For 12 years our family has faithfully served the second generation diesel Rexton. But he started to crumble, so there was a need to buy a new car. The moment when Qashqai or X-Trail could be bought at an affordable price, I safely missed, and with my own money I could only buy Cretu or Seltos with front wheel drive. But visually I did not like these cars, like the Duster.

I must say that we have a Chevy Niva for the summer residence, and in the cabin the eye fell on the new Kia Rio X. Outwardly, the machine is pretty, the ground clearance is like that of Duster. Even the “one-legged” drive did not bother, since there are 4×4 on duty in the family in case of an emergency. In our area, snowdrifts in winter are a rarity. In general, the family council decided: take!

Most of all I liked the car in the most “fat” configuration, but only black ones were available. We took a prepmax of the color “Urban Gray”. I liked that the interior is without leather trim.

Of the minuses, I immediately noticed that the low beam headlights are not LED, autostart in the alarm is an additional option, and not the standard one. In addition to the signaling, I have a set of winter tires in the special stages, crossbars for roof rails, tinting, rugs and even little things. All the pleasure cost 1,310,000 rubles.

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The car goes well, the suspension is knocked down. Acoustically, the Rio X resembles the Galant EA7, so the rumble from the wheels is heard in the cabin. But the work of the engine is almost inaudible. The dynamics of the car is also like that of the two-liter Galant, the control is clear and pleasant.

True, the machine reacts with a delay of a fraction of a second, but then it works normally. Cruise in the KIA Rio X is only passive, there is no all-round view either. But the Rear camera comes with dynamic lines, which is pretty handy.

Landing in the car is quite comfortable. When you lift the seat as high as possible, you can feel almost like in a crossover. The salon mirror slightly blocks the view; only the rear seat passengers are clearly visible in it. The threshold is high, so getting in and out is inconvenient. There is not enough space behind, but the trunk is quite roomy: two suitcases easily enter, and there is still room left.

Since I am a lover of night driving, light is very important to me. He is good in the new KIA Rio X. The acoustics are also good – it is convenient and practical to hook a smartphone to the head unit.

Wireless communication is provided on iOS and some Androids, there is a convenient niche for the phone. But the glove compartment is very small: it does not fit A4 documents.

Most of all I liked the function of heating the steering wheel, windshield and rear windows, front and rear seats, mirrors – in general, almost everything. In general, I give the car a good mark.

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