2023 Kia Rio

Bought the 2023 Kia Rio in April 2023 new, so have been driving it about 10 months now. Overall I like it a lot, it drives smoothly, has nice features (rear view camera, push button start, alloy wheels, LED lights, forward collision warning tech., etc.) and great gas mileage for an all gas car. I've taken one road trip in this and gas mileage on the freeways was over 50mpg! On a day to day basis, I average over 40mpg in the city. Only thing I can complain about is Kia has decided to discontinue the Rio for 2024 and beyond. I'm lucky to have gotten one of the last ones! Too bad most Americans continue to be programmed by marketing and media to drive big, fat gas guzzling trucks and SUVs. Ridiculous. I will continue to drive my small, fuel efficient, hatchback and shake my head at all the people in their gas guzzlers around me.

We have been driving our Rio for just over one year. It's not a luxury car, but we didn't want to spend a larger amount. Our most pleasant surprise is the gas mileage: it has consistently been between 42 and 45 MPG. We do live in the country, so we drive about 15 miles each way to town on a country highway that has a speed limit of 55. We did have an intermittent, annoying electrical problem, but our dealership was able to resolve the problem by the next morning. All-in-all we are very pleased with the performance and comfort, and the acceleration is quite satisfactory.

Sadly, this review won't be worth a hill of beans, as Kia has decided to no longer offer/make it in the USA. I wanted to replace an older (electric!) subcompact car with a new, full-warranty automobile that cost less than US$20k. The Rio checked all those boxes. Surprisingly, it's got some very nice features, like Apple CarPlay. My "S" model has 60/40 fold-down rear seats, keyless entry and a center console. For a small, 4-cylinder engine, the 1.6L, 120hp gets the job done. I use it for town driving, but I feel it would be comfortable on the road as well. And with 38mpg average, a 400 mile trip on one tank isn't out of the question. The back seat is large enough for my two grandchildren, and the front seats give me ample legroom and comfort. If this is what a "plain" daily driver goes for these days, I'd buy it again!