2017 Kia Rio vs Renault Clio

What's the difference?

There's a lot to like about the Kia Rio S. It's comfortable, roomy, and economical, with heaps of safety tech on board, plus the only seven year, unlimited km warranty offered in this market. But its breathless engine is a sizable drawback, the hard plastics through the interior will be a turn-off for many, and a higher asking price than its key competitors doesn't help. Harder swimming is required to get ahead of the light car pack.

The Zen is well-equipped, fun to drive and has a good after-sales package. In Europe, the Clio runs rampant, partly because the cars that tread all over it here are more expensive and partly because the car is designed to European tastes.

While Renault has improved the value proposition of the Clio, it is still missing a couple of bits and pieces that are important at this level - mostly around safety - and a few more trinkets in the interior would bring it right up to speed. The Zen hasn't got a price problem so much as a perception problem.

Which is a pity, because it is my personal favourite light hatch, even if there are better overall cars out there. It's got that French zing about the way it looks and, if you buy one, you'll definitely stand out.

The architect of Kia's recent styling revolution is Peter Schreyer, a gifted designer that raised automotive eyebrows around the world when he upped stumps at Volkswagen Group in 2006 to join the Korean carmaker.

Under his watch, the Kia design team has internationalised and unified the look of the entire range, from the tiny Picanto to the jumbo-size Carnival people mover.

A signature element across the line-up is the tabbed 'Tiger Nose' grille, and the new Rio proudly wears a sleek and neatly refined version of it, with distinctive, raked headlights sitting either side.

From there though, the overall look is pretty much hatch by-the-numbers. Inoffensive but uninspiring, with a generic approach to the profile and rear treatment.

An odd touch is a pronounced handle on the rear hatch door. Flying in the face of the current trend towards low-key integration of this type of function, it looks like a clumsy throwback to the 1980s.

Inside, the dash is cool and clean, with the central 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen standing proud of the main fascia. Key controls are clear and simple, while the soft-form instrument binnacle houses a large speedo and tachometer, with a multi-function LCD display (including a digital speed read-out) between them.

The Rio S interior colour palette ranges all the way from grey to dark grey, with tightly woven and subtly textured cloth trim on the seats.

 
One small whinge relates to the four button blanks in the console. Yes, the S is the base model, but blanks in place of controls for 'stuff' fitted to higher variants really rams the fact home.

This Clio was born good looking, in a masculine kind of way. The front is quite French, bucking the current trend and going with big, chunky headlights that put me in mind of the Renault 12 and 16 of decades ago. 

They didn't have Renault's now-signature C-shaped LEDs DRLs, though. 

As you head towards the rear of the car, it gets all muscular and athletic, which is unusual in a segment that goes for svelte (Mazda2) or dull (everything else).

Inside bears the hallmarks of a design idea that has persisted for almost two decades. Big friendly curves and blobby shapes abound, meaning no hard edges or shiny surfaces to dazzle you in the sunlight. It's a bit Fisher-Price, but in an inoffensive, grey plastic kind of way. 

The one concession to trend is the control cluster and touchscreen mounted on the dash, in a big piano black frame. Like most of its competitors, it's dark in here but at the same time, well made and feels like it will last for many years. Which is nice.

Measuring just over 4.0m long, 1.7m wide, and 1.45m high, the Rio fits the light car template to a tee. Its 2.6m wheelbase plants the wheels close to each corner to maximise interior space, and the result is surprisingly generous accommodation.

Plenty of space up front, with two cupholders (of different sizes) in the centre console and bottle bins (big enough for 1.5-litre bottles) in the doors. There's also a storage box between the front seats and a decent glovebox.

For powering and connecting purposes you'll find a 12 volt outlet, an auxiliary line-in socket, a USB port, as well as a drop-down sunglasses box in the roof. And if you're on the gaspers, there's even a cigarette lighter (the ashtray is removable).

Swings and roundabouts in the back, with a handy amount of head and legroom (for this 183cm tester) offset by the lack of controllable air vents, central armrest or cupholders.

Three adults across the back will be uncomfortably tight for anything other than short journeys, but there's a 12 volt power socket, USB port, a map pocket on the back of the front passenger seat (only), and (500ml) bottle bins in the doors.

Open the rear hatch and you're greeted with 325 litres of cargo space with the 60/40 split fold rear seat upright. That's enough to hold our three piece suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres), or the CarsGuide pram, albeit in an awkwardly side-on position.

Fold the rear seats down (flat) and the load space increases to a substantial 980 litres. As well as the main cargo area, there's a handy storage bin on the passenger side, a light, parcel hooks, and four tie down anchor points. The spare is a space saver.

Towing capacity is understandably limited, with 450kg allowed for an unbraked trailer and 1000kg for a braked trailer.

The worst bits of the Clio are the ridiculous cupholders, which are also in the Captur. Placed between the front seatbacks, they're assymetrical and even the bigger one doesn't fit a standard-sized Keep Cup. The rear one will take a Red Bull can but it will fall over under acceleration.

Once you're over that peculiarly French foible, you'll notice the Clio is a surprisingly spacious car for its size. Front seat passengers enjoy lots of head, shoulder and legroom, and comfortable seats. Rear seat passengers enjoy good legroom but marginal headroom as the roof gently falls towards the top of the hatch.

The boot is 300 litres, although you wouldn't think it to look at it. The loading lip is high, too, which is kind of annoying - a Mazda-like falsie would be quite handy here for when you need all the space. Drop the 60/40 split fold back seats and you'll have 1146 litres to play with, which is not bad at all, despite the big step in the floor.

The Zen is the second step in the line-up, which also includes Life, Intens and GT-Line versions. The Zen auto (there is no manual) we had starts at $19,990, $2000 more than the Life Auto and $4000 more than the 1.0-litre Life manual.

The Zen spec includes 16-inch alloys, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, auto LED headlights and daytime running lights, cruise control, six-speaker stereo with 7.0-inch touchscreen, keyless entry and start, sat nav, heated powered door mirrors, leather steering wheel and gear shifter, auto wipers and a space-saver spare tyre slung under the car.

The touchscreen media system is the down-spec colour version of Renault's own R-Link. It's perfectly useable but slow to boot up and doesn't support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, which is a shame. Having said that, few of its obvious competitors do... if you count the Hyundai Accent as an obvious competitor.

The single Rio engine option is the 'Kappa' 1.4-litre, naturally aspirated petrol four cylinder, producing a modest 74kW at a peaky 6000rpm, and 133Nm at a relatively high 4000rpm.

It's an all-alloy, overhead cam, 16-valve design, featuring variable valve timing (inlet and exhaust). It drives the front wheels through a six-speed manual (as tested here) or four speed automatic transmission.

The 1017kg Zen is powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged four cylinder, developing 88kW/190Nm. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a six-speed twin-clutch auto and will motor the Zen from 0-100km/h in under 10 seconds, which isn't bad for such a small engine.

Kia quotes combined (urban/extra urban) fuel economy of 5.6L/100km for the six-speed manual Rio S, emitting 129g/km of CO2 in the process.

That's a pretty handy number, and the other good news is the engine is tuned to run on regular 91 unleaded. At that rate, the tank's 45-litre capacity equates to a theoretical range of around 800km.

Over roughly 350km of city, suburban and freeway running, we recorded 8.4L/100km (courtesy of the on-board computer), which still converts to a handy 535 kays between fills.

Renault claims 5.6L/100km for the combined cycle, and we managed 6.7L/100km in a mix of mostly suburban and some highway running, which is a pretty good effort. Only downside is the 1.2 prefers the good stuff (95RON unleaded).

Kia claims the new Rio's bodyshell is stiffer than the outgoing model's, which has allowed a more compliant (strut front, torsion beam rear) suspension set-up, and like every other Kia model offered in Australia, the Rio's underpinnings have been comprehensively revised and tweaked by local tuning guru Graeme Gambold.

The results are impressive, with a balance between ride comfort, body control and dynamic response cars costing at least twice as much would be proud to call their own.

That's the good news. The not so good news is the powertrain.

With just 74kW on hand to shift 1.1 tonnes of hatchback, and that peak number arriving at a lofty 6000rpm, you'd hope for some low down torque to help with step-off acceleration and mid-range kick.

But no such luck. Torque is less than mega, and with the peak arriving way up at 4000rpm, when you need some extra urge for a snappy lane change or overtaking there's simply nobody home.

To compound the issue, the manual shift is mushy, and the steering is overly light and remote.

In terms of the driving environment, while the interior looks good, the feel bit doesn't exactly measure up. The plastics used around the dash, doors and console are so hard, it's like driving a Tuppaware container on wheels. In fact, those trusty, air-tight receptacles are probably more forgiving than the Rio's main cabin surfaces.

Having said that, the front seats are comfortable, with a decent amount of lateral support, braking by disc front and rear (ventilated front) is reassuringly progressive, and all around vision is good.

The thing about the Clio is that it weighs almost nothing - at 1017kg, it's one of the lightest cars in its class. That means not only does 88kW feel like 100kW in a heavier car, the Zen is light on its feet.

While it's obviously not a rip-roaring super-fun box like the RS variant, the DNA of the hot hatch has filtered down to the Zen. With light, sharp steering (that could do with more feel), the Clio darts around at will and remains one of the best true city cars you can buy. 

The ride is also impressive for such a small car, again level-pegging or bettering the Mazda2. Even when you're tossing it around a few favourite corners, the ride maintains composure while the cabin remains remarkably racket-free into the bargain. 

It can be upset by big bumps, though - the rear is held up by torsion beams - and will skip over those nasty sharp rubber speed bumps.

The engine really could do with a little less lag (its French compatriot, the 208, is peppier) and I imagine a manual version would be a hoot - as it is, the 1.0-litre manual is a barrel of (slow) laughs. Once you work out how to get around the lag, you can really zap along in the Clio and have quite a bit of fun.

The last thing we'd change is the silly, oversized credit card-shaped key. Yes it's different and we as journalists moan when things don't change, but really. When you leave it in your pocket, it's better off being smaller.

The Clio's maximum five star ANCAP safety rating comes courtesy of six airbags, ABS, brake assist, stability and traction controls, brake force distribution and reversing camera.

Frustratingly, unlike Mazda's class leader, the 2, there isn't even the option of forward AEB.

The oversize ace up the Rio's sleeve is Kia's industry-leading seven year/unlimited km warranty, which includes seven years roadside assist and seven years capped price servicing. Whoa.

Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first), and the cost of each of those services is detailed on Kia Australia's website, including detail on everything that's replaced, inspected or otherwise checked each time. Cue applause...

For the record, (guide) costs over those seven years are - $226, $382, $277, $561, $255, $470, and $270.

Renault claims its five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, with five years roadside assist is a first for a European manufacture, bringing la Regie into line with Korean manufacturers. Also offered is three years of capped-price servicing.

New Clios (except the Clio RS) from May 2017 have long service intervals, set at 12 months or 30,000km, whichever happens first, and pricing is capped at $299 per service.