A few weeks ago I attended a rugby match with a host of people from a property company and 27 of them just been delivered of a new Kia Rio. Nice one, I remarked to local dealer principal Richard Corfield. All Richard had done, however, was to provide the company's boss with a new Rio.
"Drive it for a week or two," Richard suggested to the man. Bums in seats. The deal was sealed. It was after hearing that that I noticed just how many Rios there are on Durban's roads, particularly bright yellow taxis bearing East Coast Radio logos.
Associated Motor Holdings, Kia's local parent company, does not report brand sales. Instead, it reveals its total sales over a number of brands, including Kia, Daihatsu, Renault and Hyundai. Kia does, however, move about 1500 units a month.
A R119 995, high-spec sedan was delivered to my home and I had a chance to get my bum into the seat of a Rio. The most remarkable feature of cars out of Korea is that the quality levels improve exponentially with each new model. The Rio's doors, for example, now close with a reassuring thud, a comforting sound.
My Rio had central locking which operates off a tiny button on the edge of the key. Then you're in, on to cloth-upholstered seats, perhaps lacking lateral support. However, this is a commuter, not a race car.
The appointments, instruments and general quality in the Rio reaffirms Kia's looking at a slice of the European market. The fascia is tidy and sits behind a three-spoked steering wheel with a crash bag. High-spec means there's a second bag for the front passenger, too.
I've never been a crash bag fan: for my money, it's that seat belt that is going to save your life, not the expensive bag. Wear a belt, it can save your life. Remember, SRS on the bag means "supplementary restraint system".
The controls are light, the five-speed gearbox easy to use if a little vague and the brushed aluminium-look fascia is pretty classy, housing the radio-CD above the air-con controls. The cabin is quite roomy with reasonable rear leg room.
Under the increasingly European-styled bonnet is a 1.4-litre, twin- cam, four-cylinder unit good for 70kW and 127Nm of torque at 4700. Translated, it means the small four needs to be revved. Official figures give the Rio a 0-100km/h time of 12.3sec and a top speed approaching 180kmh. It cruises easily at 120km/h.
The ride is still pretty soft, but then I had to keep reminding myself that this is essentially a commuter that'll deal adequately with the open road and not use too much fuel into the bargain. The 45-litre tank should officially give a range of about 700km on the open road and, using around eight litres per 100km in town, about 500km.
Braking gets to the 14" steel wheels and their 185/65 rubber through a disc/drum set-up and with ABS at the high-spec level.
I've said it before, the Koreans are not only coming, they're here. And a force to be reckoned with, what with the right kind of price, some fabulous buying deals, and the back-up of South Africa's biggest importer of vehicles, AMH.
If you're not a badge-conscious buyer - and that's changing as Kia gets ever better - then the Rio is worth a look.
- The Kia Rio 1.4 high-spec is one of the eight SA Car of the Year contenders.