Kia Rio review

This is Kia's speciality. The cars are reliable and easy to own and costs are amazingly predictable. The only extra cost once you’ve decided what spec you want is whether you want to spend on the paint (around £300 for the optional colours, rising to £550 for what Kia calls ‘premium paint’) – a refreshing approach for those worried about the dealer piling on the extras.

The headline surely goes to the warranty, though. It covers seven years and 100,000 miles, and stays valid as the car is sold on. Most of us would think a 95,000-mile supermini is close to scrap, but a Rio will still be under its new car guarantee.

You can also get a package covering up to five years of servicing and MOTs for a fixed price.

There are often good deals to be found on the Rio, with enticingly low monthly payments. Looking around, we found monthly lease deals at around £220 a month for a mid-spec 2, rising to around £260 a month for the range-topping GT-Line S.

Kia is also currently running a scrappage scheme to persuade you into one of its new cars – trade in your seven-year-old motor (as long as you’ve owned it for three months, no cheating) and the company will give you £2,000 off a Rio.