December 28

Meet America's Hot New Hatch: The 2018 Kia Rio 5-Door

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rio4The Kia Rio 5-Door is a subcompact hatchback with room for up to five passengers. For 2018, Kia completely reworked the Rio including building it on a larger platform, upgrading the engine, tweaking the interior, and redesigning the controls on the dash to give it at more upscale look. With all these changes, it is time to meet America’s hot new hatch: the 2018 Kia Rio 5-door.
The Exterior Look
The new look of the Rio 5-door is sportier and more upscale than before. All the trims come with 15-inch wheels with alloy added to the higher EX trim. This top-level trim also gets a chrome grille, fog lights, and some interior upgrades. The rear of the hatchback is more sculpted than before with European influences and some subtle design features similar to the Optima. This subcompact vehicle comes in three different trims starting with the LX. It also comes in a midlevel S trim in addition to the EX.

The Engine and Performance
The 2018 Rio has the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine as before, but the tweaks Kia made give it 130 horsepower and 119 pound-feet of torque. This is slightly less than last year’s engine, but it has more usable power at the lower engine speeds where most drivers spend more time. The LX trim comes with a manual transmission with the option for a six-speed automatic, while the two higher trims come standard with the automatic transmission. Vehicles equipped with the automatic transmission will get 28 miles per gallon in the city with 37 mpg on the highway for 32 mpg combined. The manual transmission reduces this by just one mpg in the city.
The Technology
The base LX trim comes with a 5-inch display screen, satellite radio, and a USB port. A step up to the S adds an extra USB port for charging, along with Bluetooth connectivity and an upgraded stereo system. Choose the EX for all the standard equipment of the lower trims but with a 7-inch center display which also comes with Kia’s UVO infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Interior
The Rio’s cabin received some tweaks for 2018 with upgraded materials and more space. In the back of this hatchback, you’ll get 17.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up and 32.8 cubic feet when you put the seats folded down. The seats also feature a 60/40 split, making it easy to customize the amount of passenger room and cargo space depending on your needs. Add the Launch Edition package to the EX for red interior trim and some leather accents.
Safety Features
All the trims come standard with six airbags, a rearview camera, and hill start assist. The EX trim comes standard with a forward collision warning system with automatic emergency braking.
The newly designed 2018 Kia Rio 5-Door has a new look, some new technology, and a larger cabin. This little hatchback offers a spirited ride, and the cabin has an upscale feel for a budget-friendly car.
Kia Rio5 1.4 LX 2018” by RL GNZLZ licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 | Cropped from original


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