Photo Gallery:
2012 Kia Rio
Day 1 | Day 2| Day 3 | Day 4
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Last week, I got to drive a really, really fast car slowly around town. Perhaps this week may actually be more exciting, as I drive a slow car faster on the highway, and have some fun shifting the gears of its six-speed manual transmission. Yes, you read that correctly—this week my tester, the 2012 Kia Rio Sedan, is equipped with a six-speed manual transmission—a treat for me, as usually these types of vehicles are sent to us loaded up with an automatic transmission.
My tester is a Rio EX sedan model; for those not familiar with Kia’s nomenclature, Kia typically labels their vehicles LX (Base), EX (mid), and SX for the fully loaded version. The Rio sedan is also available as the LX+, and the SX trim adds UVO for their high-end stereo/entertainment system.
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So, for just over $18,000, including A/C tax, freight and PDI, this Rio offers a good amount of equipment. Obvious features to me when I first stepped in were the sunroof, cruise control, A/C, heated seats, Bluetooth, and Jukebox stereo system (UVO). Later, I noticed that this vehicle also features a backup camera, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, side mirrors with LED signal lights, leather steering wheel, leather-trimmed door panels, and 60/40 split folding rear seat.
For an extra $1,300 you could option this vehicle with a six-speed automatic transmission, but then what fun would that be?
MSRP as tested (including destination): $18,750
For more information on Kia and the Rio visit Kia Canada
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