2009 Kia Rio5 Review

It’s funny how things change. Just a couple of years ago, cheap and cheerful cars like the Kia Rio5 barely rated a mention amongst reviewers, and their sales were pretty much limited to college students. Now that the economy is crashing around our ears, everyone has something encouraging to say about anything under $15,000, and manufacturers like Kia are taking full advantage of it. Kia has put a lot of work into building budget cars that offer plenty of features, good quality interiors, full safety equipment and a long warranty, and the Rio5 is clear proof that the formula is working. Despite being one of the cheapest new cars in the US, the Rio5 hatchback is a great little car with loads of potential and, we predict, a big future.

2009 Kia Rio5 Performance

The Kia Rio5 hatchback shares its powertrain with the Rio sedan, sporting a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 110hp and 107lb-ft of torque. This is mated to a five-speed manual transmission or four-speed automatic transmission which changes gears smoothly, but delays acceleration just long enough to be frustrating at times, and makes the sportier manual a much better option.

Despite the small engine, the Rio delivers surprising performance. The steering is more responsive than you would expect, and suspension manages to iron out a lot of the bumps. Being the lightweight that it is however, there is a fair degree of body lean around corners, and the ABS brakes and power assisted steering are well worth the upgrade investment for far superior highway cruising.

Fuel economy is one of the Rio5’s strongest assets, rating 26/35mpg city/highway driving for the manual transmission. It is on par with the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris, which are the Rio’s key competitors and should put a smile on your face at the gas pump. The other key asset is the Rio5’s long 10 year/ 100,000 mile powertrain warranty which blows the rest of the competition out of the water and affirms its brilliant reliability.

While the Rio5 lacks some of the get-up-an-go of its competitors, expecially the super sporty and wildly popular Honda Fit, it’s performance is stable and perfectly adequate for the class. If the price is a major factor in your choice of subcompacts, the Rio5 is still one of the cheapest and represents great value.

2009 Kia Rio5 Interior and Features

The Rio5 four-door hatchback comes in LX and SX trims with more features than you would expect. Standard on the LX are 14-inch wheels, good quality cloth upholstery, four speaker audio system with digital media connection, air conditioning, satellite radio, automatically turning off headlights and rear defogger. It also offers power steering, a tilt steering wheel and split folding rear seat for added cargo storage. On top of these features, the sportier and slightly more luxurious SX adds a rear spoiler, foglights, leather-wrapped steering wheel, 15-inch alloy wheels, slightly better quality cloth trim and metallic accents. As an option you can also add power windows, keyless entry and ABS brakes.

While the interior features copious quantities of hard plastic and low-grade materials as you would expect for a car of this price, it is remarkably well executed. The seats are comfortable with enough support, and leg and headroom is adequate even in the back row of seats. Trunk space is more generous than many crossover SUVs with 15.8 cubic feet of storage, and the back seats can be folded half or fully to triple that space.

2009 Kia Rio5 Safety

The Kia Rio has made a big effort recently to cater to the safety requirements of consumers, and are one of the few subcompact cars to offer six airbags as standard in all models. This includes dual front, front seat and side curtain airbags. ABS brakes are optional, and there is an emergency trunk lid release and tire pressure monitor. Government crash tests gave the Rio four stars for driver protection, five stars for front passenger protection, and three stars for rear side impact.

Safety features:

• Dual front, front side and side curtain airbags
• Tire pressure monitor
• Emergency trunk release

Overall the 2009 Kia Rio5 is a great four-door hatchback that offers plenty of performance, interior styling, and safety features in a small package for a small price. Add to that it’s long warranty, and the Rio5 is perfectly positioned to cash in on the trend towards small, cheap and economical cars.