Overview & Reviews

One of America's least expensive cars now comes in sedan or wagon flavor. Dubbed the Rio Cinco, the five-door Kia provides 44.3 cubic feet of storage space with the rear seat down.

• Unbeatable price, peppy engine, decent build quality relative to price point, inoffensive styling, great warranty package.

• Unrefined ride quality, power windows and cruise control are MIA from the option list.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 83.00

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  If All You Do Is Drive Around - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Suzanne - December 2 - 12:23 am

  The Kia was cheap, hence my initial attraction. But it also loses its value rather quickly. Then I noticed things like... the back seats dont fold down and the battery is so underpowered and short-lived, listening to the radio for more than 10 minutes drains it! It is also extremely intolerant to delayed oil changes. Most other vehicles, the 3,000 mile limit is for high-stress vehicles like cop cars and taxis...but watch out for lifter noise if you go that long. The mileage has been decent, like an old Escort, about 28 mpg. Not the 35 advertised certainly. It needs more power if its going to take on hilly terrain. I will never buy a Rio again!

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  So So Car - 2002 Kia Rio
  By macbob - July 11 - 9:13 pm

  Recently bought this used Kia Rio Cinco with 33.000 original miles. Weak performance, especially with a/c on. Engine light is on and not fixed yet. Unknown why light is on. Car handles badly with vibrations, etc. A car with only 33k miles should not have these problems. My 1991 Buick regal I sold to buy this Kia was a lot better running car. No more Kia for me.

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  Mixed feelings. Under-rated, but I wont buy a Kia again. - 2002 Kia Rio
  By harmonia2927 - September 12 - 5:08 pm

  This was my first college car. I bought it in summer of 2010 with 96,000 miles on it. I blindly went into buying it, no research done. I ended up falling in love with this little car. I drove it to school and back SEVERAL times (10 hour drive), and went on many road trips in it. It also made it up my mile-long dirt road at home. Im surprised it lasted. PROS: great gas mileage, runs well with normal maintenance CONS: noisy engine, doesnt accelerate well with the AC on, tin can, cheaply made, manual windows and locks, tiny back seat I drove it to 118,885 miles. It could have lasted longer, but I hit a deer and totalled it. :( Lesson learned, I wont buy a Kia again. But it was fun.

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  Good basic car - 2002 Kia Rio
  By skishopgirl - December 7 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this car because of the great price. I soon realized what I gave up. "Top of the line" means CD player, "power locks" (push down on driver lock), spoiler and I believe alloy wheels. I was misadvised at the dealership that the rear seats folded down. This caused a huge problem when I accidentally locked my keys in the trunk on a Fri. night - had to wait until Mon. for dealer who could only rekey my locks, not get into the trunk. Car was in the shop 4 x b/c service engine light constantly came on. Replacing gas tank cap didnt fix that. I soon upgraded to a fully loaded Chevy & have only vague memories of my dissapointments in this car.

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  should of bought a spectra - 2002 Kia Rio
  By mcsmith - July 30 - 10:00 am

  I have currently 1000 miles onthe car. INTERIOR: decent headroom and legroom,but tight width wise. EXTERIOR:doors and trunk are so light that it makes it difficult to close(bounce back open) ENGINE: peppy around town, cruises at 75 no problem, but no power up steep grades and a.c. overburdens the engine. HANDELING:anti-sway bars not up to par. MILEAGE: 24mpg driving very conservatve.

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  Kinda scary - 2002 Kia Rio
  By richard - November 21 - 5:43 pm

  Just purchased this "Korea car" used, need it to commute, standard 5 speed trans, no air? At 93,300 miles how long will this be trouble free? Notice alt belt is frayed, how often should you replace the belts? What happens when the timing belt breaks? How many trouble free miles can you get from Korea?

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  Do not buy one - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Dont Buy ONE! - November 13 - 4:23 pm

  I bought my Rio in January with 68K miles and not after 5 months of driving the engine died! I was on the freeway and it seized! After inspection they thought it was a timing belt but in the process of inspection of the engine found that the lower part of the engine died and then broke the timing belt, spark plugs blown into bits and pieces! After call KIA they said that the last 2 years they made better engines and the engine in the 2002 was not "good." They tried to sell me a new kia but after my experance I will never buy a kia and never recommend them to a friend, in fact I told my friend who owns a kia to sell his fast! Dont get one!

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  Bad Crunch - 2002 Kia Rio
  By Annie - February 5 - 8:56 am

  This car is okay but does not hold up well in an accident. I was in one about a month ago and it wasnt even my fault. The other people had their car fixed and back to work. Mine was totaled at the scene and Im still not allowed to go back to work because of back and neck injuries. We were hit by a 95 Jeep Cherokee and they only had minor damages to the vehicle.