Cheaper than the competition, better looking than the competition, and packed with more features than the competition. What's not to like about the 2015 Kia Rio?

Looks

Gone are the days when Rio was only the name of a large city in Brazil. Today, amongst many other things, it is also the name of an animated film and a line of B-segment cars produced by the Korean manufacturer, Kia. Available as a 5 door hatchback or a 4 door sedan, the 2015 Kia Rio is a striking little offering by the Koreans. Apart from the obvious body structure distinction, subtle cosmetic differences in the styling of the headlamp cluster, fog lamp housing, upper and lower grille and placement of the LED’s, differentiate the hatchback from the sedan.

Feels

The 2015 Kia Rio houses a neat and uncluttered dashboard that features GTR-esque A/C control switches and isn’t overwhelmed with more buttons than horsepower. A unique feature found in the Rio is the Crash Pad Album that allows the driver to personalize their Rio with their favourite snapshot located below the A/C vent. As far as practicality is concerned, both the sedan and hatchback do a fine job of transporting 4 people in comfort and also pack in 388 and 288 litres of bootspace respectively.

Engineering

The Arkamys Virtual Sound System that offers a rich listening experience with improved clarity of instruments and voices is likely to loved by audio junkies as it can play their fave tunes through an AUX, USB and iPod port. The trip computer located in the centre of the supervision cluster provides essential journey information such as distance to empty, optimum fuel consumption, outside temperature and a range of other information.

What’s on offer?

The 2015 Kia Rio is available with just one engine under the hood – a 1.4 litre 4-cylinder engine which pumps out 107 horsepower at 6,300 RPM and 135 Nm of torque at 4,200 RPM, through a 4 speed automatic transmission to the front wheels. It may not sound all that powerful, but it sure is enough to tug the Rio around.

Summing it…

When put beside competitors such as the Chevrolet Aveo, Ford Fiesta and Honda Jazz, the Kia Rio shines brighter than ever with an edge in terms of exterior design, features and pricing. Are we satisfied with its offering of just one airbag in the basic and mid-spec variant though? Certainly not.