The Kia Rio is one of the best-selling subcompact offerings of the segment and has been launched with no major changes in the 2022 avatar. The Rio is available in both sedan and hatchback form factors and retains the same 1.6-liter naturally aspirated motor, which is quite frugal and offers decent performance for the price.
Offered for a base MSRP of $16,250, the 2022 Kia Rio also offered impressive ride quality, making it a comfortable daily driver. The interior is very spacious, and it also comes loaded with many bells and whistles as standard. Competing with the likes of Hyundai Accent and Nissan Versa, here are 10 things you need to know before buying the 2022 Kia Rio.
10 Reasonably Peppy Powertrain For The Segment
The 2022 Kia Rio comes with the same powertrain that powers the outgoing 2021 model, which is a 1.6-liter MPI naturally aspirated inline-4 motor mated to a CVT automatic transmission. This motor helps the car to put down a 0-60 mph time of 8.7 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 16.8 seconds, both of which are decent for the segment.
Even though the performance figures are not going to excite anybody, we found the 2022 Rio to be an excellent city commuter due to the impressive low-end grunt and smooth CVT automatic. However, put your foot down, and you would be disappointed with the mid-range torque. As a result, quick overtakes and merging to the highways need a bit of planning.
9 Impressive Ride Quality
One thing that we have always been impressed by the Kia Rio has been its ride quality. With a suspension setup that is tuned well for both city driving and for munching miles on the highways, the comfort provided by the Rio could easily outdo the rivals like the Hyundai Accent and the Nissan Versa. The same is the case with this 2022 iteration as well.
Drive slowly and the suspension does a wonderful job of ironing out all the bumps and potholes on the roads with ease. Even the biggest of the irregularities are filtered with no issues. As the speeds rise during highway driving, the 2022 Rio maintains a comfortable traveling experience with limited vertical movement and a lower-than-average body roll.
8 Not The Most Fun To Drive
Even with a well-calibrated suspension system on offer, the 2022 Kia Rio is far from a driver's car. Offered for sale at a base MSRP of $16,250 for the sedan version, the 2022 Rio's independent front suspension and torsion beam rear setup with coil springs doesn't make the car grip like it's on rails.
Take the corner a bit enthusiastically and the car offers quite a lot of understeer. We were also very unhappy with the electric power steering, which lacked feel and feedback. It didn't weigh up as the speeds rise, either. However, the lower body roll and precision offered by the steering helped to improve the driving experience.
7 Interior Looks And Feels Upmarket
Kia has always improved their interior quality and refinement ever since it came to the United States market back in 1994, and we are happy to report that you would have no major complaints regarding the interior of the 2022 Rio. Even for such a low price, the cabin material feels very upmarket, with soft-touch plastics and gloss black elements.
There are no uneven panel gaps anywhere, and the materials feel like they are built to last. We also loved the simple design of the cabin with beige and black color schemes. The minimalist dashboard highlighted by the well-integrated infotainment screen, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and silver accents makes the cabin look a notch above the Nissan Versa.
6 Superb Infotainment System
The 2022 Kia Rio comes with an 8" touchscreen infotainment system that offers all the required connectivity and entertainment features as standard. This includes wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, Bluetooth, SiriusXM radio, steering mounted audio controls, and many more. Hence, the cabin doesn't feel archaic when munching miles on the highways.
Like all the Kia infotainment systems, this setup feels like something that would come in a more expensive offering, with fluid animations and an uncluttered interface. There were no lags and stutters too. The audio experience provided by the 6-speaker audio system turned out to be much superior to many of the rivals as well.
5 Precise Brakes
Braking is one of the most vital aspects of any vehicle, and is also one of the areas in which many cheaper offerings skimp to retain value. However, this is not the case with the Kia Rio. Coming with 11" front rotors and 8" drums for the rear, the 2022 Rio managed to do the 70-0 mph braking in a decent 190 feet, which is in the same ballpark as the rivals.
Even though the rear brakes are drums, the overall braking performance was more than satisfactory. The initial bite is excellent, and the pedal returned great feedback too. We were also quite satisfied with the braking progression when you stomp on the brake pedal harder. The low curb weight helps the car to stop without any drama and there is no major front-end dive.
4 Not The Most Spacious
Step into the front seats of the 2022 Kia Rio and you would be more than happy with the overall space and the comfort provided by the seats. The headroom of 38.9" and legroom of 42.1" turned out to be one of the best of the segment, and this would help in accommodating even the taller folks with ease. The side-bolstering and padding of the seats are decent too.
However, the same cannot be said about the rear seat. Both the hatchback and sedan offered mediocre headroom and legroom, making it unsuitable for traveling long distances in comfort. The shoulder room is restricted too. The cargo space of 13.7 cu ft offered by the sedan is not as good as the Nissan Versa, meaning it's not very versatile.
3 Excellent Safety Features
Like all the other subcompact sedans out there, the 2022 Kia Rio also comes with a long list of safety and driver-assistance features, with a few of them being optional. The standard features include ABS, EBD, airbags, traction control, stability control, side-impact beams, low tire pressure warning, and many more.
However, the driver-assistance features such as forward collision monitoring system, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, etc are optional extras. With decent build quality on offer, this subcompact sedan managed to get a good rating in most of the subsections of the IIHS crash test.
2 Looks Pretty Mediocre
The exterior design of the 2022 Kia Rio is a bit underwhelming, especially when compared to the more striking and classy Hyundai Accent. The only saving grace of the bulbous-looking front end is the sharp headlight design, blacked-out grille and air dam, and the neatly integrated foglamps. The six exterior color palettes have a few youthful shades as well.
When looking at the side profile, the length and wheelbase of the 2022 Kia Rio turned out to be the lowest of the segment, and that, coupled with the spartan design, makes no heads turn when driven around the city streets. However, the 15" wheels look neat and the LED taillight and the neat design elements in the rear bumper do help it to stand out.
1 One Of The Most Frugal In Its Segment
If you are planning to get a car from the subcompact segment for munching miles, then there aren't many better alternatives than the Rio that you could think of. Coming with a small 1.6-liter motor mated to a CVT automatic and a low curb weight of 2,767 lbs, the 2022 Rio managed to do 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, equating to combined gas mileage of 36 mpg.
The 11.9-gallons of fuel tank capacity is more than enough to do 488 miles on the highways, and that makes it one of the best in terms of highway range. In comparison, the Hyundai Accent retained a similar tank range and gas mileage since both are built on the same platform and come with the same powertrain. However, the Nissan Versa offered a lower 35 mpg of combined gas mileage.