I had the pleasure of driving a loaded Kia Rio 2012 sedan for one week so that I would be able to share my opinions with my readers. I took it for a hour and a half road trip to visit my grandmother. My husband took it for a little road trip to the Jack Daniels Distillery with a few friends. I also used it to bring my kids to and from school. So we tested the Kia Rio out in several driving situations. Here is my Kia Rio 2012 review.
Kia Rio 2012 Review As Family Car
2012 Kia Rio Fuel Economy:
Always top of my mind when looking at a vehicle is the fuel economy and the Kia Rio sedan fares well in this department. The EPA estimated MPG for the Kia Rio 2013 is 30 MPG for the city and 40 MPG for the highway.
The dashboard has these awesome features where you can scroll through your trip mileage and it will tell you the average MPG for your trip. I averaged around 35 for city driving and 43 for highway. The same dash feature also allows you to scroll to how many miles you can drive till you run out of gas- I liked that too!
2012 KIA Rio Safety:
As a mommy, now more than ever, I like to look at safety ratings. NHTSA Crash Data for the Kia Rio 2012 Overall Front score was 4 out of 5 stars and Overall Side was 5 out of 5 stars. NHTSA Crash Data for the Kia Rio 2012 Overall was 4 out of 5 stars. The IIHS rates the Kia Rio vehicle safety as Good (their highest score) in their overall score and individual area scores as well.
The Kia Rio Safety Features:
- Driver Air Bag
- Passenger Air Bag
- Side Head Air Bag
- Rear Head Air Bag
- Side Air Bag
- 4-Wheel ABS
- 4-Wheel Disc Brakes
- Electronic Stability Control
- Child Safety Locks
- Traction Control
- Emergency Trunk Release
My Overall Kia Rio Impressions:
I think the Kia Rio 2012 sedan is a good looking compact car with good fuel economy. I like the styling and I like the LED positioning lights and tail lights. It has a 1.6L gas direct injection 4 cylinder engine with a 138 horsepower at 6,300 rpm. The 2012 Rio has a standard USB port and it can be loaded with features such as navigation, rear view camera, Sirus radio, push button start with smart key, heated leather front seats, and voice command UVO. The Kia Rio is a sleek, fun car and starts at just $13,600.
However, it is the type of car that I would have purchased before I had kids and had to lug stuff for 4 people around. The Kia Rio 2012 passenger volume is 88.4 cubic feet and the cargo volume is 13.7 and though not bad for a compact car, I felt a huge difference from the KIA Soul for instance- you can read my KIA Soul review for more details. Also for some reason, my kids (5 and 7) had difficulty with clicking the seat belts in the Kia Rio but did so easily in the Kia Soul.
Something else to love about the Kia Rio- The 2013 Kia Rio has received the US EPA SmartWay Certification Mark given to the cleanest most fuel efficient vehicles. The Kia Rio received a 9 out of 10 for its Global Warming Score. You can read more on the official Kia Rio webpages.
I was provided with the KIA Rio to use for 7 days by STI Inc with the hopes that I would share my honest opinions. I received no monetary compensation and the opinions expressed are my own.
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Robin says
Good info. With 3 kids, that car wouldn’t be big enough for me, but maybe someday…..