2003 Kia Rio RXV review from North America

To date, the only problems I had with this have been minor new car glitches.

My left turn signal and passenger side door latch were a little sticky at first, but not anything that a little spray of WD40 wouldn't fix.

My first Kia was a 2001 Rio RS that I purchased in the 2000 season. I didn't plan to, but I ended up racking over 100,000kms on it within 2 years. I unfortunately didn't have great luck with the car (but it was largely due to the dealership that I purchased it from). Once I identified this problem, I switched dealerships and it was smooth sailing from that point forward. However, because it was the first production year of the vehicle, there were a few little details I would've that couldn't have been thought out better.

I purchased a my new Rio RX-V Convenience about 1.5 months ago now and I absolutely love it! It looks great (I got the Rally Blue colour), it handles better (larger rims and the slightly more powerful engine is noticeable), but the most important difference for me was that everything I didn't like about my first Rio was changed in my new one. It was like the engineers/designers listened to feedback to produce a truly well thoughout vehicle - for a great price!

First off, the additional space of the wagon was greatly appreciated for packing gear (I wished the 60/40 rear folding seats lay flat when folded, but that's a little thing).

I like the little details like usable cup holders (in the doors too!), heated side-view mirrors, sunglasses storage compartment, fog-lamps and my favorite - adjustable lumbar support. I found this feature after 3 weeks of driving. Small things... but things you would expect with a vehicle in this class.