Rio will put you in festive mood

FOR two years, I have been banging on about how the “Koreans are coming” and I’m not referring to the military strength of Kim Jong-Un’s recently inherited Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but to the industrial strength of their hated southern neighbours in the Republic of Korea.

I met a man involved in one of Ireland’s top retail car companies, which has agencies for leading brands — including Kia.

He was disappointed because these brands were either too popular (and not profitable enough) or too niche (profitable, but not selling enough). I was bemused, particularly so with regard to Kia, which is one of the fastest growing brands anywhere. Along with Korean sister company Hyundai, it is making huge inroads all over the world.

Were I in possession of a Kia agency, I would be thrilled with myself, especially considering the new and very saleable models the company was producing, all the while increasing sales potential.

Maybe I am a touch ignorant of the economics of car retailing, but there has to be substantial cause for optimism when you are dealing with an ambitious brand at a time when overall economic growth is low.

I’d have to say that when you look at what Kia are producing, in terms of the Picanto, the Cee’d, the Venga, the Sportage, the Soul and so forth, I’d be a pretty happy bunny.

I’d be delirious when I realised the range was being augmented by the new Rio, the subject of this week’s test.

In times past, the Rio was a joke, a bargain basement runaround that was never as technologically competent or as decent a design as anything else in the supermini segment.

If you cast your eye along the list of Kia products above, you’ll realise the company has come a long way in a short time. Since it hired design guru Peter Schreyer in 2006, the company’s emphasis — not to mention its model offerings — has been deeply realigned.

The new Rio not only reflects this, but also the growing worldwide ambitions harboured by the Korean outfit. It is a supermini now capable of dining at the top table and which can no longer be viewed simply as a cheap form of motoring.

That it is still a cheap form of motoring is to be lauded, but there is now a lot more to the Rio than before. With stuff like its value for money and seven-year warranty, there are compelling reasons to consider it.

The test car was fitted with the 1.25-litre petrol engine (the 1.4-litre turbodiesel is the only other option), which boasts a decent, maximum output of 62 kW (83 bhp), 121 Nm of torque and has a top speed of 168 kph and a 0-100 kph capability of 13.1 seconds, all of which is ball-park for the segment.

On the economy front, Kia say it will return 5.1 l/100 km over the combined cycle and while a lot of companies tend to be optimistic about the abilities of their products, it just might be that they are not too far off the mark here.

The Rio rides and handles with considerable aplomb — which is not something you’d be able to say about some of its predecessors — and the overall driving experience is very positive. We first saw this sort of thing in the Cee’d, when Kia came up with a car to impress enthusiasts and we have seen that trend continue as the model line-up has evolved. The Rio now is a very tidy machine to take out onto the highways and byways.

The interior décor and the furniture are good and a terribly long way from the bad old, low-rent days of not so long ago. Gone are the swathes of industrial grade plastics, replaced by materials far more pleasing to both the eye and to the touch.

The switchgear is also a lot more user-friendly and the level of kit is incredible when you consider what the company peddled in times past. Interior space and passenger comfort are top drawer and kids will certainly not complain about the level of room on offer in the rear. The boot too is bigger than many in the class.

So, if you have not been on-message in recent years, Kia — along with sister company Hyundai — is moving quickly to a point where it will be frightening the gizzard out of its many European and Japanese rivals.

We have already seen a rush to drastically improve warranty terms by both Toyota and Ford in this country and this has undoubtedly been sparked by what is on offer from the Koreans.

And when Ford and Toyota start getting itchy pants, then somebody is doing something to cause it.

Kia’s very ambitious growth plans are all very well and good in their own right, but when they have the product to back up their talk — as they most certainly do with the Rio — then it is no wonder their automotive rivals are getting worried.