2003 Kia Rio Base review from North America

Thus far, nothing, although the clutch is a little sticky.

When I sold my 1988 Toyota Camry and bought a Kia Rio, I was a little concerned because I'd heard wildly varying opinions about Rios... people either loved them or hated them. After reaching the 2,500-mile mark, I decided to toss in my two cents' worth here.

I'm VERY happy with my Rio so far. It gets me a consistent 32-33 miles per gallon, handles corners tightly, and can it ever get out and go on the open road. I decided one afternoon to see how fast I could get it going (after the break-in period), and had it up to 112 miles per hour before backing off heading into a corner. That's cooking along in my league!

Comfort-wise, it's quite adequate. A lot more leg room up front than I'd expected, although it can get a little tight for those in the back seat. It's unfortunate that the front passenger's sweat doesn't have the same amenities as the driver's seat, but so be it. Cruise control would've been excellent.

The only thing I've felt compelled to buy was a stereo, since base models come without one. I got a cheapo $45 in-dash AM/FM/cassette deck for the time being, and was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the four stock speakers. I may get a spoiler, but that's strictly cosmetic... the car looks just fine without one.

All things considered, I think I got a great deal for $6,995. I expected a huge drop off from my Camry (a good car, but with 225K miles on the odometer it was time for a change), but any differences between the two cars have been fairly negligible. Two thumbs up!