Kia Rio (2005 - 2011) 1.5 CRDi GS 5d Owner Review
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In their own words
Really pleasently surprised with my Rio. I'm not ashamed to walk over to it in a car park - I'd always associated them with motobility drivers in the past. It's an inconspicious box, which is a good thing for a sub 500 quid Korean hatch! Seats and interior plastics are decidely cheap and scratchy, but everything works and the seats are adequately comfy. As others have mentioned, mine also came with central locking but isn't remote. A £20 kit off ebay has solved this for me - is useful especially if you're used to having it. It's a simple, cheap car and no worse fir it. The diesel engine in these is amazingly nippy & has bags of torque. I can't inagine the petrol being quite so much fun. I've been getting 40mpg on short school runs and 50mpg on dual carriageways wirh a heavy right foot. The 15" steel wheels and mix of budget tyres cope with potholes and speedbumps surprisingly well.
How reliable do you find the car?
Garage sold the car cheap and were upfront, telling me it wanted the NSF wheel bearing replacing. Sorted it myself, but found the offside was rumbling too. Two Saturdays to sort them, at a cost of £80 and a coople of bruised knuckles.Does the car do everything you expected it to do?
I paid £490 for the car. It has been supremely reliable so far. I've always bought cheap bangers, but fairly luxurious ones in the hope they've been cosseted for the first few years. Saabs, Volvo's, Mercs, etc. Saw this Kia for sale locally and looked at it based purely on it's sub 500 quid price. Wheel bearings aside, there's a slight whine from the turbo, but at this price I'm not bothered. It is very cheap to run, is surprisingly fun to drive, as nippy as hell and handles really well It has barely a mark on it, interior as well as the exterior carry the 114k mileage very well. Washed and waxed it yesterday and looks like it cost a grand more. My neighbours all think I'm lying when I tell them I paid less than 500 quid for the car. I actually enjoy driving it- never thought I'd say that about a Kia Rio. My only niggle is the heater blower motor is gutless, a v.minor gripe all told. Ice cold AC gas been a welcome bonus over summer too. If anything, its a tad small for our needs, but I will definately look at a bigger Kia or Hyundai next year.About their car
- Fuel type Diesel
- When purchased July 2017
- Condition when bought Used
- Current Mileage 114,000 miles
- Average MPG 45 mpg
