2009 Kia Rio SX review from North America

At some gas stations, not all, when I fill up the tank, the fuel will sometimes spray out of the hole when full.

When I first went to look at a Kia, I was not expecting much. I have always heard they are a piece of junk. Not any more, Kia has seriously improved their quality.

I need a car with great gas mileage that was actually affordable to me. The Kia Rio is that car. The automatic transmission actually gets better fuel efficiency than the manual transmission. The 4 speed with overdrive provides acceptable acceleration with good cruising gear for highway driving. At 75 MPH it turns 3000 RPM. Not bad for a 1.6L engine.

I do about 50% city and 50% highway driving, and have never got less than 32 MPG. My best observed MPG was 37 MPG on a road trip. The engine is equipped with CVVT (continuously variable valve timing) and 4 valves per cylinder making a decent 110 HP. You will not win any races, but for the weight of this car it's enough.

So far the auto transmission is super smooth during shifts. It does seem to shift to a higher gear sometimes too soon. When it does it just has to downshift again. It handles well in corners for its size. I had to make an hard right emergency lane change at 50 MPH and it held the road just fine.

The Rio does not have an option for cruise control. This almost made me not get the Rio. However I searched the Internet and found an aftermarket cruise control for the Rio that works great.

The interior also impressed me. Kia has worked on the detail of the stereo and gauges. The interior is still made with seemingly cheap plastic, but hey, it's an affordable sub-compact car, if you want a leather luxury interior go with a BMW.

For the small price difference I would recommend getting the SX trim package. It comes with the rear spoiler, aluminum gas pedals, silver lined trim, floor mats, 15 inch alloy wheels with wider tires, fog lights, and red stitched "sport" seats.

Finding a car for this price with Kia's 10 Year / 100,000 Mile warranty, and 6 standard airbags is almost impossible. So far I am 100% satisfied with my car and see, with regular maintenance, many worry free miles ahead.