This is the dark age of hatchbacks. Once a strong segment of the Australian market, safety, emissions and logistics challenges have driven up the prices of the most popular models, such as Toyota Yaris, and have driven many brands (such as Honda Jazz) out of Australia completely.
Therefore, in this bleak scene, it is a refreshing story to see Kia Rio make a mild update even in 2021 model year with the smallest price increase.
Are top specifications and warm-up and top specification GT series still winners after two years of launch? I took a week to find out the answer.
Is the price reasonable? What are its characteristics?
The goalposts did move here. In 2019, a Honda executive told me, “the era of cheap city cars is over,” and in that year, he proved to be absolutely right. Most base models now have small doors close to or over $20000, so it seems that the era of “14990” driving has become history.
Where is our Rio GT production line? Before it went on the road, it was selling for $23990, and in fact it began to become very attractive. Especially now, its main competitors are Suzuki Swift GLX turbocharging (US $25290), Toyota Yaris ascent sport (auto – $23630) and Mazda 2 pure (auto – $22990). Among these options, both Yaris and Mazda 2 are base models with non-turbocharged engines, which makes the more expensive Suzuki GLX turbo the most direct competitor.
Kia Rio is quite good in terms of value and has some important additions in the 2021 model year. The headlines include a larger 8.0-inch multimedia touch screen (now with wireless apple CarPlay and Android auto), an upgrade from manual air conditioning to single zone climate control, and finally the addition of three drive modes (which we requested in our previous comments).
Unlike Kia Rio's other series, GT series has some much-needed active safety projects, although there are still some specification items missing from its competitors. Keyless entry and one click ignition (Swift, Yaris) is the biggest and impairs the car's halo variant positioning, but it also misses anything more advanced, such as leather seat trim, electrical adjustments, or digital dashboard.
Is there anything interesting about its design?
Rio Tinto has been one of the most attractive products in this segment since the launch of this generation in 2017, which has been slightly updated this year.
It looks almost the same as last year's, but it's not a bad thing. I like its understatement compared to Yaris or Swift. Its angry face and tail are set off by the black highlights of the piano, and its quaint small double exhaust vents indicate a trace of aggression.
Founder's design elements, from roof lines to light sets, offer a popular alternative to the curvy style of the Ellis, swift and Mazda 2.
Even the alloy wheel, which is again, unchanged, fills in its wheel arch and puts Rio de Janeiro well into Kia Rio’s variant family.
The interior has received some last year's updates, and now it's mainly about the relatively large screen, and elements such as the upgraded climate cluster and sports seats help improve its cabin environment.
Flat bottomed wheels are a nice touch, leather accented shift lever and seat edge, but there is still a lot of hard material in door trim and dashboard, as in other Rio series.
