$200 Price Bump Coming for 2014 Kia Rio

The 2014 Kia Rio family will see a bit of fine-tuning for the new model year, as well as a slight increase in pricing, but it still remains well into the high-value end of the spectrum. The MSRP for the 2014 Kia Rio Sedan, for example, increases $200, to $13,800, while the price of admission to the 2014 Kia Rio 5-Door—the sedan's hatchback sibling—grows by $100 and now sits at $13,900. To put those prices into context, here is the current MSRP leaderboard for the country's top subcompact cars:

• Nissan Versa Sedan—$11,990
• Kia Rio Sedan—$13,800
• Kia Rio 5-Door (hatch)—$13,900
• Nissan Versa Note (5-door hatch)—$13,990
• Ford Fiesta Sedan—$14,000
• Chevy Sonic Sedan—$14,170
• Ford Fiesta Hatch (5-door)—$14,600
• Toyota Yaris (3-door hatch)—$14,430
• Hyundai Accent Sedan—$14,645
• Chevy Sonic Hatchback (5-door)—$14,770
• Honda Fit (5-door hatch)—$15,425
• Toyota Yaris (5-door hatch)—$15,455
• Hyundai Accent 5-Door (hatch)—$16,395

Now, as mentioned, changes to the 2014 Kia Rio, in both body styles, were fairly minimal. Engineers deployed underbody aero panels beneath the engine, body and rear bumper, for a smoother path through the wind, then added a new water-temperature gauge and spiffed up the available leather-wrapped steering wheel. Finally, the 2014 Kia Rio's "smart key" has been revised with a new, folding design to take up less pocket/purse space.

There's is one more point worth noting, however: Although the 2014 Kia Rio continues to offer one of the more powerful standard engines in its class—thanks to a 138-hp four-cylinder unit that makes 123 lb.-ft of torque—the downside is relatively lower EPA marks that slip slightly further for 2014. Thus, unlike its rivals from Ford, Chevy and Nissan, the 2014 Kia Rio doesn't offer a model that can reach 40 mpg on the highway; with a six-speed manual transmission, the 2014 Rio is at 27/37/31 (-1 city/+1 highway vs. 2013) and the six-speed automatic enables the exact same line, but now representing -2 mpg city/-1 mpg combined compared to last year.