2009 Kia Rio - Review

Marty Padgett

Editorial Director BIO

Marty Padgett is High Gear Media's Editorial Director, overseeing the words that skim across High Gear Media's portfolio of automotive destinations... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive Supercar: First Drive Video
It was a Mercedes-Benz icon before it became a performance flagship. Now it's a messenger for the... Read More

#5LEADERBOARD RANK
5164ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
111COMMENTS POSTED

6,042 views February 18, 2009

See more photos

Comparing small cars head to head leads to some surprising results. Here's an example: if you'd told me that a Kia would come out on top of a Chevrolet among subcompacts, I'd have told you that you were a couple of eggs short of a dozen. That's what the reviews at TheCarConnection.com say, though--so let’s look at the two newest players in the five-door sub-compact market, the 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 and the 2009 Kia Rio5 in depth.

I love America as much as the next person born and raised here, so let us examine the basics of the Aveo 5 first. TheCarConnection.com (TCC) overview page of the 2009 Chevy Aveo 5, which oddly enough is being manufactured in South Korea by Daewoo, tells us that this little gem comes in at a base MSRP of $11,695 (see the MSRP for other trim models here) . For this amount of coin you get what reviewers have called a decent sub-compact car that will suffice if you are going on grocery runs and need to carry the occasional four passengers. The interior has...