2018 Kia Rio Road Test and Review

2018 Kia Rio exterior front angle by Nicole Wakelin ・ Photo by Nicole Wakelin

The Kia Rio is all-new for 2018 with a fresh look, affordable pricing, and a fuel-efficient engine. It’s an appealing car with very European styling that keeps it from being another ho-hum small car. In either sedan or hatchback guise, it’s a great city car that’s easy to fit into snug spots and navigate down narrow streets.

The Rio has tough competition in this segment from the likes of the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta, so it needs to find a way to differentiate itself from the pack. Pricing is low and fuel efficiency is high, but Kia aimed to give the Rio a better drive. It now has improved handling and a more responsive engine. Let’s take a look at the all-new 2018 Kia Rio and see what it has to offer.

Four Doors or Five?

The Rio comes in two flavors. You can opt for the traditional four-door sedan or a five-door hatchback. Both grew by 0.6 inches this year, which means there’s more room for passengers. Both are also available in three trim levels with similar features regardless of which body type you choose. The key difference between the two is the flexibility offered by the hatchback.

The sedan offers a trunk with 13.7 cubic feet of space while the hatchback offers 17.4 cubic feet behind the rear seats. Fold the 60/40-split rear seats flat, and cargo room expands to 32.8 cubic feet. Although design cues are the same in both variants, the hatchback is the sportier of the two. It simply looks more fun and has more personality than the sedan.

Photo by Kia

Powertrain

Every 2018 Kia Rio has a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with 130 horsepower and 119 lb-ft of torque paired to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. It's not a particularly impressive amount of horsepower, but Kia strove to ensure the transmission worked seamlessly to deliver that power on demand.

This is a surprisingly responsive car. Our drive route through Maryland took us along steep and winding roads that are not friendly to an underpowered vehicle. The Rio delivered plenty of power to keep its speed up even on those steep hills. It was also up to the challenge of highway driving, providing great responsiveness when pressed for an extra burst of speed to pass slower traffic. Even from a complete stop, the Rio is no slouch and will surprise you with how well it delivers power.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Trim Levels

The Rio is available in LX, S and EX trims with increasing standard and available features as you move up the lineup. The base LX is already a nicely equipped car and your only choice if you’re looking for that manual transmission. It includes tinted glass, intermittent windshield wipers, a 5-inch audio display and steering wheel-mounted audio controls.

The S adds body-color exterior accents, cruise control, Bluetooth wireless technology and remote keyless entry with trunk release. The S sedan also adds a 60/40 split-folding rear seat not available on the base LX. The top of the lineup is the EX with standard front fog lights, tilt and telescopic steering column, upgraded cloth seating with an option for red leather accents, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. Infotainment on the EX also gets an upgrade to a 7-inch display with Kia's UVO3 infotainment system and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone integration.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Ride Quality

The drawback to many a small, affordable car is ride quality. Often you feel every bump in the road, making for an uncomfortable experience for passengers. Two things about the new Rio help eliminate this problem. First, seating is supportive without becoming stiff and there’s a good range of adjustment. There’s no power seat option, but even with the manual controls it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position.

Second, the Rio’s suspension evens out rough roads, even the cobblestone streets of Baltimore. Sure, you know you’re not riding on smooth pavement, but the ride doesn’t jostle passengers or make it feel like the car is shaking apart. It’s composed and comfortable. Our only complaint was going over rough seams in the pavement or larger potholes. The Rio’s suspension wasn’t as good at managing those situations, leading to a rough jolt compared to the rest of the ride.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin

Handling

The most surprising part of our time in the Rio was how well it handled. This is a subcompact economy car, which usually means handling gets pushed to the back of the priority list somewhere during the design process. Kia didn’t let that happen. Instead, the Rio is a downright fun car to drive.

We spent our drive time behind the wheel of the hatchback equipped with the automatic transmission and were truly impressed by how well it handled twisting country roads. There was no body roll on tight switchbacks, and it stayed planted to the ground and easy to manage even when the road was rough. This isn’t a sports car and doesn’t pretend to be, but it is also not even close to being a boring economy car. Kia did a fantastic job here and it elevates this generation of the Rio above the outgoing one.

Photo by Kia

Fuel Economy

The affordability of a subcompact car doesn’t come from its pricing alone. Fuel economy also comes into play since rising prices at the pump can put a serious crimp on a tight budget. With a manual transmission, the 2018 Rio achieves an EPA-estimated 29 mpg city/37 mpg highway/32 mpg combined. Equipped with an automatic transmission, it drops by 1 mpg in city driving only.

Those numbers are quite good and do make it a fuel-efficient choice, but they don’t stand out significantly from the Rio’s competitors. The Honda Fit with an automatic transmission is rated for up to 33 mpg city/40 mpg highway/36 mpg combined, and most others come within a few mpg either way compared to the Rio’s numbers. You won’t be spending significantly more to gas up your Rio, but you also won’t be saving money versus most other subcompact cars.

Photo by Kia

Safety

The 2018 Rio hasn’t been crash-tested yet, but Kia is hopeful for improved ratings. The previous generation received middling results, but changes to this generation — including the use of advanced high-strength steel — should have it faring much better. Kia is targeting an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick designation and a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Every Rio includes multiple airbags, antilock brakes, electronic stability control, hill-start assist control and vehicle stability management. It’s great that these are standard across the lineup, but more advanced safety features are lacking on the Rio. There is autonomous emergency braking as a standard feature on the top EX trim, but you cannot get it even as an option on any other trim level.

Photo by Kia

Warranty and Pricing

Full pricing on the 2018 Kia Rio is set to be released shortly with sales expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year. Right now, we only have pricing for the base models. The sedan will start at $13,990 with a manual transmission or $14,990 with an automatic. The hatchback starts higher, at $14,290 for the manual or $15,290 for the automatic. This keeps the Rio competitive within the segment providing a cost-conscious option for buyers.

Adding to the Rio’s affordability is Kia’s warranty. Kia’s reputation in years past wasn’t a good one, but the brand has come a long way and its warranty proves how confident it is in the quality of its cars. There’s a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, five-year/60,000-mile limited basic warranty and roadside assistance plan, and five-year/100,000-mile limited anti-perforation warranty.

Photo by Kia

Final Thoughts

The Rio wants to be an affordable subcompact car that shirks off its ho-hum image in favor of a fun one. European styling, especially in the hatchback, have it succeeding in being a fun-looking car with sporty appeal, but it’s not just about looks. Kia backs it up with a genuinely fun driving experience. It handles well even in tight turns and provides a ride that is generally smooth and quiet.

Pricing keeps it competitive within the segment and its fuel economy numbers make sure cost-conscious buyers won’t feel the pain if the price of gas goes up. The all-new 2018 Kia Rio continues to show the progress of the brand offering a fun, affordable subcompact that’s worth a test drive.

Photo by Nicole Wakelin