Kia Rio Gas Mileage

by

The sub-compact Kia Rio is one of the most economical vehicles available in America today. The Rio’s true-entry level price and highway gas mileage figures in the mid-thirty mile per gallon (MPG) range make it the first choice for a growing number of budget-minded motorists.

The 2008 Rio is offered as a four-door sedan and a five door hatchback (known as the Rio5). Fitted with a 1.6 liter DOHC four cylinder engine that produces 110 horsepower (HP) and 107 foot pounds of torque, the front-wheel-drive Rio is equipped with either a five-speed manual or an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, each with overdrive.

While the US-spec Rio’s gas mileage ratings are impressive, there’s a whole lot more to come.

Abroad, the Rio can be equipped with a 1.5 liter common rail turbodiesel engine, producing 108.6 HP and 173.3 foot pounds of torque, with a 0-62 mile per hour time of 11.5 seconds. The European turbodiesel hauls down 49.6 urban / 68.9 extra urban miles per British gallon … that equates to roughly 41 city / 57 highway here in the States.

Kia is developing a hybrid version of the Rio, as well. When the rubber finally meets the road, the hybrid Rio just might be the least expensive hybrid available …



Kia Rio Gas Mileage – 2001-2010

Year Manf. Model Engine Disp. Fuel Trans. City Hwy
2010 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (A4) Auto 27 36
2010 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 28 34
2009 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 26 35
2009 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 27 33
2008 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 27 32
2008 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 25 35
2007 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 29 38
2007 KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 32 35
2006 KIA KIA RIO(JB) 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 32 35
2006 KIA KIA RIO(JB) 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 29 38
2005 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 24 31
2005 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 25 31
2004 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 24 31
2004 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 26 33
2004 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 25 31
2004 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 25 32
2003 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (M5) Manual 26 33
2003 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.6 liter R (L4) Auto 25 32
2002 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.5 liter R (M5) Manual 27 32
2002 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.5 liter R (L4) Auto 25 30
2001 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.5 liter R (L4) Auto 25 30
2001 KIA KIA RIO 4 cylinder 1.5 liter R (M5) Manual 22 30

Note: the EPA tweaked their testing procedure, starting with the 2008 model year, with the end result being that the 2008 MPG estimates are now lower than previous years. As always, YMMV.

– by

17 thoughts on “Kia Rio Gas Mileage”

  1. Just bought a 08 Kia Rio and my first tank got 271 kms. Subsequent tanks are 375 if I am lucky. Took it into their service dept. and am told has to be broke it at 35,000 kms!

  2. bought 2002 rio in march 2005 with 28,000 miles. now have 82,000 miles and i always get OVER 40 mpg. drive easy with starts and stops but not really slow. my best car for milage to date. have been driving for 40 years 🙂

  3. bought a 08 rio in november of last year i have 25,000km on it and i get roughly 500km out of a tank

  5. my 07 kia rio gets around 300 miles per the tank 🙂 I recently signed up at gasbuddy.com – to do gas price tracking, and particularly, using their awesome “Fuel Logbook”

    I was able to clock in my first back-to-back “fill ups” (the site requires 2 back to back “tank fills” to accurately calculate the mpg) and the site says my mpg is 30.84 🙂

    For my type of driving, load, etc, I think it’s pretty good 🙂 I’ve been toting high school friends (teens) back and forth to school, etc so my load isn’t very “light” lol. Though my trunk (very spacious!) is totally cleaned out.

    Most of the time I ride with the windows down, and A/C off (fan on fresh air).

    Last oil change I used SuperTech oil, haven’t moved to synthetic yet, so that could jump my mpg a tad 😉 But I’m happy when I see my odometer hit 300 miles (or more) when I fill up though 🙂

  6. i have had a kia rio sx for a year now and get between 18 and 23 mpg. the dealer keeps telling me it needs a break in period but i have 27k on it and i would think i have it covered…. not happy at all

  7. *I bought a 2008 Kia Rio5. I was also told by the dealer that the gas mileage would get better when I hit the break in period ~ 15,000km’s. I now have 22,000km’s on it and it only gets ~ 32mpg. I am not impressed at all. The main reason I purchased the vehicle was because of the gas mileage and cost. The brochure said it would get ~ 45mpg at its peek. 32mpg is far from 45mpg. I am not satisfied with the false information and will never but another Kia. I could get better gas mileage from a V8 mustang!!

  8. @Bob – 45 MPG might be a bit much to ask for in a 2008 Rio, but it might not be impossible if the car is driven conservatively. (We haven’t had the opportunity to test the Rio yet, but hope to do so soon.)

    What speed do you generally travel on the highway? A slight drop in speed can yield significant savings.

    Does your car have a manual or automatic transmission? The automatic is rated at 35 highway MPG, while the manual is rated at 32.

    Do you still have the brochure?

  9. I have an ’09 Kia Rio LX. Does this car require a break-in period?? I have just under 3k miles on the odometer, in town gas mileage is between 18-21mpg, while highway is closer to 28-30mpg.

    If this car requires a break in period, PLEASE, someone, tell me what that would be then. I am getting a bit paranoid something is wrong.

    Ian

  10. i just got my liscence and this car is amazing. i appreciate my parents getting this eco-freindly and low gas cost vehicle. i drove it down to empty and when i filled it back up it was 20.00 USD exactly. Wonderful car. keep up the good work KIA.

  11. 2009 Rio5 SX automatic 3300 miles. Only 23 MPG average. My Honda Civic Hatchback manual trans got over 30 MPG on the same commute. Judging by the large variation in MPG in just these 10 posts, I really think Kia is putting some of these cars together wrong. I’m very unhappy.

  12. Mine too – not sure if I’m glad to see others with the fuel efficienty problem, but on a GOOD tank of gas (37.5) L I can get 380 KM. I’ve been given the runaround with the break in period, and the “Well, my wife’s TAURUS gets mileage like that!” comment which ticked me off to no end.. It’s a 2009 SX5 Automatic Transmission, bought May of last year, fuel problems (and fogging over from the inside out…) pretty much from the get go. I can tolerate 380/tank as it is better than the 240-280KM from October ’til March that our dealer told me I had to put up with as part of the “Break In” period BUT TURNED OUT TO BE A CRACKED THERMOSTAT, but sill, 380km /37.5 L (or 9.8L-13.4L/100km) is nothing impressive, and makes me wish we went with something else.

  13. 2008 Kia Rio CRDI in the UK. 10,000 miles on the clock and 60 MPG from the turbo diesel. I love it ! Engine has enough power to get you there just fine, and have a little fun if you want, yet small enough to be good on fuel. My partners 2010 Rio petrol has less power and about half the fuel economy. So far I am very happy with the Kia. Wouldn’t touch an older one, but the newer units seem to be up there with all the other cars on the market .

  14. Our KIA Rio has shown incredible fuel economy during our “fuel crisis”. Very impressed at time of financial need.

  15. I have a 2007 KIA Rio5 SX. I just hit 60,000. I do alot of hwy miles at 75 or 80 mph and I have been getting an average of 32 mpg. I just had the fuel injection serviced hoping my milage would go back up to 34 mpg. Maybe if I slowed down a bit, it would. If I drive til I am about to run out of gas, I get about 360 miles on a tank of about 11 gallons.

  16. The transmissions are geared way too low (short) for North American highways. I have a 2010 KIA Rio5 and at 100 KM/H (62 MPH) in 5th gear, the engine is running at 3300 RPM or so. That is too high for great fuel economy yet we are accustomed to these small cars having great fuel economy on the highway. For great fuel economy, you’d have to drive about 70 KM/H (43.5 MPH). These cars should have been recalled for a taller 5th gear in my opinion.

  17. I have a 2010 Kia Rio LX. Since my own family is seperated from the much larger family (my family and my husband’s family) that we needed to get a better vehicle. Coming from Colorado Springs, Co to Michigan we spent about $180 for gas. Now its over 27,000 miles. We don’t have any cruise control so that’s (what I believe) saved us soo much money. I found out by driving it that if I stayed in a +3/-3 mph that I saved a lot of money. I highly doubt this vehicle will get a break since we always travel. We usually get about 500 miles on 2 tanks of gas (I was actually expecting more) but when you have 2 large dogs in the backseat and a full trunk. I wouldn’t be too suprised. What I’m super upset about is that Kia’s value decipricates really quickly. I checked earlier this year on my vehicle with much less miles (I believe was 20,000 approx) that it was only worth $6,000. I would say if you really want to get a nice vehicle that is Kia. Get a Kia Suv like a Sorento. You’ll get about the same MPG as a sedan but more room.

Leave a Comment