Mighty Mite

2013 Kia Rio5 SX Manual Review

Let’s be honest. Tiny subcompact cars are usually horrible. Seating is cramped. The handling is vague, at best. Interior materials are cheap and ugly. In general, having to drive one on a daily basis, for any reason other than saving money on gasoline, is a suicide-inducing experience. They’re intended to be cheap and economical, and, usually, cheapness and economy is all they deliver. In most cases, driving an economy car is worse than being stabbed.

Happily, it doesn’t have to be this way. The proof of this assertion can be found in the form of the Kia Rio5 SX Manual. The upper level SX-trim Rio5 is the most expensive of the Rio models, though “expensive” is a relative term, as you can get one for around $21,000. For that money, you get an amazing amount of value—and a 6-speed manual transmission, if you want it.

How it looks

From the outside, the Rio5 is a nice-looking little hatchback. There are some fake vents on the front that detract from the looks a bit, but overall, it’s an attractive car. There’s a limit to how much attractive styling you can slap on a hatchback, of course. The body type is pretty limiting from a design point of view. But the Rio does a good job of working with those limitations. The headlights are attractive, and the mirror-mounted running/signal lights are a nice touch.

It’s the interior that is the really nice bit of the Rio5's design, though.

You can’t get leather seats inside if you go for the manual transmission. That makes me sad. But there’s literally nothing else inside that does. It’s comfortable, and surprisingly roomy. The back seats will hold two full-sized adults comfortably. Yes, comfortably.

Kia has minimized the use of ugly, hard plastic surfaces by rubber-coating the dash, which is a nice touch. They also coated the steering wheel with leather, made it tilt and telescope, then festooned it with buttons to control pretty much everything in the car with your thumbs.

The windows and door locks are electrically controlled, and the rear-view mirrors can be collapsed against the side of the car with a switch on the driver’s armrest console. It even has keyless start and entry.

But the really outstanding thing about the Rio5 is that it contains every conceivable bit of technology you could want. Bluetooth, voice control, sat-nav, cruise control, Sirius satellite radio, iPod Connectivity…it’s all there. If you have a USB thumb drive chock full of MP3s, just plug it in and the entertainment system treats like a big music hard drive. You can even stream your music wirelessly from your phone or iPod.

Kia has also done the seemingly impossible in creating a touch-screen system that you can operate without diving into a confusing multitude of menus and sub-menus. It’s simple, and it works. The sat-nav doesn’t update automatically, but manual updates are free.

Really, in terms of technology and convenience features, there’s literally nothing in a Cadillac or BMW that you won’t find in the Rio5. That makes the inside of the Rio5 quite a nice place to be.

How it drives

The Rio5's naturally-aspirated 1.6l 4-banger puts out 138 HP and 123 torques. Despite being a relatively light 2,530 lbs, those power numbers aren’t a recipe for blazing-fast speed, but the Rio5 can do 0-60 in a bit more than 8 seconds and will do a 16.6 second quarter mile at 83 MPH. That may not be lightning fast, but it’s still pretty respectable for an economy car. On the other hand, the lack of sports-car performance results in gas mileage of 30 MPG city/40 MPG highway.

Performance aside, the Rio5 handles and steers very well. The suspension is set up with MacPherson struts up front, a coupled torsion beam axle in back, and gas shocks all ‘round. It’s stiff enough to minimize body roll when you pick up the pace in the corners, but still give you a nice compliant ride. The steering is an electronically controlled electrical powered steering system, with progressive resistance at higher speeds. It responds quickly and sharply to driver inputs. Overall, it has a sporty and responsive feel that makes it fun to drive. Like the technology-filled interior, the handling and steering are surprisingly good.

It is, of course, a front-wheel drive car, but the power is so moderate that torque steer isn’t really noticeable. Despite the moderate power, the traction control can be intrusive when you really press the issue. With the power available, I’m not sure why you’d feel it necessary to even have the traction control hovering protectively over you, so I’d simply turn it off. In the Rio5, doing so wouldn’t be potentially suicidal like it would be in, say, a Ford Focus ST.

The 6-speed manual transmission is also quite nice. There’s a rather numb clutch feel, but despite that, the friction point is easy to find. The shifter has a fairly short throw and shifts are positive. The nice thing about the manual is that you can keep the revs high to wring out every ounce of horsepower from the engine—though fuel efficiency will suffer if you do this, of course. Overall, it’s about an easy a manual transmission to use as you could find. It also has a lever built into the underside that you pull to release a lock to shift into reverse. This prevents you from accidentally shifting into reverse, and making the engine leap out of the hood in a rather ugly mess. The Rio5 is noticeably quicker with the manual transmission than it is with the automatic tranny.

Kia hasn’t scrimped on noise protection at all, so even at highway speeds, the Rio5 doesn’t fill the cabin with annoying road and wind noise. It’s very quiet inside.

What’s good about it

It has all the luxury-level technology you could want, and the handling of a sports car. It’s quiet and comfortable. The passenger space is roomy enough for four adults, with no shortage of leg or head room. If you want comfort and convenience over performance, then the Rio5 delivers that in spades.

What’s bad about it

There’s an odd drop in the powerband when you shift into second gear. The headliner is a bit cheap. With the rear seats up, the trunk/cargo area is pretty small. The traction control is too intrusive for a car with such moderate power. But, really, I’m just reaching for things to criticize, now.

Conclusion

The Rio5 SX Manual is about as good an economy-biased hatchback as you’re likely to find. It is surprisingly agile and sporty, it’s attractive, and it’s packed with convenience features you don’t expect in a car of this class, at this price. It’s exceptionally good value for the money. Frankly, it’s better than being stabbed in almost every way.