Kia Rio

The Kia Rio is a subcompact car produced by the South Korean automaker Kia Motors and introduced in August 2000 for the 2001 model year. In the company's lineup, it replaced the smaller Kia Pride, which ceased production in 2000.

First generation

The first-generation Rio was available as a five-door hatchback and as a four-door sedan. The hatchback version was sold as the Rio RX-V (V: five in Roman numerals) in Canada, Rio Look in Chile, and simply Rio in the United Kingdom (as the sedan version was not offered there). In Greece, both hatchback and sedan were sold as Rio. In the USA, the five-door Rio was marketed as a station wagon called Rio Cinco (cinco: five in Spanish and Portuguese).

The first-generation Rio offered only one engine for each year in the USA: a 96hp 1.5-litre DOHC I4 gasoline engine from 2001 through 2002, then a larger version of the same engine, a 1.6-litre DOHC four-cylinder rated at 105hp (78kW), from 2003 through 2005. All years offered a choice of a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

An alternative of a 1.3-litre (1343cc) SOHC four-cylinder/eight-valve petrol (75hp) was offered in some other countries, including the United Kingdom and Greece. A diesel engine was also available in other markets.

The USA-version hatchback came standard with power steering and a tachometer; these were optional on the sedan. However, marketing did not distinguish trim levels in the USA version.

The European version was marketed under several trim levels; standard equipment for all trims included power steering and radio. Additional features were available for promotion in Greece, including leather seats and car alarm.

Safety features were basic, consisting of seat belts and an airbag for the driver. ABS was available as an option for entry-line cars but fitted by default for top of the range models (i.e., Rio LX, in the UK, and Rio LS, in Greece).

At one time, the Rio was the cheapest new car on the U.S. market, costing only US$6995. Some US dealers even offered free base model Rios with purchase of a higher end vehicle, like the Kia Sedona minivan. In Greece, the cost was 9,990€ for the RIO LS, with pre-paid the 3-year service.