2022 Kia Rio Review: the Subcompact Still Has a Place

Auto123 reviews the 2022 Kia Rio EX Premium.

The electric transition continues apace, though it remains very much incomplete. One of the reasons why the switch is laborious is that electric cars are still, well, expensive, and that keeps them out of reach for a lot of motorists on a budget. Advocates of alternative energy can argue all they want that the technology allows for saving on gas expenditures and save owners money in the long run, the fact is that a $45,000 car isn't possible for everyone.

And if that's not enough, the supply-chain crisis has driven up the price of new and used vehicles and driven down inventories. In short, access to a car is complicated these days. Fortunately, there are still a few attainable options. Like this Kia Rio for example, a sub-compact car that has been around for 20 years now. A cousin of the now-defunct Hyundai Accent, the Rio is one of the few options on the market that won’t cost buyers on a budget their shirt, an arm and maybe even a leg.

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A "discreet" design
Only available as a hatchback, the Kia Rio is dressed in a rather aggressive grille for a car, while the fog light design is superb with lots of details, a nice touch on a budget car. As for the "tiger nose" signature, it's very present, curved between the triangular headlights.

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