2003 Kia Rio consumer reviews

I have owned my car since I bought it new in 2003. It is now January 2008. I cant believe I have had this car for 5 years! It has been the most reliable of the 4 cars I have owned in my lifetime. I have never had to take my car to the shop. I know there is a recall on the "2003 KIA RIO FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY " for which I need to take it back to the dealer, but the serviceman that I talked to said it would be no prob and to bring it by. Other than a few little issues it has been a great car. I took it to the dealer to be check before I drove from AZ to MI which is about a 4,000 mile road trip. I drove there and back completely safe. No breakdowns at all. The only problem was that I don?t have cruise control. It gets great gas mileage though and it zooms! I have the standard model so I am in total control of the acceleration which is excellent. Like I said there are a few little problems. There are 3 recalls: The first is the seat belt, the second about the fuel system, and the last is the clip that is supposed to be added security when using a child safety seat. Also, the cigarette lighter fuses keep blowing when I try to plug anything into them. I tried different things each time. There is one in the front and one in the back and neither have ever worked. Oh yah the speakers blew right away too even though I dont listen to loud music. The other issues are somewhat surface. It gets easily dinged by stray rocks and the paint is chipping and oxidizing because of the sun out here even though I paid extra for sun protection and extra clear coats. It is also very low to the ground when driving it makes it hard to see around large vehicles. Still for what I paid I think I must have gotten the best deal on a car ever. No shop fees so far and my car is paid for with A/C, 5 doors, Alloy wheels, Pirelli tires, and a CD player. It made it back and forth across the US without a hitch. I am quite happy, but the next car I am getting cruise control and working cigarette outlets. : )

I bought the car because it looked like good value for the money. I couldn't have been more wrong!! The engine had an intermittant fault which the dealer couldn't find. Every time we used it we were expecting it to stall. It got to the stage where it had my wife in tears. Eventually we had to part ex to another model which cost us thousands. Kia offered "as a gesture of goodwill" half price on the next service but then withdrew the offer saying it only applied to the Rio not the new car. My personal experience is that both the Rio and Kia customer services are pretty useless and I therefore recommend that you avoid any dealings with them.

This car was awsome. We got because our Saturn's transmission blew up. It was very comfortable. It never lost a part. The air conditioning was optional. And this car had it. This car also got scratches very very easiely. It was scratched in 3 months. Otherwise this car got very good gas milage around 33

this car is horrible!!!! we have it into the shop at leat 4 times a year, it is a good thing that it is under warrenty or we would be paying so much in repair costs. it is so loud when you drive it and it is always falling apart!

I'd say this car is average on about every aspect when considering price. It is very affordable, and fairly reliable. However, we've had considerable troubles with the door handles, locks, seat belt latch falling apart-the cosmetics are "cheap". The most concerning problem we have had is the wheel in the back, which poses SAFETY concerns, especially when transporting children. We've had it fixed three times by a professional mechanic that we have trusted with all our vehicles for 7 years, and the wheel keeps coming loose in the back. It has been costly to fix and is a recurring problem due to the design of the wheel attachments/assembly. The car is comfortable as long as you are riding in the front seat. The back seat has very little leg room. Even our young children have little room and adults must sit to the side for any comfort. The back seat is most functional for storing and transporting small boxes, groceries, etc. It has pretty good get up and go for the small engine and great gas mileage. When considering to trade in, the ONLY thing holding me back from doing so is the gas mileage. At this point I can't justify a larger gas tank and less fuel effiency. Overall, I would say this car is a great car for a college student, high school student or individual who does a lot of driving in town and does not transport more than one passenger at a time.

I purchased a 2003 Kia Rio in 2006. It's a very decent car. The factory's warranty is still on it and everything. I got it for $4999.00 with 39,000 miles on it. I like everything about the car except the fact that it has NO power steering. The interior size is mediocore, however the back seat is VERY small. The car has some pick up and go when you need it to. It's a great car to drive around town all day. It costed me $17.31 to fill it up when it was completly empty. Im thinking about purchasing a new 2007 Rio.

A work-horse of a car. The Kia is the Taxi car fleet of choice in Colombia, S. America (Bogot?, Medell?n, Cali) Plenty of leg room in the front. A perfect second car for the wife and/or kids, grandma or even a recent college graduate whose income can't quite allow him or her to have a BMW or Mercedes. The engine's power is decent for the size of car that it is. In this day and age of $3.00/gallon gas prices, the Kia RIO is a smart decision.