Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Sun 4 Jun 2023 20:30
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - daveyK_UK
If your in the market for a decent spec small car with 5 doors, simple petrol engine and reliable, then you have until the end of October to order a Kia Rio as this is when my local dealership expects Kia to stop taking orders.

The Rio while being simple over exciting has been a good dependable car over its various body types; the current version looks good and drives fine.

You can pick up a mid spec 2 model for £15500 with discount if you shop around.

Delivery is 7-8 weeks if not in UK stock

A competitive price compared to many rivals and that’s before you add the 7 year warranty.

I have always had a soft spot for Rio’s.

Edited by daveyK_UK on 04/06/2023 at 20:31

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 4 Jun 2023 22:49
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - movilogo

Kia Stonic is mostly same as Rio

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 4 Jun 2023 23:33
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - SLO76
Simple straightforward transport, they’re robust, reliable and come with the best warranty in the business. I’ve always liked these wee cars, well excluding the rather drab and dated first gen model. They really don’t go wrong, rust eventually gets into them underneath, early on if you live in a soggy part of the country that likes to slather their roads in salt every winter. I flogged a fair number over the years and ran around in a characterful 3cyl 1.1 turbo diesel for a while which I rather liked.

The 1.25 is as simple as things get, but they are pretty gutless. The 1.0 turbo would I imagine be a nicer thing but then none of them are exactly fun to drive thanks to the rather numb steering. Not that any of that matters to 99% of a Kia Rio’s typical buyers. I’ve always liked Kia’s as used buys. Find a good well cared for 3yr old car with full dealer history and you’ve 4yrs of manufacturer warranty and a hassle free ownership experience ahead. They used to plummet in value, but after a quick look at prices of 2/3yr old examples you’d be better off with a new one at £15,500 and keeping it til the wheels fall off.

Another nail in the coffin for the working persons ability to run their own motor. The environmental elites will soon have us off the road and onto buses. But hay ho, I’ve shared in the coach company I work for so at least I’ll win a little.

Edited by SLO76 on 04/06/2023 at 23:36

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jun 2023 06:36
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - _

I had a Rio in 2014 and it was the 1.25, absolutely fine, if pushed, it went. so no problems there. Venga again absolutely fine, Sportage, (that people said was gutless) great Stonic terrible seating position (kept 6 weeks from new) and now as a 2nd car for swmbo 2011 Venga 1.4 5 speed, off for NOt today. All have been totally reliable.

The 4 cyl engines are not "a ball of fire" but ARE reliable.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jun 2023 12:53
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - barney100
To save the ordinary motorist from EV madness we have to protest loud on long.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jun 2023 13:29
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - badbusdriver
To save the ordinary motorist from EV madness we have to protest loud on long.

The Rio being killed off isn't some big conspiracy, and has very little to do with the EV revolution, it is simple economics. In 2021, 3,800 Rio's were sold in the UK (during that same period, 164,000 Corsa's were sold)

Most people want an SUV/crossover, and most people lease rather than buy. I have not checked, but I'd imagine the difference in monthly payments between the Rio and Stonic would be negligible.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Mon 5 Jun 2023 17:14
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - Ian_SW

The problem with the Rio (and also the Hyundai i20) is that they were both too big and too small at the same time.

The Picanto / i10 was fine (and cheaper) for someone who wanted a small car, and the Ceed /i30 was much bigger than the Rio on the inside without being obviously bigger on the outside and also not much more expensive.

The Skoda Scala (and Rapid previously) falls into a similar hole in their range - not much cheaper than an Octavia but significantly smaller and less useful.

Oddly, despite being a very similar size to the Rio, the current Corsa and Polo haven't had the same problem - though I suspect in that case it's been the Astra and Golf which have lost sales to the smaller car instead.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Jun 2023 13:55
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - _

Took the venga for the MOT yesterday, windscreen washers poor flow, but told him about it and asked to fix, Told him Brake lights were all not working.

Both fixed for free, but show on MOT. results. Can't argue for £40....

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 6 Jun 2023 14:00
Steady servant - the end of the Kia Rio - movilogo

These models Kia sell in other parts of the world but not in UK.

  • Sonet CUV
  • Seltos CUV
  • Carnival MPV
  • Carens (new SUV version)
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties

Our honest used car pricing is a little bit different to all the others. You can get to our values through make or model - you don’t have to follow a prescribed route. Plus, it’s live, which means we can react to changes in the market quicker than any printed price guide.

Honest Used Car Prices