Distance: 97km
Location: Toronto
Date: 24-25 March, 2023
Up front: It’s the butt basic model, but the manually-adjusted seat ratchets have come a long way from the 2000s and so has the base audio system. I appreciate the analogue handbrake lever and set back centre console that suits the torso length of average drivers. However, the steering wheel is missing three inches of telescopic adjustment so I can either have my hands comfortably on the steering wheel with knees bumping the dashboard or legs comfortably placed and stretched shoulders reaching to hold the wheel.
At a take-home price of over $22,000, it’s steep for an entry-level car. What’s stopping me from buying an equivalent Toyota Corolla hatch for $26,000—a price that includes known reliability on a legacy nameplate, dealers and service departments that aren’t infamously difficult to deal with, an engine that doesn’t burst into flames on the news, a security system that isn’t easily hacked with a USB stick, trendier styling, and nearly 40% more horsepower? If you buy used, Corolla hatches aren’t significantly costlier than the Rio5.
In the back: Treat this like the third row of a minivan. While legroom is passable for shorter trips, the seats lack both back and thigh support and the middle seat is basically nonexistent. The only upside is the low floor hump, which makes space for foot room. The doors open nice and wide for getting in and out of, but while a wide door opening also makes for easy child seat installation, a read facing child seat will only fit behind a short passenger.
The seats can be folded down to expand cargo space. However, the seats don’t fold down exactly flat so both the hatch hole and the interior space is shaped like a trapezoid. The high load lip doesn’t help make the opening any more useful. It’s clearly not meant as a family car.
Driving: It’s peppy until 50 and reluctant above 80. Perfectly fine for putting around town with the responsive steering, low ground clearance, and short wheelbase, but I’d avoid driving it on a road with a triple-digit speed limit. It’s perfect for learning to drive, as a second car in the household for short trips, or as a winter beater. It’s the kind of car you can use and abuse without worrying too much. Turn too hard and the tires squeal with delight, accelerate hard in sport mode and you’ll feel like you’re going back to the future without breaking the speed limit, and shift down too quickly and it’ll slow you quicker than your brakes. It’s a rewarding car to drive.
The whiny CVT with an excessive eight artificial gear steps takes the fun out of slamming on the accelerator, but everything else makes up for that. If Kia could pull off a five-speed auto that doesn’t torque steer or burn rubber on a green light, its naturally aspirated 2.5L in-line four cylinder would make the Rio5 a fiery hot hatch.
I like the car for the way it drives. I don’t need heated seats as standard, I don’t need a six-inch touchscreen, I don’t need power windows, I don’t need air conditioning, I don’t need a USB socket, I don’t need a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and I don’t need the few soft-touch plastics on the armrests. This should just be a fun drivetrain inside a box on four wheels. I reckon it could go for $15,000 without the frills–that’s a price I’d happily consider.
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