SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Booting it: 2017 Kia Rio 1.4 TEC Hatch

Just more fun

Pics by Kia@Motorpress
Posted: 20 November 2017

The numbers
Price: R274 900
Engine: 1396 cc, DOHC, CVVT, 16-valve inline four
Power: 74 kW at 6300 rpm
Torque: 135 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 176 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.3 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 325 – 980 litres
Turning circle: 10.2 metres
Ground clearance: Min. 140 mm
Maximum towing mass (braked / unbraked): 1000/450 kg
Warranty and roadside assistance: 5 years / unlimited km
Service plan: 4 years / 60 000 km


It’s a simple formula: Leave alone that which does not need fixing (engine, gearbox and basic construction) and improve or facelift everything else.

And so it was done. The percentage of advanced high strength steel (AHSS) used to build it was increased from 33 percent in the previous range to 51 percent today. It went into strengthening the passenger cell to increase safety, distribute impact forces more effectively and save weight.

Suspension and steering modifications, including five-percent quicker rack gearing, improved handling responses, cornering stability and comfort levels.

Kia then made the body marginally longer (+15 mm) and 5 mm lower while stretching the wheelbase by 10 mm. The shell was also “moved forward” to increase front overhang by 20 mm and shorten its rear by 15 mm – not that you will see that. What is noticeable, however, is that boot space is up by 37 litres to 325.

The company claims that this reshuffling increased rear seat legroom by 60 mm but we are sceptical. Sitting in the back, behind the driver’s chair adjusted for normal comfort, our knees touched the seatbacks just as they did when we tried one in 2012. More interesting is that the “C” pillars were trimmed by 87 mm and new quarter panes added, to improve the view outward while the car’s waistline was dropped by an unspecified degree to make it easier to see parking bay demarcation lines.

Headroom is as before despite the lower roofline, so we suspect that Kia managed to “sink” the whole compartment down into the floor pan slightly. We noticed that the doorsills are quite deep, making exit a touch more awkward than we remembered. Space engineering is difficult. The fuel tank remains at 45 litres and the spare is still fully sized.

Styling-wise, practically every exterior panel was changed, the main grille became marginally taller and wider, head-, fog- and tail lamps changed shape and the windows look taller. The dash was redone with vertical touch screen, new instruments and new vents. There are more power points than previously, including a recharging USB in the back.

Back seat facilities are almost as previously with three head restraints and two-and-a-half belts although one of the seatback pockets has gone. What is nice is that the tipping releases are now accessible from behind and there is a second courtesy light so you can see what you’re doing when strapping bambina into her ISOFix/iSize safety chair.

The hatch opens down to 72 cm to reveal a boot that’s 21 cm deep and boasts a rubber mat, a light, four eyelets and a pair of bag hooks. The 60:40-split seatbacks fold almost flat although that leaves a step upward into the passenger area. A pair of pull-down handles accommodates both lefties and righties.

Kia’s local Rio range consists of seven hatchbacks that were facelifted and updated last June and five sedans apparently awaiting similar treatment. A single entry-level model in each configuration uses the 1248 cc engine while all others are fitted with the 1400 unit. Noticeable is that “new” 1400 engines in hatchbacks are rated at only 74 kilowatts while those in older-style sedans claim 79. We suspect that it’s just an engineering re-interpretation. Torque outputs are the same throughout. Our test car was a top-of-range 1.4 TEC manual.

At this level one graduates to six airbags rather than two, automatic air conditioning, 17” wheels rather than 15-inch, Bluetooth with voice recognition, automatic lights with welcome home, LED daytime running lamps and the seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple iPlay and Android Auto (when that gets here).  Other special touches include projection headlamps, LED tail lights, rearview camera with lines, rear park assist, rain sensing wipers, cruise control, electro-chromic interior mirror and leather seats.

Having dug deeper than most colleagues do we found that, in either configuration, the 1400 engine boasts a very useful torque curve. Although it peaks at 135 Nm at 4200 rpm, it maintains at least 125 Nm all the way from 3000 rpm to 5300. That means you experience a broad band of pulling power throughout that range, making it easy to drive in city traffic and on freeways.

As mentioned in our previous evaluation of a Rio 1400, the six-speed manual gearbox is sweetly smooth, the car is pleasant to drive, it’s solid and steady and is deserving of its almost iconic status. Sharp-eyed readers will note that our “real life” fuel consumption is a bit higher than with the previous car. We cannot explain that apart from a tiny increase in mass of about 26 kg – we probably just had more fun with it.

Test unit from Kia SA press fleet.


We drove a Kia Rio 1.4 automatic in 2019

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

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