Kia Rio Series II 2015 Review

In the boiling turmoil that is officially called the light car market, buyer preference is predominantly shaped by price rather than badge loyalty.

Hot drive-away deals, heaps of gear and cute/execrable advertising jingles produce sales spikes for mini cars that are massive.

When it comes to the Rio, Kia is no different. For the midlife update of the UB-series Rio first launched in 2011, the Korean brand is promoting a bit of a boost in equipment, some fiddles to the exterior and interior look and a bit of a model line-up rejig.

motoring.com.au has covered off these changes already, but we'll reprise quickly.

The S and Si models continue on, with the S Premium now wedged in between. Moving further up the SLS is replaced by the Sport while the SLi carries on. The sedan bodyshape has also been dropped, leaving the three and five-door hatches and the choice 79kW/135Nm 1.4- and 103kW/167Nm direct injection 1.6-litre four-cylinder engines powering the front wheels.

The version we are testing is the Si, which is five-door only and now only available as a six-speed auto. This means its manufacturer list price starts at $21,490 rather than the $19,490 of the now defunct manual model. That sounds expensive, but the 1.6 is a big engine for the class with a higher power output than almost all its rivals – although torque is a different issue which we will get to shortly.

Apart from new design alloy wheels, a new front and rear bumper design, new grille pattern, new centre fascia and audio unit design and a touch of chrome around the air vents, there's nothing new about the Si's presentation – which isn't bad news because it's pretty good looking.

Comfort equipment continues to include manual air-conditioning, cruise control, cloth trim seating, all-round power windows, Bluetooth connectivity, aux and USB inputs and a trip computer.

Impressively, the Rio comes with a full-size spare tyre.

All Kias also come with a seven-year / unlimited kilometre warranty and capped price servicing (although that got some bad publicity recently).

The safety specification includes six airbags, five-star ANCAP crash protection rating, stability control, anti-lock brakes and lap-sash seatbelts and adjustable headrests for all passengers.

But there's another safety feature that hasn't got much air-time from Kia when it comes to the updated Rio, and that's the substantial work it has put into improving the car's ride, handling and steering.

Kia's been conducting local chassis tuning since 2009 and it's reached the point where no new car reaches the Australian market without some input from the local dynamics team.

This update to the Rio is no different. The emphasis here is always on making the ride more compliant while ensuring body control is maintained because our road surfaces are poor yet average speeds are quite high. This is achieved by softening springs and dampers and fattening anti-roll bars.

Electric-assist power steering is also re-tuned, in this case aided further by a doubling of the capacity of the steering gear motor's microprocessor from 16 to 32-bit. And it's no doubt the steering is the UB update's unheralded yet most worthy achievement.

It sorta sneaks up on you; there you are twirling through a set of tight corners and the realisation strikes that the weighting and the gearing are just right. Even the 195/55R16 Kumho tyres are doing their fair share delivering feel and a decent grip level.

There is still that EPS woodenness turnin from top dead centre as the system fires up, but it's now slight. And the steppiness the system used to have as the wheel was turned has disappeared. Confidence and certainty are the result and that's a really praiseworthy achievement.

The tuning of the MacPherson strut (front) and torsion beam (rear) suspension has also been successful. The Rio rides with that tension that works so well for the Volkswagen Polo, Mazda2 and Ford Fiesta. Yes, you are aware the road surface under your seat is choppy and crude, but the inputs are dealt with first time; there's no lolling about, or – at the other extreme – teeth shattering crash-through.

The Rio can get unsettled on jagged mid-corner bumps and really big holes, but the sense of control is far beyond Kias of just a few years ago.

So that's the best bit. Next, the drivetrain. As pointed out earlier, the 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated engine does outpower most of its rival – which are usually smaller capacity. But torque is a different matter. And in the real world we'd prefer pulling power over horsepower any day.

The Kia gets done on torque because so many of its rivals run tiny turbos that boost torque through the range. So while the Rio makes 167Nm at 4850rpm, the Polo is making 175Nm from 1400-4000rpm. It's all about flexibility not the peak number – that's what makes driving easier.

Kia has tried to compensate for that by tuning a quick relationship between the throttle and transmission, so it steps off the line promptly. But press the throttle hard and the engine takes a while to get wound up and going.

In isolation the 1.6 does a decent enough job – and the auto with it. Even the 7.6L/100km fuel consumption rate we achieved in our week with the Rio is acceptable enough (although way off the 6.1 claim). But there are better drivetrains out there doing a more efficient job.

There are also lighter cars out there too. The Rio is a bit of a porker at nearly 1300kg, remembering the Mazda2 is not that much more than 1000kg. And that car comes with a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated engine with less power and torque than the Rio yet feels stronger.

So Kia… either cut weight or upgrade the drivetrain or preferably do both.

Move beyond the mechanicals to the cabin and the Rio package is well known. It's a big enough car inside to fit four adults, while the boot will take a family's weekly shopping. Split-fold the rear seat and you will fit a mountain bike in there with the front wheel removed.

The driver has a reach and rake adjustable steering wheel, a decently-sized and fully-adjustable seat and an instrument panel dominated by a large central speedo.

The materials quality is decent considering the price, offering a combination of hard and soft plastics and a reasonable cloth quality. Controls in the centre stack are simple to use, although the red on black readouts will be hard for some people to read.

Storage options include a central lidded bin, front and rear cupholders in the doors, front door bins, a glovebox and rear storage nets. There is a net, a bin and three child-seat top tether hooks in the boot as well.

For a car of this price the amount of noise seeping into the cabin is noticeable but acceptable. More promising, is the lack of vibrations and rattles from behind the dashboard and the like, suggest this is a reasonably well screwed together car.

All that makes the Rio a more than competent and less than brilliant mini-car. It should be on your starter shopping list if you're looking in the upper reaches of the light car class – regardless of how cute the advertising jingle is... or isn't.