2001 Kia Rio from North America

Summary:

The greatest value car out there

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong except a mysterious fluid leaked out of the car. We checked all the fluid levels and they were fine, which confused us, but it has not happened since, and all the fluid levels have not worsened.

General Comments:

People make fun of the KIA until they hear that mine gets 38 miles to the gallon.

The perfect car for commuting to work, and has surprising comfort for the driver and the person riding shotgun; personally those seats are very comfortable, while those in the back pray for more room.

It is so light that if people are getting too rowdy they will actually unsteady the car in a turn. With a full car, be careful over speed bumps because the suspension doesn't handle weight to well.

No ABS or power locks in mine, no anything, just bare bones affordable.

I always shout turning radius when I park it because it is so small and easy to park.

All in all, I love the KIA for the economy it provides, and how much abuse it was able to take in the ice storms this winter.

Drive your KIAs with care as you put all 96 horses in action, and turn off the AC to pass people.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th June, 2008

2001 Kia Rio from North America

Summary:

It has its pros and cons

Faults:

I have had good luck with this car for the most part.

My timing belt broke at around 87000. I was one of the lucky ones. Nothing messed up when it broke.

I have had to replace several sets of tires. I did take it to a shop to have it aligned, but that didn't seem to fix my problem.

I have had to replace the clutch, brakes, spark plugs and wires, CV joints and shocks. It has been a pretty reliable car.

A few weeks ago someone backed into it and it is now totaled.

I found another car with a similar problem that everyone else seems to have when their timing belt has broke. The car I bought to put my motor into has a blown motor from the timing belt breaking. One of the things I definitely will do is have the timing belt replaced on my motor in my car before putting it in the car I have bought to put my motor into.

I bought this car used and it has interior problems, but I consider those things you face when buying a cheaply made car.

Overall it has been very reliable for me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 17th April, 2008

2001 Kia Rio from North America

Summary:

Fabulous at a good price

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

My car is at 161,000 and I just got my timing belt done only because I thought it would be a good idea.

I take good care of my car by getting the tires rotated and oil change at the same time at 3,000 miles.

I don't surge the car, take off fast, break at the last minute. I drive it gently and it has been good to me.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th December, 2007

2001 Kia Rio RS 1.5L from North America

Summary:

Piece of crap... never buy any thing kia!!!

Faults:

I live in Saskatchewan, Canada and when the temp. got to -30 the transmission would not shift into overdrive, and the power windows would not open. That was the least of my concerns. The electrical system is crap. It is really under powered. I have had the driver side door lock stop working so I had to use the passenger door. It never really idled nicely. Not that great on gas due to being under powered, and it had to work at everything.

General Comments:

I will never and will do what ever I can to not have anyone else buy one of these pieces of crap. All the way down to the service this company is a farce. On top of the above mentioned problems the motor broke down on me and they said that the timing belt broke and the motor was screwed. They continued to tell me that it would be around 4 to 5 thousand dollars to fix. I took it home and pulled it apart, and the timing belt was not broken, and it just needed a valve job. I had already purchased a salvage motor to replace it by this time. The same with any service I have had... they did nothing, but lie and make weak excuses.

The warranty that I tried to use was crap.

The check engine light always came on and that is a $60 bill right there to read the faults.

I wrote them about all these problems and all I got was a form letter that did not address one problem that I mentioned.

I will stop at that and you can draw you own opinion now.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 25th October, 2007