Looking for a car for SWMBO and the Rio Zapp package at £7800 for a brand new car with 3 years warranty etc looks very competitive against other makes. For fiesta second hand prices we can buy a brand new car.
Looking at reviews they all seem fairly positive about the new Rio.
I will test drive one this weekend and would welcome comments and the sort of discount I should aim for.
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Hello stevek
My wife bought a nearly new Rio GS petrol in February for £7500 with 3,500 miles on the clock. So the current offer price is very keen. You will find no discount will be available (the same applies across the whole Kia range) as all cars are priced to sell. Even with buying secondhand all I could negotiate was a set of free mats.
As to the car, my wife is highly delighted with it. It ticked all the right boxes for her requirements which included power steering and air conditioning. Originally we went to look at the Picanto, but the boot was too small.
The Rio is certainly nippy enough and has no bad habits on the road. My only complaint is the seats are farly firm with little lateral support. Other than this you will find it a very good car at a very keen price. The only extra I have recently added has been some reversing sensors to help parking in tight places like my wife's work car park.
My expectation is that depreciation will be minimal. The Picanto has the lowest depreciation rate of all cars in this general size. Or put in other words it is popular with secondhand buyers, and I expect the Rio to be very similar as it is an even better car.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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The new model looks quite chic
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We're also looking at similar cars.
The Renualt Clio II Campus (sport) is currently the fav, and is available for around 7K.
My wife didn't like the Rio - or the new swift (surprise).
Peugeot also have run-out deals on the 206.
Some Mitsubishi dealers have good deals on the colt - but she hates red.
Overall the Rio looked a good deal - but better than the Getz ?
Are you specifically looking for a 5 door ?
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Having driven the Rio and Getz back to back, the Rio is far more refined and entertaining - there really is no comparison even if they do have common components. It really feels like a car both a size larger and a generation newer.
As for discounts: a few hundred quid if you're lucky. With no p/x, you can maybe get £250 here: www.kiacarsales.co.uk/Rio_home_1.htm
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£7,995 for the most basic version? That's quite expensive. What redeeming features does it have to convince buyer to pick basic 1.4 petrol Rio over £500 cheaper Almera 1.5 or over identically priced Citroen C3 1.4HDi?
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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I helped a relative choose a small car at the start of this year.
We looked at the Rio and thought it a very good package. After driving it I was slightly put off by the handling (pretty good, but could be better) and mostly by the gearshift, which has a long lever and is a bit vague feeling. Since the car was mostly to be used in town this was a major flaw.
The two strongest contenders were the Micra and the Swift. She eventually chose the Swift, which I also thought was the best. She bought a 1.5 in the end (for the extra power and safety kit), but I think a 1.3GL 5-door can be had for about £7600 after discount. A 1.5GLX can be got for about £8.5k.
Be aware (if keeping the car beyond 3 years) that Kia replacement parts can be very expensive - although hopefully you wouldn't need many!
We also tried a Getz and rated the Rio above the Getz.
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You can get a new Colt with aircon and in a colour other than red for under 7k, the garage where I just bought mine have some.
The Kia Rio I recently had a sit in seemed very out of date, poor quality plastics, worse than a Getz. How about a Daihatsu Sirion ?
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Carl, are you sure it was a new shape Rio, and not the old weird semi-estate thingy?
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Carl, are you sure it was a new shape Rio, and not the old weird semi-estate thingy?
Yes, it was the new one. Cheap plastic inserts on the steering wheel, naff synthetic leather on the gear stick, it an ok car but they need to improve some elements of it.
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My father has had a diesel since the new model was launched last Autumn. Loves it to bits and nothing has gone wrong.
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Thank you for all your comments.
Any ideas about reliability? Aprila said about the cost of spares-are they more expensive than for example Toyota?
The engine is DoHC. Does anyone know it is is belt or chain?
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OE parts are up there at Toyota prices, if not a little more. There are less aftermarket parts for Kia than for Toyota, so you are more likely to be stuck with the dealer.
AFAIK Kias use belts to drive the cams.
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Are not Kia and Hyudai the same firm.
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My father has had a diesel since the new model was launched last Autumn. Loves it to bits and nothing has gone wrong.
I thought the new model was only just appeared in the showrooms it has in Germany and they are normally in front of the UK.
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I thought the new model was only just appeared in the showrooms it has in Germany and they are normally in front of the UK.
I have seen a few around from the start of this year.
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Launched in the UK in October as far as I remember. Kia priced the diesel and petrol at the same levels - think Dad gave just shy of 9k for his - but changed this from January.
HJ Road Test 24.09.2005, see www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=189
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