Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price

Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price - it’s easy to neglect that the subcompact-car phase remains critical. definitely, from a international attitude, it maintains to make sense for automakers to field a aggressive small runabout. Take the 2018 Kia Rio. The present day version turned into Kia’s first-rate-promoting car globally in 2017 (almost 450,000 units, per Kia), and the brand new 2018 Rio changed into redesigned to preserve its worldwide popularity strong. The upside is that we profligate americans get all of the benefits of a well-rounded subcompact while not having to shoulder the whole value of improvement.

The four-door 2018 Rio is obtainable as a sedan or a hatchback, and it comes as no marvel that Kia figures 70 percentage of buyers in the united states will opt for the sedan, regardless of the hatchback’s undeniably more appealing proportions. further to three regular trim tiers—LX, S, and EX—the brand new Rio also can be had as a loaded release edition as a way to be available through the 2018 model year.

regardless of trim degree, navigation is off the table. complete prevent. After years of pushing the tech-for-the-charge envelope, Kia has concluded that getting rid of factory navigation is an effective manner to hold the charge within reach of the Rio’s ostensibly youthful demographic. The rub is that handiest the top-tier EX and release version get Apple CarPlay or Android automobile compatibility. The rest folks will be left to our cell devices, even though at this point they’re so included with the human situation that we suspect few customers on this segment will mind. Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

Pursuit of financial efficiencies additionally led to the digital elimination of the Rio’s options (the sole more-value item as of this writing being leather upholstery with pink accents at the EX). without the capacity to feature capabilities, Rio buyers will want to choose their trim degree wisely. the bottom LX, for example, has crank home windows and manually adjusted aspect mirrors, and it rolls on 15-inch metal wheels; Bluetooth, cruise manage, a backup camera, a center-console armrest, and keyless access are not to be had. (beginning may also 1, 2018, all new cars are required to have a backup digital camera as preferred, so we expect that the LX trim will adopt the feature.) The midrange S trim degree does get Bluetooth and a backup digicam but makes use of rear drum brakes and makes do with out a telescopic guidance wheel (all Rios get tilt) and visor vanity mirrors, amongst other minor info. at the same time as all three trims are prepared with satellite tv for pc radio, the LX and S use a tiny 5.zero-inch screen at the same time as the pinnacle-spec EX gets a 7.0-inch unit to make the most of the Apple CarPlay/Android automobile hookup. simplest the EX consists of aluminum wheels, a telescoping column, automated emergency braking, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and some different gadgets. In a fantastic example of micro bean counting, all three hire a 4-speaker sound machine, however only the upper fashions get dedicated tweeters for a complete of six audio system.

Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price

The minimalist subject matter maintains underneath the Rio’s hood. The equal direct-injected 1.6-liter inline-4 used in the previous Rio and the modern base Soul is the only available engine. (The Europe-market 2018 Rios we drove in advance featured 3 totally unique engines.) Rated at a hundred thirty horsepower and 119 lb-toes of torque, output drops by way of 8 hp and four lb-ft, but what’s there arrives at decrease rpm (a vague power graph the business enterprise produced indicates a moderate increase of torque at 1500 rpm in contrast with the engine’s preceding track). even though both six-velocity manual and 6-velocity automated transmissions are provided, Kia believes best around 5 percentage of customers will want the row-your-personal gearbox and bounds its availability to the base LX.

For our first publicity to the U.S.-spec Rio, Kia had only pinnacle-drawer EX models accessible. The upside is the overwhelming majority of test automobiles had been hatchbacks, that is our preferred model of the Rio for each aesthetic and sensible reasons, regardless of america’s unusual choice for the sedan.

Acceleration furnished through the 1.6-liter four-pot, as you would possibly guess, is leisurely. What strength there is comes on in linear style—unsurprisingly, for a obviously aspirated engine—and shifts are tuned for comfort. Even beneath complete throttle in recreation mode (which alters throttle reaction and adjustments shift mapping), the gear swaps are clandestine, with the priority on a clean handoff. If it weren’t for the engine sound you would possibly suppose the transmission was a CVT. The brake pedal grants measured reaction and better modulation than it probably wishes to. hard braking from 75 mph inside the rain revealed a quick and drama-free stop, thanks to early intervention of the anti-lock brakes. Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

Kia claims the new platform reflects a 30 percent boom in tensile electricity over the previous Rio; while we can’t verify that claim, we can say it feels tight and strong. The suspension is through struts up the front with a torsion beam at the rear—less expensive small-car design a hundred and one. We controlled to bottom out the suspension simplest once, hammering the Rio over the rough, brick-paved streets of Baltimore’s Fells point community, and the simplest indicator of the abuse changed into a minor rattle from the hatch. motorway tour become in addition quiet, the 15-inch Continental ProContact TX 165/65R-15 all-season tires rolling over concrete and asphalt with out plenty audio drama. at the same time as some distance from wearing, the steering is linear and the Rio doesn’t protest when aimed down a twisty again avenue; Kia PR in no way neglected an opportunity to remind us that the Rio was developed for the ecu marketplace. despite the fact that its limits are low, the complete bundle is fairly well balanced, and you can have a bit of a laugh in case you enroll in the pressure-a-gradual-automobile-speedy faculty of notion.

indoors materials consist of mid-grade plastics standard of the phase, and the three-knob HVAC controls are simple enough. Passengers will find indoors space a blended bag. The ample front seats and ethereal cabin offer enough space for human beings sized simply on the small facet of NFL linemen, but what Kia giveth in front it taketh inside the rear: The moderately secure rear seat bottoms and seatbacks are basically needless given the lack of legroom. The sedan’s cargo hold gives most effective 14 cubic ft of area against the hatchback’s 17 cubes, that's improved to 33 with the again seats folded. by way of evaluation, the Honda fit has 17 cubes at the back of the rear seats and the Ford Fiesta has 15.

Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price

Sleeker and a touch sharper, the 2018 Kia Rio looks exceptional as a hatch. Pull out your protractor earlier than starting with the 2018 Kia Rio. The compact sedan and hatch are new for this year and sharpen the dowdy traces found within the outgoing version, specifically up front. Sharper traces don’t a good layout make, so we’re forced to put off a point for the sedan’s frumpy proportions. (The hatch looks better, however it’ll probably be outsold 2 to at least one, consistent with the automaker.) The information interior is higher, so we deliver that point right again for a wash at 5 for style.

On each frame styles, Kia has unfolded the lower the front bumper for a extra expressive face, despite the fact that the uncovered forward collision sensors on EX-trimmed vehicles make us wish they hadn’t. The grille is taller and more upright now, punctuated by the brand new tiger nostril grille borrowed from the Niro. The headlights sit up straight higher at the wheels, however reach similarly returned into the front fenders like a facelift long gone awry. Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price.

The wheels had been driven out toward the corners of the automobile, which appearance higher on the hatchback model and cut down on the gangly overhangs from the outgoing car. The rear give up seems exceptional on the hatch, we say, primarily because the fast drop from the roof doesn’t depart the equal strange rear quarter blanked window that the sedan’s sloped form leaves behind. each sedan and hatchback convey a individual line around returned that turns the decklid of the sedan up slightly, or creases a line across the lower back window inside the hatch.

internal, Kia moved the tool panel decrease within the Rio and made it greater upright. The center touchscreen sits front and center inside the dashboard, however doesn’t look like an afterthought. It’s nicely-incorporated, and on EX models with a 7.zero-inch touchscreen might also as nicely be an IMAX display screen in the small vehicle.

The Kia Rio does the quality with the strength it has, and that’s suitable sufficient. The story of the tape doesn’t inform the complete story with the 2018 Kia Rio. On paper, the Rio is down on electricity with the identical wide variety of gears, and the same experience setup that earned the outgoing version a sub-preferred score last 12 months. Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price

The suspension of the Kia Rio hasn’t modified from its struts up the front and rear twist beam blend from closing yr, however the ride has been made extra compliant by way of revised spring and damper settings that absorb extra road imperfections. the ones changed settings are helped with unambitious 15-inch wheels with lots of sidewall supply that are standard on each trim degree.

The Rio nevertheless sports an unexciting 1.6-liter inline-four that now makes 130 horsepower and 119 pound-ft of torque, which might be down 8 hp and 4 lb-toes from the outgoing model. What it misplaced in instantly specs it makes up for in actual-world drivability way to a revised power transport. The engine sports activities extra lower-stop grunt than the outgoing model, which allows the Rio feel brighter in stop-and-pass traffic than its predecessor. It gained’t win many drag races (or any of them), but its far more habitable than the outgoing model. Tapping passing power among 60 and 80 mph would require a little strengthen making plans and a bit extra shouting, however at least the Rio sounds willing to hit the mark—not like different small-displacement gadgets saddled with continuously variable automatic transmissions.

so far, our enjoy with the Kia Rio has been restricted to the 6-pace computerized that became carried over from final 12 months’s car. It plays admirably to hold the 1.6-liter inline-four in its maximum green gallop, but the autobox suffers from a few looking and indecision when it’s time to do something exclusive. We stop short of doing away with a factor due to the fact the transmission’s behavior can be tempered by way of stabbing at the “game” button that holds gears for longer, however assume a ensuing gasoline financial system hit. A 6-velocity manual is available at the Rio, however now not common. it is limited to base models most effective and looks much less regularly than Rick Moranis. Kia Rio Sedan 2018 Review, Specs, Price

The Kia Rio EX comes prepared with four-wheel disc brakes, while much less luxurious models make do with drums in the rear. no matter setup the brakes feel assured, specifically thru the pedal, but the Rio’s preventing electricity is front-loaded, which facilitates explain the nosedive in panic stops.

Kia made vast improvements to the guidance feel of the 2018 Rio, including a revised guidance rack with more teeth to accurately point the small vehicle within the intended route—that’s suitable. however with a generous on-middle spot for long motorway tracking, and a light weight to the wheel (even by means of small car requirements), those enhancements are particularly spoiled.

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