The Kia Rio X-Line hatchback is another representative of a fairly saturated market with great competition. This complicated the task for Korean engineers - they had to bring a competitive model to the market. Today a lot is known about the car - both prices, and, and. In order to understand how the model rides, we present to your attention test DriveKia Rio X-Line.

Kia Rio X-Line

The X-Line model is an off-road version of the class B hatchback. The car is designed on the basis of the Kia Rio sedan for the domestic and Chinese markets. For this reason, we can make a well-founded conclusion that in the management of the car it resembles a Rio sedan. However, the differences between the new version and its predecessor are still there.

Unlike its counterpart, the car is shorter, taller, and wider. To some extent, the increase in these parameters is due to the plastic overlays. The car got an enlarged one - it grew by 10 mm. The car has a different body, and also acquired elements of off-road style:

• roof rails;
• double trim for the exhaust pipe;
• plastic body kit.

Initially, the hatchback is equipped quite richly. At the same time, it is quite functional and allows you to transport bulky goods, sacrificing the rear row seats. Compared to the sedan, it is slightly smaller, but as a result of the modified body, the five-door is more convenient in terms of parking.

Main advantages in movement

On the move, the hatchback and sedan have a lot in common. The use of other springs and shock absorbers does not greatly change the character of the machine. As a result of the changes, the ride has improved. Cars with 15- and 16-inch wheels do an excellent job with sharp-edged pits.

As for noise insulation, then you cannot call a quiet car. At high revs, the engine makes a lot of noise and roars. You can hear pebbles knocking on the wheel arches, and the roof rails push the air apart with great indignation. For this the manufacturer is a minus. At the same time, the roof rails look appropriate on the roof of a car, although they do their bit at high speed.

Driving is comfortable, the model is characterized by excellent handling. The steering wheel is informative, comfortable, and pleasantly shaped. The on-board computer presents the parameters in a comfortable reading format. The city car copes well with the main functions - acceleration, braking, demonstrating control precision and responsiveness. The suspension behaves in a balanced manner, overcomes various obstacles well on the road.

Many control functions are found in the multimedia display complex. A separate part of the functions is represented by standard buttons. The display reflects information from rear view cameras, navigation. Mobile devices can also be connected to the multimedia system.

The climate control system is located separately under the display. Below are the connectors for external devices. There is also a small niche for small items and buttons for warming up the seat and steering wheel. The salon has a wide variety of niches for a convenient location of small things

How to stay safe on the road

The engineers also paid a lot of attention to safety. The ABC system is equipped with a pedestrian recognition function and is able to independently stop the vehicle. The lane control system on the road warns the driver that he is rebuilding the car without turning on the indicator. The systems can be deactivated if necessary.

In the basic version, the car is equipped with a stabilization system, control of braking in corners, and stabilization during heavy braking. All this in a complex increases safety, controlling the driver's flaws.

Strengths and weaknesses of X-Line

The car has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The advantages of the model:

• rich equipment in the basic version;
• space in the back seats;
• good acceleration dynamics;
• pleasant external features;
• convenient luggage compartment.

The disadvantages include the weak soundproofing, high noise levels at high speeds, not ideal smooth running... Perhaps slightly small and clearance.

Test drive video with increased ground clearance

Summing up

In general, the Kia Rio X-Line is an organic model that makes a whole impression. Against the background of its predecessors, the novelty looks much more attractive, dynamic, modern. We can say that the engineers did a good job presenting a competitive model for our market.

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Traveled on a new hatchback Kia Rio X-Line 1.6 (123 hp) with a gun. How successful the test drive was, you can read below.

After the first kilometers behind the wheel of the Rio X-Line on 16-inch wheels, it was hard to believe how it felt! I remember very well how recklessly the Rio sedan is driven and how reliably it clings to the arc, but here - an empty steering wheel with a blurred "zero", yawing on a straight line and rigid "rearrangements" of the stern at the most innocuous road junctions. Usually such a difference in behavior is not even close to being cured by installing "fatty" high-profile tires, so the thought crept in about the incompetence of Russian engineers. It is necessary to spoil the car like that!

And I was even more surprised when I moved to the Rio X-Line on 15-inch wheels with a similar "Velcro" Nokian Hakkapeliitta and realized that I had to apologize to the engineers. In this configuration, the Rio X-Line rides almost as well as its sister sedan. It is incomparably more pleasant to drive than Ixrei or Sandero Stepway. And yes - on the asphalt it certainly rides no worse than the Creta. Moreover - regardless of the type of rear suspension of the Hyundai crossover.

On a country road, the energy intensity of the Rio X-Line is generally sufficient, but it is a little more difficult to make correspondence comparisons with competitors. It seems to me that the Kia novelty still falls short in terms of smoothness to Crete and Sandero. However, if you don't frankly overdo it with speed, the Kia's suspension is not easy to get to rebound. And with the body rigidity of the Rio X-Line, everything is generally in order. When hung diagonally, the fifth door warps slightly, but it closes without any problems. Crete's affairs in similar conditions are somewhat worse.

The rest of the Rio X-Line is the same Rio sedan with well-known advantages and disadvantages. The cross-hatch has the same European-style stylish interior, made of tough, but quite pleasant-looking plastic, the same level of noise insulation, which is clearly not enough if the engine is cranked above 4500 rpm.

Mail.ru conducted a comparative test drive of the Kia Rio X-Line 1.6 MT hatchback and the Lada Vesta SV Cross 1.8 MT station wagon. Yuri Uryukov rode both cars, and his impressions can be found below.

But for those who do not get bored with lack of color, the Rio X-Line is more suitable. The laconic devices are better read than the playful dials of Vesta. Multimedia with a small monochrome screen and no navigation, but it works more quickly and is friends with the iPhone via the USB slot. The center console is obligingly deployed towards the driver, the fittings are fitted more carefully and even the buttons are pressed with a more noble effort. Therefore, the “feel” of the Kia's interior is more pleasant.

The closer to the tail, the stronger the advantage of Vesta. The saloon of the station wagon is slightly wider, the rear passengers have much more space for knees, and Kia cannot offer anything at all from pleasant trifles! At the back, the Rio X-Line does not even have an armrest, although Lada, in addition to it, offers a heated sofa, USB for charging gadgets and niches for small things.

And after comparing the trunks, I wanted to end the fight for the clear advantage of Vesta. The Russian station wagon holds more in formal numbers (480 liters versus 390), and is organized more competently inside. In Kia, the cargo hold is exactly the compartment. An empty container, where of useful things you can only find straps for fixing a five-liter bottle with anti-freeze.

Against the background of the pensioner sluggish Lada, the generally ordinary 1.6-liter Korean engine produces its 123 hp. five. Cheerfully rips off the hatchback, easily picks up speed under load and generally pleases with liveliness and response to gas. But on paper, although Kia is lighter by a centner, it has less traction - 151 N ∙ m against 170. Surprisingly, even the “Korean” treats fuel more carefully, consuming about 7 liters of 92 per hundred. Lada needs 2.5 liters more gasoline of the same grade.

The gears in the Rio X-Line's six-speed manual transmission are not only easier to shift, but they also cling to each other properly. The drive of the Lada's five-speed gearbox is not so precise, the transmission whines like a VAZ, and the long-stroke clutch requires getting used to.

The journalist of the portal Kolesa tested the new "all-terrain" Kia Rio X-Line with a 1.6-liter 123 hp engine. and six-speed mechanics.

Our 123-horsepower engine delivers its maximum power at 6,300 rpm, and maximum torque of 151 Nm at 4,850 rpm. The car feels quite sprightly if you operate the gas pedal in the on-off mode, because, like all inexpensive cars, vigor is achieved by twisting the engine in low gears.

I was frankly sorry to torment him like that. However, if you pedal calmly, it becomes completely boring ... Plus, I note that at low speeds, the effect of engine braking is clearly visible, which is given by a gearbox that switches down sequentially. It is convenient both in terms of driving safety and in terms of increasing the resource of discs and pads.

Actually, the behavior of the X-Line on straight and moderate bends has already been described many times on the example of a sedan body. The hatchback behaves in much the same way. The car is quite balanced for its price, steers with adequate feedback, the suspension is in a balance between comfort and handling, giving both moderately.

In this case, a potential buyer should not take into account the word "cross". Not worth it at all! The off-road capabilities of the car are at the level of the sedan progenitor, a purely city car. The X-Line is a solid hatchback, properly designed for Russia, but nothing more. On it you can, for example, drive to a distant lake on a rather bumpy dirt road with pits half a wheel deep. But only very slowly and in dry, dry weather.

The main task of the X-Line in relation to its "off-road" is to drive in the same place where the Rio-sedan will pass, but a little faster and with less risk of injury to the paintwork.

Denis Halvin, a journalist of the AvtoVzglyad portal, rode the Korean hatchback KIA Rio X-Line 1.6 AT, comparing the brainchild of the Korean car industry with the domestic Lada X-Ray during the test.

On the second row, for people with an average build, the margin of space in the knees and above the head, although minimal, can be comfortably settled. At the same time, there is no need to talk about the model's impeccable soundproofing - the "Korean" sings loudly and persistently when accelerating at high revs, but does not block his ears (XRAY, if it loses in this discipline, is not very strong).

As for the suspension, it is not entirely polite at the seams, joints and holes of medium weight, but on the surface with small ripples it retains approximate equanimity. And here competitors from the Renault-Nissan-AVTOVAZ alliance look better.

The car is stable in turns, perfectly keeps the trajectory and demonstrates a comfortable ride. The steering characteristics of the "Korean" are not budgetary at all. The steering wheel is informative and predictable, although if it were denser, the steering wheel would be even more comfortable.

123-strong "atmospheric" instantly responds to the gas pedal and without hesitation rushes into battle, consuming, by the way, 7 liters of gasoline in the combined cycle. A six-speed "automatic" smoothly and without jerks wields gears, and in manual mode it is even easier to see how revving the 1.6-liter engine is, easily and recklessly allowing itself to spin.

This car was born under pressure from the Russian dealership of Kia. It was our guys who persuaded the head office in Seoul to raise the hatchback by 10 mm and equip it with plastic pads around the perimeter (China, whose market also has a similar car, took an example from Russia, and not vice versa). Of course, the Rio X-Line did not become a full-fledged crossover with a declared clearance of 170 mm, but it visually fell into the trend. By the way, we also came up with the name "X-Line". And the suspension tuning was done by Russian engineers.

Alive, the Rio X-Line looks much more harmonious than its direct competitors, Renault Sandero Stepway and Lada XRAY. To me personally, this car most of all resembles the first generation Subaru XV - the one that was produced from 2006 to 2011 with the Impreza nameplate. The battle with also looks more than real. The wheelbase of the Rio X-Line (2600 mm) is even larger than that of its sister competitor (2590 mm). And the declared volume of the trunk of the cross-Rio is a considerable 390 liters. For comparison: Crete has 402 hp.

The bonus, of course, goes. If the initial one in the configuration and Start for 799,900 rubles is devoid of an air conditioner, heated front seats, leather steering wheel and even a trunk shelf, then the base Rio X-Line for 774,900 will have all this. And it doesn't matter that the cheap modifications of the Rio have a 1.4-liter 100-horsepower engine at their disposal. If you believe the factory data, in acceleration to a hundred, the X-Line with such an engine will yield to the 1.6-liter Crete by only half a second. Yes, and the previous experience of communication with proves that the initial motor, in general, is enough.

For the first journalistic acquaintance, Kia representatives identified two top modifications of the Rio X-Line - Prestige AV and Premium. Both are equipped with a 1.6-liter engine with 123 horsepower, and the difference, in addition to the features of the trim (the interior of the Premium version is covered with leatherette) and small external differences (the Premium taillights are LED), comes down to the use of tires of different sizes. The Prestige AV is factory fitted with 185/65 R15 tires, the Premium gets 195/55 R16. As it turned out after a test drive of both versions, the difference between them is more than noticeable.

After the first kilometers behind the wheel of the Rio X-Line on 16-inch wheels, it was hard to believe how it felt! I remember very well how recklessly the Rio sedan is driven and how reliably it clings to the arc, but here - an empty steering wheel with a blurred "zero", yawing on a straight line and rigid "rearrangements" of the stern at the most innocuous road junctions. Usually such a difference in behavior is not even close to being cured by installing "fatty" high-profile tires, so the thought crept in about the incompetence of Russian engineers. It is necessary to spoil the car like that!

And I was even more surprised when I moved to the Rio X-Line on 15-inch wheels with a similar "Velcro" Nokian Hakkapeliitta and realized that I had to apologize to the engineers. In this configuration, the Rio X-Line rides almost as well as. It is incomparably more pleasant to drive than Ixrei or Sandero Stepway. And yes - on the asphalt it certainly rides no worse than the Creta. Moreover - regardless of the type of rear suspension of the Hyundai crossover.

On a country road, the energy intensity of the Rio X-Line is generally sufficient, but it is a little more difficult to make correspondence comparisons with competitors. It seems to me that the Kia novelty still falls short in terms of smoothness to Crete and Sandero. However, if you don't frankly overdo it with speed, the Kia's suspension is not easy to get to rebound. And with the body rigidity of the Rio X-Line, everything is generally in order. When hung diagonally, the fifth door warps slightly, but it closes without any problems. Crete's affairs in similar conditions are somewhat worse.

The rest of the Rio X-Line is the same Rio sedan with well-known advantages and disadvantages. The cross-hatch has the same European-style stylish interior, made of tough, but quite pleasant-looking plastic, the same level of noise insulation, which is clearly not enough if the engine is cranked above 4500 rpm. And also - almost equally rosy market prospects, because already in the basic version, the Rio X-Line is a full-fledged, ready-to-use car. For quite adequate

Do you remember the days of the wild car boom: the late nineties, when a car, along with a mobile phone, became a common thing? Yes, the old one, but for one and a half to two thousand "cu", but able to move. "Golfs", "trade winds", "chisels" and "behi" went to the people, and along with the hurricane growth of the business for the delivery of spare parts and the sale of auto-organs from killed cars, a new word appeared - "tuning". When the “youth audience” flooded behind the wheel, as marketers now say, it turned out that many no longer have enough just a car, which, lo and behold, is waiting for you at the entrance and is able to move by itself. Everyone who does not shave their beards wanted to excel. "Blue Pysalka", wheels with spacers and stuff like that, you remember. All this dregs were washed away by new high-quality cars on credit, when cheap tsatzki combined with leaky sills began to look completely stupid. Now everyone understands not only that the shelf on the trunk does not add admiration, but also that there is such a thing - design. If it was created not by a designer, but by a welder, it looks like Pininfarina will never work.

The current Kia Rio is almost flawless: at least to work, at least to the country, at least in a taxi. So good that boring? Don't you feel like being in a taxi? Yes, please - get a professional tuning of such a class that with it the car would look two hundred thousand more expensive, if it would be easy to recognize the Rio sedan in it. The new Rio X-Line hatch has no more in common with the Rio sedan than Cinderella is in the kitchen with her at the ball. But they are just as close and close in everything except wardrobe and make-up.

At the rear, recognizing the Rio in a cross-hatch-back is the most difficult: the license plate in a place that befits it, unlike a sedan, a double nozzle of a muffler under the rear bumper deflector, and a silhouette with wheel arch extensions and roof rails left no mention of boredom. Side moldings added passion to the lines, while at the front, the lower radiator throat has widened the lower corners in a rally spirit. Even the clearance was beneficial - the compact visually added not only in size, but also, paradoxically, in sports.

Just remember: technically, this is the same Rio - not a crossover or an SUV. No need to ask us to drive the X-Line to a tank range and hang the wheels. The drive here is front, rear beam, and in general everything is the same as on a sedan. Almost the same. Because a sedan on the move for cars of its class is close to perfection. The X-Line is a little less interesting on good roads. It is not as stable on a straight line, and its suspension is not as well balanced in terms of comfort and handling. Needless to say, the car is of high quality, and there is nothing to complain about, but there is also a difference with the sedan. And the most tangible - in the maximum configuration on 16 wheels: since the bumps from the “speed bumps” and pits are stiffer, and the rolls and squats on the front outer wheel in the corners of the raised and shortened car are more. The X-Line rides much better on base 185 / 65R15 tires. Especially on bad and slippery roads, on which the X-Line just flies. Plus, the standard tires are more harmoniously combined with all the elastokinematics of the suspension in corners on smooth asphalt, and they keep a straight line better, and transmit less vibrations and shaking to the salon.

Lada Vesta SW Cross
Close prices, more space inside, not as good on the go

A cross-hatchback is 30,000 rubles more expensive than a sedan in a similar configuration, and its trunk is 90 liters less. This is all the price to pay for style, beauty and ground clearance. There are not only external, but also practical advantages: the angles of the entrance of the exit give more freedom on bumps and curbs, in the park the hatchback needs 15 cm less space, and the energy intensity of the suspension will make it more fun to drive along the bumpy road.

The configurations are similar to those offered for the sedan, with the exception of the basic Classic version, which does not have an X-Line. The hatch also comes with 100 and 123 hp engines. 1.4 and 1.6 with automatic or manual transmission, and its "warm options" are just as complete - right up to heated rear seats.

TEXT: DMITRY SOKOLOV

Asians love to show off. So the Kia Rio X-Line shows with all its appearance that it is almost a crossover. Well, then why has the ground clearance increased by only a centimeter? And where, if not four-wheel drive, then at least the off-road assistance button? I got the answers to these questions even before I got behind the wheel of a new hatchback, and having driven it I understood why such a "non-SUV" would be in demand

Kia Rio X-Line. Price: from 774 900 rubles. On sale: November 2017

“We do not position the X-Line as an off-road model,” the head of Kia Motor Rus, Alexander Moinov, stunned me.

Here are the ones on! And why then bother to fence this whole garden with body kits, rails and suspension modifications, killing a lot of time (only when running in the chassis and searching for optimal settings, the testers had to drive about a million kilometers). Wasn't it easier to launch a conventional Rio hatchback on the market, as it was with the previous generation model?

But Mr. Moinov has an answer to this question: “Russia is a country of sedans. In our sales, the Rio hatchback occupied only 20%. We decided to think about how to increase this share, and the idea was born with the X-Line. "

Excuse me, but wasn't it the same model, only under the name K2 Cross, which debuted in China back in the spring?

“It was not we who borrowed the model from the Chinese, but when they learned about our project, they wanted to bring the same hatchback to their market,” Nikolai Merenkov, head of product, stood up for his brainchild. "It's just that the Chinese market is more important, and the local plant is a" donor "of many components for the Russian plant where Rio is made, so they had K2 Cross earlier."

One of the most successful foreshortenings of the novelty. LED taillights only available on top of the range

I have often heard and read in press releases about cars “designed specifically for Russia”, which before their launch on our market have already traveled along the roads of Latin America, India or China. And the fact that the idea of \u200b\u200bthe Rio X-line was born in our country makes this model unique in its way. At least, I have not come across such examples among foreign cars.

Rio X-Line has original bumpers with plastic imitation of steel protection. Compared to the sedan, the front bumper of the hatchback has a different LED DRL and fog lights.

“Before starting work on this model, we conducted a survey among Russian clients, and it turned out that they want mutually exclusive things,” Nikolai continues. “They want the car to be powerful, with huge ground clearance, four-wheel drive, and at the same time not expensive. But this does not happen! Therefore, we did like Steve Jobs - we offered the market not the product that customers demand, but the one that they will definitely like. "

The twin bell is not a makeshift chrome nozzle that you can buy at any camber. Here it is made of stainless steel and is tightly welded to the muffler bank.

Like it, no options! Better than the results of the focus group polls, this confirms the interest that the car aroused on the roads. As soon as we stopped in a busy place, as soon as people came up and asked about the price. I don’t know who the marketers see there as buyers of the Rio X-line, but the first who became interested in the car were guys in their fifties, who came out with handbags at the ready from the old “Sportage” with regional numbers. The starting price of 775 thousand at first embarrassed them, but when it turned out that for the "off-road" package, which, in addition to linings and rails, includes an openwork glossy false radiator grille and a "double-barreled" muffler nozzle, you need to pay only 30 thousand more than the price of a regular Rio, their eyes sparkled with genuine interest.

Glossy false radiator grille with chrome border in a circle higher than the sedan

And if they knew how well the Rio X-Line behaves on the road, the interest would be even higher! The new springs and shock absorbers not only gave an extra centimeter under the bottom (although this is of little use off-road), but also made it possible to achieve an optimal balance between comfort and handling. The Hatch rides softer than the sedan, but it steers perfectly! I even used the 2nd generation Focus, which for a long time remained the benchmark for comfort and controllability among inexpensive cars. I am sure that after the hatchback test, the owners of Rio sedans will want to put themselves the same suspension. This is not difficult to do, since all attachment points and mounting dimensions are identical for both models. Only this will have to be done at your own peril and risk, because, according to the engineers, it is not clear how such a machine will subsequently behave in emergency situations. After all, the sedan has not only a slightly different weight distribution, but also other power steering settings.

On the track, the car pleases with handling and comfort. The dynamics, given the power of the motor, is also quite decent

It's easier to trade in the old Rio and take the X-Line. And if I took the car for myself, I would take the "base". Because against the background of wide black lining on the arches, even the maximum possible 16-inch wheels, which are only in the top-end configuration with a price of more than a million, seem small. Not to mention the 15-inch ones - on these hatchbacks they generally look like a strong man decided to fit into ballerina's pointe shoes. So it is better to take a simpler package, and buy the "casting" yourself, and not less than 17 inches. With such wheels and properly selected tires, you can still get about a centimeter of air under the "belly" - the space in the wheel arches allows you to shove even the most low-profile R17 tires. And outwardly, the car will immediately change - for example, on the Infiniti QX30, which is not much larger than the Kia, 18-inch wheels look harmonious, but try to put it on the 16th?

Due to the wide linings, the wheel arches seem much larger than they really are. Because of this, even the maximum possible 16-inch wheels for the Rio X-Line (the drawing, by the way, is original: you can't put them on a sedan) look small

We only tested cars in the "top" and "pre-top" trim levels, so I can't say what the Rio X-line looks like on 15 "caps". The choice of engines was also limited - only a 123-horsepower 1.6 and only a 6-speed automatic, but I really liked the way this bundle drives. The car accelerates briskly, while the engine noise, which is well audible during acceleration, is barely perceptible during measured driving. Even at high speed in the cabin, you can talk without raising your voice! For a "state employee" this is so surprising that even a thought crept in - did the test machines have additional noise insulation? By the way, the interior here is exactly the same as that of the sedan. It was possible to designate the X-line version with a nameplate on the steering wheel or dashboard, or change the color of the upholstery, but the creators of the novelty decided not to do this - the buyer first of all cares how the car looks from the outside, and additional improvements inside would increase the price.

There is absolutely no difference from the sedan inside the hatchback.

However, this does not mean that the Rio X-line will remain so. Kia listens carefully to the market, and if it turns out that there is such a need, we will see a new salon and other improvements. It is also possible that more affordable versions will appear: while the initial bar for the hatchback is the Comfort trim level. The sedan can be taken in the Classic version and save 60 thousand by abandoning the audio system, heated front seats and steering wheel, steering wheel adjustment for reach and central locking with remote control. But is it worth saving on your comfort? Considering that many of the fairer sex are expected among X-line buyers, the demand for "empty" configurations will be small.

Only the most expensive configurations have climate control, but even the simplest has air conditioning

Engine start button - the privilege of the top version for 1,024,900 rubles

The new AV media center is 60,000 rubles cheaper than a similar system with a navigator. And the navigation application can be launched here from a smartphone connected via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto

The trunk is noticeably smaller than that of a sedan, but the possibilities for loading it are wider

Off-road Rio X-Line should be allowed only when absolutely necessary

• Increased ground clearance, excellent suspension, quiet and high-spirited 1.6 engine, relatively small surcharge for a package of "off-road" options
• Massive lining on the arches "conceal" the size of the wheels, inside is no different from the sedan, weak off-road capabilities