim and replace with paddle shifter and cruise control.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
13 July 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
sudonano
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 11.0 km/litre (9.1 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,000 km/month
    One of the best looking compact hatches you could possibly buy. It makes the Germanic VW Polo look too sterile, or the overdone Fiesta look a bit funny. In fact, from a distance the untrained eye will never guess it is a Kia. Looks best in the higher SX grade, as it comes with the nicer rims.

    On the inside, the Rio oozes quality compared to the rivals, with a very stylish and well thought out interior. Everything is nicely in place and within easy reach. It is spacious actually, and very easy to get comfortable. The boot is surprisingly big for its size, and can easily fit everything a single/ small family needs.

    The warranty is nice to have as it has a good 5 year coverage, however Kia's dealer experience is a hit and miss affair. They are a bit slow and sometimes you could walk into a showroom only to find that there is no one there (at least in the sales side).

    The 1.4 is not a bad engine, relatively decent power and has enough torque to get the car to decent speeds easily. The transmission shifts very smoothly and you do have a manual override which is a nice touch. It's nice to see that the steering is nice and thick to hold, and the supervision cluster makes it easy to focus on the drive as everything is nice and clear to see. It is also quite a quiet car and with the light steering, it makes it easy to manoeuvre about in tight spaces.

    There is tremendous value in the Rio, as you get a climatronic system, 6 airbags with ESP, a pretty decent audio system with bluetooth and even cornering lights! All this for less than 80k makes it a pretty good deal.
    It was a bit sad that the EX variant got no fog lights, no keyless entry and decent rims, but again, considering the price, it doesn't seem too bad. You do get what you pay for.

    Steering is a big issue for me in the Rio. It is the lightest steering I think and is absolutely without any weight or feel. While light steering is good, it does not turn back fast enough, making me nearly miss the road shoulder the first time I drove the car, and pulled out of a junction. At speed, it doesn't weight up enough making it feel not so confident at speed.

    Handling is so-so compared to the competition. The ride is generally stable and smooth with road bumps all absorbed well. However, the comfort biased suspension makes it feel a little bit rolly in the corners, however since this is not a Fiesta, I could give in to this one.

    Visibility is the worst issue especially considering I am not that tall. I had an issue in looking over the bonnet, as the dash like in more recent Kias seem to be too high up. This made it difficult to judge the position of the front, and the lack of front sensors to assist this made it worse. What was even worse was the rear hatch glass feels small and appears to be pointed up to the sky, and not flat against the boot door, which hampered rear visibility significantly. Probably the only car I felt could challenge the rear view of the Rio would be the Evoque. However I think taller people maybe won't have this issue, "joys" of being "fun sized" I guess.

    4 speed auto was a bit of an odd choice for Kia but then again, the only reason why Kia did not bring in the 6 speed was cause the 1.4 MPi is only paired with the 4 speed and the 1.6GDi would have come with the 6 speed version. It would be nice if Kia comes with the 1.6GDi soon as that would make the Rio an even more efficient cruiser than it already is. It would make it also an even more responsive car (the 1.4 is responsive, just that the 1.6 would be even better!)
To Improve
Probably improve the speed of the services at the dealership.
Also, bring in the 1.6GDi with 6 speed as it would place it up next to the Polo 1.6 and Fiesta 1.6.
Please retune the steering and suspension, such an exciting looking car needs an even more exciting drive.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
13 June 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Leonard
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 11.0 km/litre (9.1 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,000 km/month
    - Visually appealing. Eye catching exterior
    - Good agility and very responsive
    - Feature packed for its price and category. Its a good deal
    - Good interior sound proofing
    - Good fuel consumption in mixed driving
    - Stable ride and feel confident on fast cornering
    - Spacious rear seats. Good head and leg clearing
    - Breaking sound is a little loud
    - Fuel consumption is a little on the bad side for urban driving
    - Small rear window
To Improve
- More engine options
- To include the cruise controller to the steering as the car is cruise control ready
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
2 June 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
ck
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 13.9 km/litre (7.2 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 2,400 km/month
    eyes catching
    nice handling to take corner
    look small but feel like driving big car
    10yo younger feel
    smart ket is awesome!
    my fc as good as japs b seg car
    c pillar create too big blind spot, hb common problem, reverse camera can solve this
    lack of pick up power, after crusing nothing different
    17" tyre cosly but handsome look
    once used to with convenient of smartkey, surely feel unconvenient when uing keyed car
    unless other brand offer same specs & appearance, no way return other than kia for.next car
To Improve
hidden auto cruise function, why dont come with standard?
6speed
come with front sensor will be perfect, very difficult to estimate
naza plentong sc, not advice to go!!! at least 2hrs service even with appointment compare to other delears 1hr kaodim
aircond ventilated seat
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
2 June 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
ahmad
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 12.9 km/litre (7.8 L/100 km), RON97, Mileage: 3,000 km/month
    Eye catching design
    nice rims
    supportive seats
    nice tail light design
    a lot of useful functions
    practical
    quite robust ( can take a bit of offroad)
    easy to park and manoeuvre
    easily attract ladies
    underpowered
    sound insulation very bad
    closing door sound not to convincing
    so called "arkamys" sound system sucks
    not responsive steering
    drink fuel line nobody's business
    spare part like vw price
    service center like to tipu (kia in general)
To Improve
improve soundproofing
get you sc to be honest
dont blame us customer on doing things we did not and take our original parts without permission
reduce price ( kia maa)
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
27 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Arif
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 2 Years
Fuel Economy: 8.6 km/litre (11.6 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 650 km/month
    - Highly attractive design compared to other B segment cars
    - Car feels solid and well made
    - Plenty of useful and safety features at a very reasonable price
    - Smooth ride
    - Cabin space is quite spacious
    - Slightly loud cabin sound
    - Low profile tyres have a slight toll to ride comfort
    - A bit under powered
    - Fuel consumption is slightly high
    - Radio reception is quite weak
    - Loud braking sound
To Improve
- Better service centres' workmanship
- A better insulated cabin
- More power to the engine
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
30 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Evan
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 10.2 km/litre (9.8 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,300 km/month
    - "Featureful" vehicle come with (push start engine, Bluetooth phone pairing, auto headlight, static bending light, DRL, auto defogger, auto rain sensor...)
    - extraordinary looking compare among B segment in market. offer 17" Sport rim, aluminum pable, LED tail light(iron man face at first glance.LOL)
    - Sunroof
    - Akarmy’s tuned six-speaker sound system kill boring while driving
    - ESC, ABS, EBD, BAS, TCS, ISOFix Child seat, 6 air bags. how could you dont feel safe while driving this car
    - surprisingly rear seat have quite decent leg room, compare to some hatchback out there.
    - is really fun drive vehicle, quiet cabin
    -high Capability/Price ratio
    - Fuel consumption slightly higher then japan make and also perodua vehicle
    - under power(but you still able to control by torque converter)
    - expensive spare part
    - common comment for KimChiss = less resale value
    - long waiting list( i'm the lucky one who manage to get within a month)
To Improve
Naza Kia should improve stock arrangement for Kia Rio, and advertise it.
Offer a better discount package for potential customer
If Kia Rio could have multimedia touch screen display with navigation will take it up a notch
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
30 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
MING FAI
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 9.3 km/litre (10.8 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 2,000 km/month
    - Modern and sporty looks
    - Sunroof and cooling glove box
    - Excellent safety features (6 Airbags, ABS, Stability Control and etc.)
    - Adjustable armrest
    - Underpowered going up hills
    - Soundproofing needs to be strengthened
To Improve
- Improve on soundproofing
- Higher cc engines
- Rear blind spot
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
26 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Keith
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 9.9 km/litre (10.1 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 600 km/month
    -5 stars in Euro NCAP rating
    -Nice Looking among B segment cars with all the high tech and safety features.(DRL, 6 airbags, 4 rear parking sensors, ISOFIX seats, 60:40 folding seat, auto wipers, auto headlights, static bending lights and many more.)
    -Good handling and stable especially when cornering.
    -Sunroof top
    -Full features with reasonable price
    -Less comfort for passengers
    -Stiffness suspension and feel bumpy whn go thru uneven road
    -High fuel consumption compare with some B segment cars
    -Feeling under power when climbing hill
To Improve
-More car options to choose(different cc, choices of manual or automatic transmission)
-Stiffness problem
-Can be more comfortable
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
26 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Keith
1.4 EX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 8.0 km/litre (12.5 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 150 km/month
    Plethora of modern safety features
    Contemporary design cues give it a decent exterior
    Well laid out control buttons
    Clear and brightness adjustable instrumental cluster
    Pretty poor NVH where cabin noise intrusion is too much for me
    Radio fascia indicates RDS feature but in fact this feature is omitted and the RDS label is just a mere display
    Handling is a tad soft
    No reverse camera
To Improve
Naza Kia should do a recall to amend their mistake on affected early buyers who are cheated by Naza Kia's advertising materials and radio fascia into believing they bought the car with RDS feature. We will return as customer if Naza Kia does honest business.
Yes, I would recommend this car
Date Reviewed
22 May 2014
Performance
Ride & Handling
Comfort
Safety
Space
Value
Joshua
1.4 SX (2014)
Bought new, Owned for 1 Year
Fuel Economy: 9.5 km/litre (10.5 L/100 km), RON95, Mileage: 1,200 km/month
    - Cool looks (day time LED lights, rear LED lights, nice 17 inches RIM)
    - Sun Roof
    - Awesome safety features (6 airbags/ESP) even when you compare to many cars with price 100K and above
    - Great sound system with Bluetooth and phone calling function.
    - Very spacious for a car with this size
    - Ride is quite comfy and stable
    - Feeling under power especially go uphill
    - Handling is not that good
    - Blind spots on rear (hard to see cars when you reversing out from parking space)
To Improve
- Better handling
- Offer better engine choices
Yes, I would recommend this car

Kia Rio's Competitors

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from RM 85,900.00

Toyota Yaris

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