In the past several years, the Kia brand has moved up the rank to become a crowd favourite. With vehicles growing in popularity, like the Kia Telluride, it is easier to forget about the less popular models, like the 2021 Kia Rio.
While there are plenty of things to love about the Kia Rio, like its more than affordable price point for a brand new subcompact vehicle, it doesn’t quite appeal to the taste of car review experts.
The Ranking of the Kia Rio 2021
When it comes to scoring breakdowns, there is one overall score that depicts how experts feel each vehicle ranks based on several factors. With this score, buyers can directly compare the rankings of different cars within the same segment. For the 2021 Kia Rio, the overall score was a rather abysmal score of 55 out of 100, scoring it at the bottom of the list as #4 out of the six tested vehicles.
The vehicle itself looks simple, and that’s what you would expect. Under the hood of every Rio is a 120-hp 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine mated to a CVT transmission. All Rios come with front-wheel drive, with no rear or all-wheel drive option.
Safety & Reliability in the 2021 Kia Rio
The 2021 Kia Rio comes with the bare minimum of what buyers expect from a new car, such as a touchscreen infotainment system that offers Bluetooth connectivity, an adjustable driver’s seat, and an adjustable steering wheel.
If you’re unsatisfied by these highlights, the Kia selected simplicity with the Rio’s design, not giving it much else to offer. Most surprisingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard even on the base model.
You can upgrade to the S Technology package, which gives the subcompact car all the modern safety techs and features to bring it up to par with much more expensive vehicles. Along with a few other tech updates, the S Technology package offers drivers a handful of safety features such as forward collision mitigation, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane following assist, and driver alert warnings.
It’s also worth noting that while the 2021 Kia Rio tanked in several aspects of its review, it did decent in expected reliability, based on reliability statistics from previous model years.
What Does the 2021 Kia Rio Lack?
Of course, if it isn’t for reliability, there has to be something dragging down the rating for the 2021 Kia Rio. While it is not a luxury car, it receives harsh reviews for its overall ride quality. Experts note the car has a cabin space poorly insulated from noise, causing the ride to be rather loud. Besides that, it isn’t particularly comfortable, with an underwhelming suspension that allows drivers and passengers to feel imperfections in the road.
The new Rio is noted for having unimpressive braking performance and underwhelming handling, leaving much to be desired behind the wheel, even by an average driver.
Several alternatives directly compete with the Kia Rio in price but have more enticing scores and features: the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla. For some buyers, however, there is still plenty of appeal to buying a small, subcompact vehicle, and for the minimalist, the 2021 Kia Rio is all you need.
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