2001 Kia Rio

Upholstery and door trim is cloth. The center console and dual cupholder are two of the standard features. Options include a tilt column, AC, stereo system with CD player and vanity mirrors.

Seasoning the mix are some unexpected touches such as tinted glass, a cloth interior, a height adjuster and armrest for the driver's seat, adjustable shoulder belt anchors, rear-window defroster and three-speed windshield wipers. Safety features include an impact-absorbing body design and dual front airbags. Our car also had the $380 Upgrade Package (power steering, tilt column, wheel covers, side molding, and vanity mirrors), air conditioning ($750), and the AM/FM/CD stereo ($395), which took it to a still pretty livable $10,915.


The remainder of the Rio's limited options list includes alloy wheels, a body-colored rear spoiler and floor mats. Perhaps more importantly, the Rio comes with Kia's 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain guarantee.

Exterior options include body-colored side moldings and door handles and 14-inch alloy wheels.

Faced with real-world driving demands that spanned everything from grocery-getting to extended freeway commutes, the Rio did a respectable job of holding its own in all traffic conditions. Limited rear-seat legroom makes the aft quarters best suited to kids, and the decidedly vague suspension tuning would really benefit from an upgrade in the shock-absorber department. But overall, this well-styled, well-screwed-together econocar deserves solid marks for being quite serviceable and surprisingly civil, given its fundamental mission as a basic-transport module. (www.kia.com)