A NEW Kia Rio has just been launched to great razzamatazz, boasting a best of 88 miles per gallon.
But the last model is a cracking not so little car in either turbo diesel or petrol forms.
Reasonable new prices undercut mainstream competitors by a large margin and means they are cheaper further down the road.
And they give little away to other superminis in performance, economy, comfort or anything else.
Power comes from either a four cylinder 1.4 petrol with an excellent 96bhp or a 1.5-litre turbo diesel with a 109.
The diesel pulls well from low revs and should average almost 50mpg.
Like most cars these days, all come with aircon, but don't forget to turn it off when you don’t need it, because economy and performance will be hit.
Good performance demands agile handling and it has that too, with only a small amount of roll and very good grip. Even the ride is better than some much more expensive cars.
Interior
It is a good looking supermini with a bigger interior than some in the class and it comes well equipped with all the home comforts we want these days, including front and side airbags, electric windows, remote locking and alloy wheels.
The power steering gives plenty of feel at speed and help when parking.
FAST FACTS
Kia Rio
Price: Pay about £2,500 for an '06 06-reg GS, £5,120 for an '09 09-reg ‘3’
Mechanical: 96bhp, 1,399cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 110mph
0-62mph: 11.9 seconds
Combined mpg: 44
Insurance group: 14
CO2 emissions: 150g/km
Marks: 9/10
Main rival: Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207