Her Name is Corsa

[chaseracer]

" her name is Rio and she bangs like the shithouse door when the plague is in town "

 

Or, as CAR had it, at launch back when Duran Duran were moistening teenage girls across the nation:

 

"Her name is Rio - and she's crap."

 

Best headline since GOTCHA!....

[xtriple]

I am ashamed to admit that we bought a Rio 1.5 SE brand new in 01 - the first 51 plate and it was on our drive three days before it was 'legal'. I wanted my wife to have a new Skoda but she liked the Rio 'cos it had air con and loads of toys. I spent a further load of dosh buying wood trim for the dash (sad? Me?) a towbar, load liner, dog guard....

 

It came with alloy wheels as standard but as I have a fetish about wheels, I had them changed for bigger/wider/taller buggers that looked okay. It says a lot that the 1.5 was dropped from the range pretty quick smart!

 

To be fair, it was 'good' car, reliable and fairly good on fuel but handled like a camel on acid and it wheelspan out of every junction regardless of how gentle you were. I must admit I hated it and after about three days, so did my beloved! She then went on a Mini loving period of her life for a couple of years and I got the dubious pleasure of 'owning' the Rio. I thrashed it mercilessly everywhere, towed a huge trailer with racecar on it all over the country, took it round fields towing said racecar out of whichever ditch I'd parked it in and generally abused it.

 

We did 20000 miles in it in about three years and it never failed us once - totally reliable and other than servicing (cheap) and tyres (not cheap) which it seemed to get through with alarming regularity and a set of lowering springs (they are far to high at the front and look shit) it cost zero.

 

I sold it to a mate at work and he used it for a few years and then he sold it to his Dad who used it for frequent trips to Scotland and Italy and NEVER had it serviced again. Apart from a bit of wire from the Crank position sensor it never failed them either! It eventually went to live in Scotland permanently after my mates Dad 'lost' it in a Casino!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

They must have liked it though as he bought another Kia - a faux 4X4 thing which he also ran for years.

 

We paid ten grand for it (!) with all the options which for the spec was cheap, but the car felt 'cheap' and flimsy, but in fairness, nothing ever broke or fell off even after years of abuse by Luch (my mate) and his Dad and it always scrubbed up well. I don;t think that during the eight years I knew the car, it had even the slightest bit of rust or had an exhaust.

 

Good car, dull as fook, but worthy.

[chaseracer]

The only downside I can see is that if you buy it, you will have to beat the WI off with a walking stick.

 

Let me help you with that.

[Matt]

Oh yeah, not sure if these later ones have it, but the original shape Rio I'm sure had thr indicators on the right. That would mark it as a clear WINNERMOBILE.

 

 

Like my Shuma on the proper side 

 

Fuck that noise. One thing I really disliked about going from a European car to a Japanese car (other than the awful decrease in built quality) is the indicator stalk being on the right hand side. Gotta' have my dominant hand on the wheel while indicating. You two must be some of those left handists 

[HillmanImp]

Fuck that noise. One thing I really disliked about going from a European car to a Japanese car (other than the awful decrease in built quality) is the indicator stalk being on the right hand side. Gotta' have your dominant hand on the wheel while indicating. Unless you two are left handists.

 

You take your hand off the steering wheel to indicate? Who are you, Jeremy Beadle?

[Matt]

You take your hand off the steering wheel to indicate? Who are you, Jeremy Beadle?

 

Not completely off but with a slacker grip.  I have small hands, okay.

[pandamonium]

My Acclaim has a RH indicator stalk, and that isn't Japanese

 

Back on the main subject, I've always loved the Rio, but was scared off as the tax bracket was quite high for the engine size, IIRC.

Gotta be an electric blue one for me though,

[oldcars]

My Acclaim has a RH indicator stalk, and that isn't Japanese

 

Back on the main subject, I've always loved the Rio, but was scared off as the tax bracket was quite high for the engine size, IIRC.

Gotta be an electric blue one for me though,

Yes i think they are, my Shuma is £260 a year. Loving the roof spoiler on the blue one.

[HillmanImp]

My Acclaim has a RH indicator stalk, and that isn't Japanese

 

 

 

Cars designed for a RHD market normally have (or had) it on that side. Old British cars will do. My Triumph does as does my Imp.

 

I guess (but its only a guess I am happy to be corrected) its so you can change gear, steer and indicate at the same time? Its not like you often need to turn the windscreen wipers on as you approach a junction?

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Fuck that noise. One thing I really disliked about going from a European car to a Japanese car (other than the awful decrease in built quality) is the indicator stalk being on the right hand side. Gotta' have my dominant hand on the wheel while indicating. You two must be some of those left handists 

 

...or people from a RHD country who remember a time before we got screwed over by cost cutting.

[KruJoe]

I've always loved the Rio, but was scared off as the tax bracket was quite high for the engine size.

Yet another reason to find a nice* early one.

For pre-2001 cars, the 1.5 was just inside the half-price RFL bracket, and is the nearest thing to a useful family estate car on mingebag tax. (Without going pre-1973 of course.)

[Cavcraft]

Questionable plastics and rear arches. Surprisingly good though, at least in the reliability stakes. If you rated them as holidays though, the Micra would be a Club 18-30 disco biscuit fuelled rave in Ibiza, to the two rainy nights in the Piss & Biscuits Retirement Hotel in Mablethorpes in November that is the Kia.   

[UltraWomble]

UltraWomble says if you dont buy this I'll come round your house and crap in your flower pots.

 

Rio. The name says it all.

[Jim Bergerac]

I remember reading a review of these when they came out with the headline 'Her name is Rio, and she's crap' and it quoted Kia's PR guy basically admitting that people buy them because they can't afford anything else

 

Aye - I seem to recall when these were new that they were available on finance with a £1 deposit.

 

Still, I like them. Well, the idea of them.

[Stroller133]

Questionable plastics and rear arches. Surprisingly good though, at least in the reliability stakes. If you rated them as holidays though, the Micra would be a Club 18-30 disco biscuit fuelled rave in Ibiza, to the two rainy nights in the Piss & Biscuits Retirement Hotel in Mablethorpes in November that is the Kia.

Never been on a 18-30 or to Ibiza but have been to Mablethorpe. Despite having been there I still think I'd rather go on the rainy weekend given the choice!

[UltraWomble]

According to this Micra old dear you are

60

Female

and Scottish.

[xtriple]

Deposit was NEVER a quid! It was 99p!

[Micrashed]

UltrWomble you bastard, I am indeed 60 female and Scottish and living on the Isle of Eigg.

[Cavcraft]

You are Lacquer Peel AICMFP.

[Lacquer Peel]

I can't imagine myself driving a Kia, soz!

[Micrashed]

Verdict Kia.

Horrible.

 

One lady owner - called Glyn...

Personally I hate these sort of things, but that aside if it was a lady owner why put Glyn on the car. Doesnt even look like a Glyn.

 

 

This was lurking nearby though..

 

The day was not wasted though as I had a "sit and feel" for quite a few £1000 snotters and rather took a fancy to the C5. Rather a shame about the Rio, but there you go. I really want a 3rd 3 point in the rear, the C5 was lovely inside too.

[HH-R]

Was that particular one horrible or are they in general?

 

A Rio has been on my work beater shite radar for a while, I've had a few unsuccessful tries to buy the newer model but failed three times for various reasons so maybe it's a sign.

[Micrashed]

I'll put it in some sort of perspective.

 

I drive a battered, rusty 1999 K11 Micra-Shed. With 60-odd thousand on the clock, galloping rust, a leaky rear window and a hole in the drivers seat. Im also not a small bloke weighing in somewhere round the 20 stone mark.

Yet I fit in the Micra fine, its internals dont feel like they are about to give up or break.

 

The Kia felt overly flimsy, the seats didnt feel comfortable, I felt squidged in it (though I felt the same in a Pugger 306 too). And for me the deal breaker (small point I know) was the lap belt as the third rear seat belt. I dont like them and for that reason wont carry three in the back of the Micra-Shed.

 

Oh and like Cav says the rear arches are a bit fragile  - these were starting to look a little crispy looking at the sill end. There was fuck all chance of a test drive as it was wedged into the middle of a shit load of other cars in the midle of a mill.

Had a bangin' ICE system though.

[AnthonyG]

To be fair, a Citroen C5 is going to feel like a Rolls-Royce Phantom compared to a Kia Rio.

 

Those prices look salty, £1700 for a 12 yr old 307? and sorry, the only way that Camry is worth £2.5k is after they've opened the shipping container in Ghana.

[beko1987]

Someone's parked one behind me today!

 

[320touring]

Its not often a zx looks the better choice;)

[dollywobbler]

Having driven Myglaren's C5, I immediately went scouring Ebay. I think one needs to be owned at some point, even if I would be expecting doom to strike at any moment. In the end, I decided the XM is actually attractive to look at. I like my impending doom to be attractive!

[Micrashed]

I totally fucking LOVE this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371197160670?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Sadly it may as well be on the fucking moon right now. Spare time is none existant betwixt now and Christmas.

[Micrashed]

Ok, probably a silly question - but is this the Isuzyou Dizzle donkey?

1.7 Di it says.

45K miles

 

Yes I know its a Corsa Billy

[Cavcraft]

Should be but some people reckon some are FM efforts. I'd be 99% sure it's Isuzu, I believe the alternator will be stamped if you can see it.