2003 Kia Rio Cinco review from North America

Nothing has gone wrong.

I drive over twenty five thousand miles per year so purchasing a high-end car every four years is just not feasible.

I purchased my 2003 KIA Rio Cinco Just under 3 years ago. I bought it because it was cheap and I expected to get a cheap and moderately crummy car. Instead I got a car which (for what it is) really could not be better.

The car rides better and quieter than my wife Saturn which cost twice as much. The wipers are almost silent where hers are noisy. The car feels solid and rides well.

The car handles well in traffic and with the manual transmission accelerates well too. I have even used it to tow my Jetski fully loaded with the family and gear over mountain passes and it did just fine.

The car has all kinds of nice features like lots of cup holders, nice map lights, a little flip down thing for your sunglasses, the stereo is nice and the seats are comfortable as well.

I have over sixty thousand miles on the car and I have not had one problem with it. Nothing has gone wrong. It has given me one hundred percent reliability. I use the car hard to haul people and gear and I only do the minimal maintenance required. The car has been absolutely trouble free and I get an honest thirty-five miles per gallon as well.

The cargo capacity and utility of the station wagon is very good and I have been able to haul many things with the car that would not have fit in the coupe at all... Though they hit you for a ton of money to get the wagon over the coupe it really was worth it.

Everything is easy to get to and the car is easy to work on and maintain. Even under the car there is quality. Such as the use of push button connectors to hold the fuel filter on instead of clips that break, a nice all aluminum oil pan and the fact that the filter is above the drain plug so you do not need two pans.

My only complaint about the car itself is the terrible decision to use a timing belt on an interference engine (that is the type of engine that self destructs when the timing is out of synch). Saturn uses a chain and there is no reason to use a belt.

I can only believe they chose to go with a belt over a chain because. 1. The dealers make a ton of money milking people for very expensive belt replacements and 2. If you let it go and the engine blows... even better you get to buy a new engine because you let yours get out of warranty.

As to whether I would buy another one. I am not sure. The car is fine, but the dealer network is terrible. They use ultra high pressure do anything to get you to sign the papers sleazy sales techniques and they are known for being very poor on warranty claims.

All cars these days are pretty well made. So the dealer has a lot to do with it and it seems at KIA money comes first and the customer is just a means to get it.

My wife bought a Saturn. Good car for the price, timing chain, spin on transmission filter, good reliability. But most of all the Saturn dealer treats my wife like she is made of gold and they have never tried to cheat her. I trust the Saturn dealer and having been a dealership service manager for 12 years I can tell when someone is good or not so good.

If KIA can clean up their dealer network, stand behind their warranties, stop high pressuring people to get them in the car then acting like they do not exist if they have a problem... I would say... that the KIA is probably one of the best values for the money on the road today and even though the dealer network leaves a lot to be desired... the car is so good... I may buy another one... but I would have to seriously think about it first.

Though I can work on my own car and rebuild the engine in a weekend if I have to... if you have to rely on others to work on your car for you... I would get a car from a dealer who will take care of you. Like Saturn.

These are just my opinions.