Kia Rio sips fuel; gives power to sub-compact class

Who'd a thunk? A sub-compact economy car with heated steering wheel, navigation system, leather seats, navigation system, rear-view camera, power folding mirrors, push-button ignition with Smart Key and a host of other amenities usually reserved for luxury cars? Buying the smallest car no longer means going without. If small and frugal are your wants, drop into your local Kia store and look up a Rio sedan with the EX Luxury package.

Kia has stolen a march on the competition by loading up a version of its smallest and most fuel efficient car with all a full slate of comfort and convenience items. The Rio sedan, released only a few months ago, is the recipient of this largess. But you will pay for it – $21,695 with all the bells and whistles. The best seller in the Rio sedan lineup is the LX+ with an automatic transmission. which at $16,595 comes with an impressive standard equipment list: six-way adjustable driver's seat, power locks and windows, power heated mirror, tilt wheel, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, a/c, heated seats, cruise control, keyless entry and wireless connectivity. 

But we sampled the line-topping EX luxury with all of the above attributes. If you skip the voice-activated navigation system you can chop $1,200 off the tag and get Kia's UVO infotainment system developed in conjunction with Microsoft.

In either case you'll get a nimble little car that all but sneezes at gas pumps. It carries a class-leading Transport Canada rating of 4.9 litres/100 on the highway with an automatic transmission. If you've been paying attention to all the hoopla about hybrids you'd see this number is righty up there with the best of them – from a conventional gasoline engine. I didn't manage that number on our hilly Nova Scotia roads, but did pull off a 5. 9-litres/100 session by telling my right foot to control itself.

These mileage numbers are a tribute to this fledgling company's engineering prowess. The engine is the new 1.6-litre "Gamma" all-aluminum four-cylinder, with dual overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder, unit with direct injection. The latter, with multiple injections and ignition events per cycle allows it to run a high compression ratio for excellent power and economy without the need for premium fuel. At 138-horsepower it ties the Chevrolet Sonic for most power in class. All Rios equipped with an automatic transmission come with what Kia calls Active ECO. Push that button and throttle response is softened and shift points lowered.

Aiding and abetting these high mileage efforts are a pair of six-speed transmissions. Also designed in-house they allow the engine to have sufficient ratio spread to ensure punch off the line and when passing or climbing hills while loafing along at minimal fuel-sipping revs the rest of the time. You won't win many drag races with a 1-100 time of more than 10 seconds, but you'll beat the competition at the pumps.

The interior has a more upscale feel, with soft-touch surfaces for the front portion of the dashboard. 

Compared to the Rio5, the sedan gets a different grill, front bumper, headlights and sits 15-mm lower. The different front fascia shortens overhang at that end by 25mm. Pillar-mounted side mirrors help the aero numbers and reduce wind. The sedan is 320-mm longer overall, but most of that is aft of the rear wheels. The two have the same head, shoulder, hip and leg room but the sedan gets a conventional and roomy trunk. Kia says the majority (70 per cent of its customers prefer the five-door but in an effort to leave no stone unturned or potential customer walk away, it has brought out the sedan.

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