I'm not surprised your wife wants out of that Corsa, in my previous work i often picked up lorryloads of ex BSM Corsas at defleet time, many of those were that horrid 3 cyl version, the only way they would climb the transporter deck is with a run up, the most gutless awful car it's been my displeasure to sit it, the only other cars capable of such utter disappointment for the same reason were the mk4 Escort 1.4 lean burn and much too recently Fiat 500's with the automated manual gearbox from hell.

I remember being amazed how bad these were compared to rivals when I first started out as a trainee salesman and was encouraged to drive everything to get to know what I was selling. Rover R8 and Pug 306 were from another world by comparison.

That miserable lean burn lump was in thousands of renters, and i was shifting renters by the thousand at the time, the next batches were 1.8 engined and superb cars in comparison, as was the 2.0 litre R8 in standard Sli spec, quite a wolf pup in sheep's clothing with only the slight bonnet bulge giving the game away.

Some of our best general purpose cars came from that era in my humble.

405, Cavalier, first Mondeo, Accord, Primera (which was a worthy successor to Bluebird) Golf 1 and 2 and Passat to mention just a few more.

yes you were right mkV escort

Edited by gordonbennet on 29/12/2016 at 09:12

The 05 - 11 Rio had a great reputation amongst owners and many on Kia forum were devastated when it was replaced with the newer more stylish model which in truth was way less practical (and slower/less economical). All cars made after mid summer 2010 will be fitted with DPF's, they had to be otherwise they would not have been possible to put a new one on the road when Euro 5 became law on 01 Jan 2011.

But its an old car now and they were not as well made as current Kia's. Get a low mileage well looked after one and it may prove to be a good buy but at 7 years old or more its going to be down to luck, just like buying any 7 year old car.

As for Kia petrols they are not the best engines in the world for economy, refinement or speed. Old school design so reliable but not very efficient. Definitely try one on the type of roads you normally drive on before buying otherwise you may be disapointed.

Kia Ceed Diesels are in budget, if you have a look at those for sale some serious with mileages are still fine looking cars,

I honestly don't think you would get a decent Ceed diesel for your budget.

up to 2009 no DPF and no DMF either.

DPF's were not fitted to 1.6 CRDi Ceeds until the 2011 model years car which came into the country from September 2010 onwards. Our ceed CRDi 1.6 was the first our dealer delivered with a DPF fitted and we took delivery in late September 2010.

The rare and unpopular CRDi 2 litre had a DPF from day one and was also fitted with a DMF. They were not economical or refined (old school Sportage engine) so are best avoided even if they are cheap.

Hi everyone I'm new to HJ forum and came across this thread on the KIA Reo.

I bought a 2006 diesel Rio 1.5 yesterday to teach my son to drive in, have to say that the car is really good value for the price. Normally, I will buy a car needing work and tidy it up but this time went for a clean car with reasonable miles 80K on the clock.

The performance impressed me rihgt away, plenty of torque and quiet running engine..comfy seats and plenty of room for passengers..Did notice the ride was a bit hard maybe some decent shockers will help.

Spent a week looking for a small car under £1500 and apart from the Astra's, Ford Focus and Fiat's nothing for the money could hold a candle to the Rio IMO.

No cambelt 16 v DOHC engine ecomical and about a tenner a month road tax couldn't ask for more really. Oil and filter change today ( if it stops raining ) always use the cheap semi synthetic oil from my local parts place and change all our cars at 6k miles religiously despite what they say in the manuals..

Yep the Fiesta is Brtains most popular car - eat poo 10 billion flies can't be wrong!

Cheers..

Edited by Gor on 25/02/2017 at 08:11

The handbook recommends ACEA B4 or above. Kia state that various SAE grades can be used including 10-30 and 15-40. Just get the right spec.

Since I posted upthread my Rio has thrown a front ABS sensor, handbrake pads failed, rear calipers binding (again!), needed new rear discs and pads and a n/s drop-link. My local Indy put it right and the Rio is continuing to provice sterling service.

Still think these are good cars!

I had a 2010 Rio 2 1.4 petrol for 3 and a half years/22000 miles, totally reliable, reasonable economy and insurance costs. Did what it should, couldn't fault it for the price.