I've recently changed from a 2010 Ford Fiesta ZS 1.6 TDCI which I bought from new. Compared to the Fiesta the Rio is in a completely different league in terms of build quality and every day comfort.

The interior of the Fiesta always felt a bit cheap and on the flimsy side, it rattled and creaked from day one and the dealer could never fix it. Where as the Rio is very solid, has a lot more softer plastics and even the harder plastics feel better and less fragile.

I also prefer the interior design of the Rio, sleeker than the tacky Fiesta centre console. The Fiesta always felt like a bare bones car, it had a radio and that was pretty much it. Where as the Rio has bluetooth, an armrest, huge glove box (illuminated & chilled glove box) and a special area which fits an iPhone 4s perfectly.

The exterior might not be as sleek or sporty as the Fiesta ZS but it's still a very good looking car and something I'm not embarrassed to drive around in.

The Rio is very comfortable for long journeys, with supportive seats and good ride quality. The ZS understandably had a stiffer ride, which was fantastic for handling but would leave you exhausted after a long journey. Whereas I look forward to every drive in the Rio as it's pleasure to drive or to be a passenger.

I moved to an auto as my wife is now sharing the car with me and she really doesn't get along with manuals. The transmission is super smooth and very easy to use. The engine is quiet in low revs, but begins to scream a little when trying to accelerate quickly. It does like a bit of torque in the top gears, so you will need to use the kickdown when overtaking over climbing a hill. But you quickly get used to it. There's plenty of power to get around comfortably, but it would be nice if Kia offered over versions of the auto especially a diesel version.

So far I've only covered 1500 miles in the 1 month I've had the car, so it's too early to say if the Rio will be reliable. But so far I've had no issues. Where as the Fiesta was back at the dealer within 1 week to get a few things fixed such as squeaking rear suspension and door trim falling off. Also, the Fiesta needed its timing/cambelt replacing after 15K miles as it was about to go! Which was quite shocking given how it should have lasted 100K.

I'm very pleased with the fuel economy; being an automatic I was expecting about 30-35 MPG. But I'm getting around 40MPG with a mix of town & motorway driving. Of course this doesn't compare to the 55MPG the Fiesta could achieve, but I expected less so I'm very happy with it.

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2 Ecodynamic 1.1 diesel

reviewed by KaCar on 14 April 2012