Owning
The Kia's length, width and stretched wheelbase provide excellent legroom in the rear. The boot is also generous, with a 420-litre luggage capacity. In the front, though, the cabin doesn't give you the same sense of space, because the driving position is flawed. Upper-range LS and V6 models get an electric driver's seat as standard, but it doesn't adjust low enough. The amount of reach and rake movement on the steering wheel isn't sufficient, either, so you end up feeling cramped. Seats don't offer much side support either. And although the Kia is very well screwed together, it is summed up by annoying touches such as the aftermarket-style radio and indicators that are on the wrong side of the steering wheel - which ruin the everyday ownership experience. The weighting of the controls could also be better. But equipment levels are very good indeed, though arguably they have to be, given some steep list prices. Depreciation will also be a bit steep, while returns of 38.8mpg from our diesel test car were disappointing - though it had very few miles on the clock. Looser engines often return better figures.
See also:
Manual transaxle
Manual transaxle operation
The manual transaxle has five forward
gears.
Press the clutch pedal down fully
while shifting, then release it slowly.
A special safety feature prevents
inadvertent ...
Drivetrain
The typical sedan has a larger engine than the Kia Rio. Keep in mind that
smaller engines are often cheaper to fix, but smaller engines can be stressed
more. The Kia Rio could learn a lesson or tw ...
Using four-wheel drive
Driving on snow- or Ice-covered
roads (“4WD LOCK” for
full-time 4WD operation)
• Use snow tires. See “Tires” in this
section for more information.
• Keep an adequate distance
between ...


