2010 Kia Rio – There are Better Subcompacts than This

First Look

There might be nothing exceptional (in terms of looks) about the all new 2010 Kia Rio, but the numbers that the car promises are tempting enough to lure any potential buyer in the market towards the new 2010 Kia Rio. The all Kia Rio basically is a car targeting the budget buyers in the market and hence staring from $12, 000, the 2010 Kia Rio promises a fuel efficiency of 36 mpg (on highways) and a tempting powerterrain warranty of 10 years or say 100,000 miles.

Clearly the numbers mentioned above are enticing enough and can drive any potential subcompact buyer towards the 2010 Kia Rio. Despite targeting the mid-section of the market, the Rio lacks a lot of features that now a days are “must haves” for the cars, Some of the features that we found missing were the power windows/locks, keyless entry and air-conditioning. So if the aforementioned numbers are tempting enough for you then go for the 2010 Kia Rio, or look for some other highly recommended subcompacts in the market.

What’s New for 2010 Kia Rio ?

There isn’t much to cheer about the 2010 Kia Rio and the car really gets very few styling pinches. Depending upon the trim level that you have selected, you can get a new grille, full body-color bumpers, and black bezel headlamps, external mirrors with included turn signals, a rear spoiler and fog lamps.

For the modern buyers the noticeable new features here in 2010 Kia Rio are Bluetooth and cruise control. All these aforementioned features improve the appeal for the car but don’t make it an outstanding vehicle.

Body Styling and Features

The 2010 Kia Rio sub-compact is available in two body styles: a four-door hatchback named the Rio5 and a four-door sedan. Both the body styles are available in different trim levels and the Rio Sedan is available in three trim levels: an inexpensive base model, the slightly better outfitted LX and the active SX. While the Rio5 wagon comes in two trim levels of LX and SX.

The basic equipments for both the body styles remains almost same and for the base models of sedan the feature set includes power mirrors, 14-inch steel wheels, cloth upholstery, a rear defroster and for the music fans there is a CD/MP3 stereo paired with four speakers and satellite radio.

The LX trim level doesn’t exactly is loaded with features but apart from the abovementioned features it comes with air-conditioning, power steering, a tilt steering wheel, 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks, auxiliary/USB audio input jacks and Bluetooth. The range topping sporty SX sedan gets 16-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, fog lights, a leather-enfolded steering wheel, improved cloth upholstery and metallic interior trim. Apart from these you can also get some additional luxurious features as you want.

Under The Hood

Being a subcompact the 2010 Kia Rio doesn’t have much to offer in terms of power. Both the 2010 Kia Rio and Rio5 are powered by a 1.6 liter inline four-cylinder engine which is capable of churning maximum power of 110 horsepower and maximum torque of 107 pound-feet. Clearly the 2010 Kia Rio doesn’t have much for the power loving buyers like us and to make it even clear the car sprints from 0 to 60 mph in pokey 11.5 seconds. But if you are looking for a family sedan or hatchback then there is something in here for you and that’s the fuel economy. Offering fuel economy of 31 mpg combined the 2010 Kia Rio clearly is a car made for budget buyers.

The safety for the passengers in Rio is ensured by the full-length side curtain airbags and side-impact airbags. The Antilock brakes are also standard on Rio SX and LX model, but no stability control is offered here.

Verdict

The only good thing about 2010 Kia Rio according to us is its price, and for anything else we will say there are better subcompacts available in market.

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