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| It's surprising to find such good, supportive seats (and good looking seats) in such an affordable car. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, Canadian Auto Press) |
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| As the top of the line model, EX Sport comes with plenty of equipment. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, Canadian Auto Press) |
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| Plenty of airbags, but no ABS. Not even as an option. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, Canadian Auto Press) |
Final priority: Good seats, Good equipment
With all the aftermarket modifications I've suggested up to now, you'd think I'd have mentioned some Sparco seats, but I thought the seats that come with the Rio5's EX Sport package were fabulous. Between the black mesh over red inserts and the perfectly positioned right armrest, everything suited me to a tee. The design was sporty, with a touch of bolstering, but they were easily up to the task of a two-hour road trip with no fatigue, thanks in part to eight-way adjustability, and every time I opened the door and saw the red stitching over the black bolster trim, which matches the door trim as well, I wanted to jump in and take off in a squeal of burning rubber. That's where a nice turbocharger sure would come in handy.
Thankfully, it didn't end with the sporty seats, although they were easily my favourite aspect of the interior. My EX Sport tester added an extra pair of speakers, for a total of six, hooked up to a basic AM/FM CD head unit covered in a satin-metal effect plastic. Other added conveniences included power windows, remote keyless entry, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, as well metal pedals with rubber inserts, fog lights and 14-inch alloy wheels. That may seem like a short list, but it's the icing on the cake that already serves up air conditioning, engine immobilizer, tilt steering wheel and seat heaters. Okay, it's not a Lexus, but you get all that for $16,295, absolutely embarrassing much of the competition that won't even give you power door locks or a/c at that price.
Of course, it's not all roses and sunshine coming out the Rio5's hatchback, there is also a big sacrifice on the part of Kia to bring the Rio in at an appealing price point. While front and side airbags are standard, no curtains are available for second row passengers, and ABS brakes, traction control and stability control are nowhere to be found, not even on the options list. It's not entirely unsafe though, as the NHTSA awards it four stars for driver and five stars for front passenger plus three stars for rear passengers in their crash tests.
The lack of even such a basic technology such as ABS is a little disconcerting, although it's something I, personally, feel I could live without, which is why the Kia is probably the number one car on my under $20K list. It's not perfect, not by a longshot, but it's cheap enough to leave me an allowance to raise it to that next level of imperfection... at least until I can afford a Porsche. It's got the looks, it covers all the basic features I'm looking for and it's affordable enough that I would actually be able to invest in the modifications that I see as a priority, allowing me to get it as hot as I need it to be on my budget.
