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-
If All You Do Is Drive Around - 2002 Kia Rio
By Suzanne - December 2 - 12:23 amThe 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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Money well spent - 2002 Kia Rio
By Roguebull - November 4 - 5:43 amBought Rio with 53K miles on it (still in warranty!), took the back seats out, used it as a mini ranch truck so I could drive my truck less. I live in the cold Pacific Northwest but the Rio has never failed to start on the first revolution. Ive had it off road, (which it is not designed for), and on snowy mountain fire trails. I carried lumber, pipe, dogs and feed bags inside with the windows up and the rear seats out. It got from 29 mpg to 37 mpg depending on how I used it. Only complaint: little hard for big man in western hat to squeeze in and out of. But it never let me down in 40K miles, did all it was asked to do and more, and thus is one of the best buys for the dollar Ive owned.
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Nice Little car w/a price U CANT beat! - 2002 Kia Rio
By David-WI - August 21 - 10:00 amI REALLY like this little car. Plus I COULDNT pass up on the price either. Granted it is a little 4cyl car but it has nearly everything you need at a base model price. I paid 12K even for this car and got nearly everything I wanted. I had the dealer install after market cruise and I am set!! The A/C works just fine, it has a roomy hatch and it looks great!!! All for 12K!! How can you go wrong????
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MY FIRST CAR - 2002 Kia Rio
By Sherman - June 11 - 3:20 pmI have a 2002 Kia Rio and I had for about one year now and I have nothing but good things to say about this car. This is my first car and luckily it is a very good one. When I first bought this car I was a little leery because I grew up an American car lover and this one was Korean. Second I was concerned about the performance factor since it only has 96 horsepower. All my worries were put to sleep when I had the car for a day and the way it handled and the surprising snap it had for only 96 horsepower. Next is the reliability; in the 11 months I owned it the car never gave a sign of problems. The only money spent was for maintenance and the crazy wheels, paint and engine upgrade. great car.
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Solid and Sane - 2002 Kia Rio
By albuscornix - May 12 - 10:23 amI have had no problems with the car so far, it runs well, gets amazing mileage, and is fairly comfortable, the interior is a little cheap, but it keeps moving and thats what matters.
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Wish I had Not Purchased - 2002 Kia Rio
By hatetherio - February 13 - 2:00 amI have had my Kia Rio for about 16 months now. The whistling noise is more than annoying, I have already had to replace the brakes and tires, although the gas milage is great there is nothing else good I could say about the car, I am trading it in this week for something much much more reliable.
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Excellent deal - 2002 Kia Rio
By kerri9494 - December 7 - 2:00 amJust brought this car home, so I dont know about the reliability yet. However, Im happy with everything. The seats are firm and supportive, theres no body roll on corners, the leg room in the front is ample (although much less in the back), everything WORKS. Its not a performance car, but heck, Im a soccer mom. I got in the car this morning, started it up, and it got me all the way to work safely, in climate-controlled comfort. What more can you want from a LOADED car (every option) that I got for $12,700?
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Falling apart - 2002 Kia Rio
By Da Skipper - October 20 - 10:00 amI got the car for good gas milage. Thats all Im getting. Two year old car with only 33,000 is falling apart. Having troubles with breaks, interior trim falling off, extreme wind noise, and not the factory radio has died. Service dept. at dealer I purchased it from is totally worthless and I refuse to return to them.
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Sop far so good - 2002 Kia Rio
By OldBear3468 - June 2 - 2:00 amTwotanks of gas and one freeway trip equals suprising improvement in my 2003 Rio, which , though they have been out two months Edmunds fails to note. P is up to 104 and power windows are available. At 6 and 250 Im comfortable in the cabin at all speeds.
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Mixed bag - 2002 Kia Rio
By treacherousdad - May 8 - 10:00 amI love my little Kia... except that this year has many problems. You either get one that will last forever, or you get an utter lemon. My luck has given me the latter. These things have a nasty habit of bad grounds, blowing head gaskets, and having sensors go out... all at a premium cost if you can even find the parts. If the car were more reliable, I would recommend it to anyone. What I love is the handling. The car is fun to toss around in S-turns and roundabouts. I like the interior and it is comfortable. RPM spin a little high on the freeway, but then the motor is tiny, so what do you expect.
