What's New for the 2005 Kia Rio? For 2005, the Kia Rio sedan and Kia Rio Cinco wagon adopt LEV-II emission standards as well as an enhanced OBD-II system. A redesigned Rio is set to arrive for the 2006 model year.
Advantages of the 2005 Kia Rio:
Excellent powertrain warranty
Sedan starts at less than $10,000 (without destination charge)
Spunky engine
Objections to the 2005 Kia Rio:
Vague steering
Flaccid suspension
Lousy handling
Sloppy manual transmission shifter
Unlikely to fare well in crashes with larger vehicles
Editor's Advice: Really, don't buy the 2005 Kia Rio. We know, it has a great warranty, it smells like a new car inside, and it even looks cute. But listen, there's this thing called a certified used car. Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all have plenty of two- and three-year-old certified used cars sitting on their lots that come with extended warranties, a complete detail job and a full inspection for worn bits and pieces. Just imagine, instead of the 2005 Kia Rio, you could buy a nice Honda Civic, a sporty Mazda Protege or a stone-cold reliable Toyota Corolla and get a larger, higher quality and better car to drive every day. Want that new car smell? Drop by the local car wash – they sell it in a little spray bottle. Trust us, the 2005 Kia Rio is rudimentary at best, proving that you do get what you pay for.
"Since 1995, we've helped millions of customers get connected to a local CarSmart Accredited
Dealer for up-front auto pricing and a no-hassle
car and truck buying
experience. We are the Internet's largest new car buying service,
generating over a billion dollars a month in auto sales."
;)
