Kia Rio 1.0 T GDi 48V 118 GT-Line S 5dr Review

Category: Small car

Section: Version review

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Kia Rio 2022 front right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 front right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear cornering
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior dashboard
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior rear seats
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior infotainment
  • Kia Rio 2022 right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 front cornering
  • Kia Rio 2022 front right static
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear left static
  • Kia Rio 2022 wheel detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 headlight detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear lights detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior front seats
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior driver display
  • Kia Rio 2022 boot open
  • Kia Rio 2022 front right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear cornering
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior dashboard
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior rear seats
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior infotainment
  • Kia Rio 2022 right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear right tracking
  • Kia Rio 2022 front cornering
  • Kia Rio 2022 front right static
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear left static
  • Kia Rio 2022 wheel detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 headlight detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 rear lights detail
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior front seats
  • Kia Rio 2022 interior driver display
  • Kia Rio 2022 boot open
RRP £21,820What Car? Target Price£20,672
Fuel type:
petrol
Gearbox:
manual
Doors:
5 doors

The Kia Rio is a promising small car with price on its side. Its turbocharged engines are perfectly competent around town and at motorway speeds. We’d stick to the 2 trim because it adds AEB, gives you access to our favourite engine, has plenty of equipment and still keeps the price competitive. The mild-hybrid engine is only available as part of grade 3 trim, which pushes the Rio’s price too close to more desirable and efficient rivals such as the Honda Jazz and Toyota Yaris hybrid.

The top trim gets cosmetic tweaks including 17in alloy wheels, gloss-black exterior highlights, a rear spoiler, LED front and rear foglights, twin exhaust tips, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, faux carbon-fibre interior trim, aluminium pedals, keyless start, front parking sensors and a blind-spot warning system.

This is essentially a more powerful, 118bhp, mild-hybrid version of the regular 1.0-litre (badged 1.0 T-GDi 48V). That means there is a small electric motor and battery, which adds a little electrical ‘kick’ to the engine as you drive around. The assistance is very mild, however, and you won’t notice its extra power unless you’re pushing on particularly hard, so we don’t think it’s worth the additional outlay.


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Key information

Doors5
Seats5
0-62 MPH9.8 seconds
Fuel TypePetrol
GearboxMANUAL

Available colours

MPGOfficial overall fuel economy figure

51.4

Boot CapacityHow much space is there?

325

litres

EmissionsOfficial emissions rating

125

g/km