Her Name is Rio

Movin’ on the floor now, Babe

You’re a bird of paradise

Cherry ice cream smile

I suppose it’s very nice

With a stealthy left and a quick to the right

You catch a mirror way out West

You know you’re something special

And you look like you’re the best



Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand

Just like that river twistin’ through a dusty land

And when she shines, she really shows you all she can

Oh, Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande

Pardon me for bursting into a song but I can’t help it. This song, popularized by the ‘80s hit boy band Duran Duran, kept playing in my head as I drove the new Kia Rio Hatchback. To make sure I get it right, I dug up my old Duran Duran CD set and played it repeatedly in the car while driving around the Metro. And personally, I think the song really compliments the driving experience with the new Rio Hatchback.

Euro Looks

The song’s guitar licks and funky techno xylophone sends me back to the European invasion of the music scene when Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet were the hottest tickets. In similar fashion, the Kia Rio Hatchback’s exterior evokes a European feel to it, specifically with its artful proportions, front and rear styling cues and that roofline arc that joins the hatch. Nothing on the Rio’s exterior says "affordable Korean econocar" except perhaps for the plastic wheel caps on the black 14-inch steel rims, but they can easily be replaced with flashier, rather more European aftermarket wheels.

Parked in a sea of econoboxes, our white Kia Rio Hatchback test car stands out like "an Englishman in New York" pardon the continuing reference to the ‘80s. It has a very distinguished European uprightness that separates it from the flashy and swanky designs adapted by most Japanese economy cars. The rear, especially, evokes a Teutonic feel that you wouldn’t be discriminated at your favorite local nightspot if you parked alongside a fleet of German sport hatchbacks.

Inside, the Rio continues to evoke a European feel with its airy greenhouse, tan interior, black dash top and accent pieces. The black 4-spoke steering wheel has a European tactile feel about it and the driver seat ergonomics have an almost Teutonic layout. The shifter, with its conventional shift lock and straight gate, is the only reminder of the Rio’s Asian origin, but even that connotes a Japanese quality to it. Had Kia installed a shift gate like that of a Mercedes-Benz or an Opel, the Rio’s Euro car illusion would have been complete.

European Delivery

The Kia Rio Hatchback is powered by a 1.4-liter inline 4-cylinder engine topped with an aluminum cylinder head equipped with double overhead camshafts (DOHC), 4 valves per cylinder and electronic fuel injection. This combination produces a horsepower output of 94PS at 6000rpm and 127Nm of torque at 4700rpm, which is delivered to a 4-speed overdrive automatic that drives the front wheels. A McPherson strut suspension with stabilizer controls the front while a torsion beam axle suspends the rear and gives the rear cargo area a flatter floor area and increased space. On paper, the Rio’s equipment specs look quite ordinary and common for a regular Korean or Japanese hatchback. But on the road, Kia made sure that its power train and chassis deliver an excitement uncommon to cars in its class.

The engine’s power delivery, for example, is designed for fuel economy at low traffic speeds and the Kia Rio Hatchback delivers better-than-average fuel economy surpassed only by its smaller stable mate, the 1.0-liter Kia Picanto. However, once your left foot feels the urge to mash the throttle, the Rio will accelerate smartly to extra-legal speeds faster than those twin-carb’d twin-cam gas-guzzling modified econoboxes from the ‘80s. Trust me; I diced with a boy racer who looked perplexed that his old-school econo flyer had to muster everything it had to keep up with my Korean hatchback.

When the boy racer was finally gaining on me, we came to some twisty portions on the road. This is another part where the Rio excels because when the Kia engineers tuned the suspension to be compliant yet firm for the added weight of the hatchback and its projected load, they inadvertently made the car into a corner carving machine. While it doesn’t exactly corner like a Bavarian driving machine, its handling characteristics feel closer to a sports sedan than an econobox. Its agility simply inspires confidence with excellent feedback and minimal body roll. The poor boy racer couldn’t catch up through the twisties even though his heavily-modified ‘80s icon was scraping the road because of its lowered stance. Bye-bye, boy racer!

Won Not Euro

With its European features, Teutonic tautness and Jeckle-and-Hyde power train, you’d think that the Kia Rio Hatchback will be fetching prices near the mainstream Japanese sport sedans. Fortunately, since the Rio is made in Korea, the currency exchange rates are in Won instead of the very expensive Euro denominations, so Columbian Auto Cars, Inc., the Philippine distributor of Kia automobiles can price the hatchback at P675,000, which is surprisingly reasonable given the Rio Hatchback’s features and performance potentials.

Thus, if you’re a young family with a flair for European things but with a budget burdened by the spiraling fuel cost, kids’ education and increasing household expenses, look into the Kia Rio Hatchback. Your neighbors won’t know that you got a bargain unless you tell them. And if they ask you why you bought a new Kia instead of a hatchback made by a more popular car brand, you can just drive them around and play Duran Duran’s "Rio" on the CD player. Just don’t forget to make them to listen to the last stanza.

Her name is Rio, she don’t need to understand

And I might find her if I’m lookin’ back I can

Oh Rio, Rio hear them shout across the land

From mountains in the North and to the Rio Grande

The Good

• Looks like a European hatchback

• Accelerates like a Japanese rice rocket

• Handles like a German sports sedan

• Has room fit even for Americans

• Priced for Filipinos

The Bad

• Invites you to mash it

• Drinks fuel when you do

• Suspension may need some TLC

The Verdict

• If you’re into Euro stuff but can’t afford Euro prices, the Kia Rio Hatchback may just be the hot ticket.