[Beany1983]

Hi
all,



New to the forums so excuse me if I
don't use correctetiquette!



I am looking at getting a new Kia Rio.
I've never bought a bran new car before so it's all a bit daunting.
The main reason for wanting a new car is:



1 - need for warranty

2 - high mileage = high petrol costs so
I want one of the Ecodynamics range



I am test driving the 1.1 diesel and
the 1.4 diesel on Tuesday. I currently have a 1.6 petrol renault megane
2002. Alot of people are telling me that if I go for the 1.1, although
I'd get good mpg out of it I'd miss the power and I do use motorways everyday
to get to work. However, because my main reason for buying the new car is
to save money on petrol/diesel, I am loathed to go for the 1.4 as the mpg is
quite a bit less than the 1.1. Also, I originally looked at the Fiesta
1.6 diesel which gave the same mpg as the 1.1 Kia so if I am looking for power,
I may as well go for that. I decided on the Kia mainly on price and
warranty.



As Kia owners, does anyone have any
words of wisdom on this? How much would I likely miss the power?
Has anyone tried either new model? Also, would I notice the lack of
mpg in the 1.4 model or do you think compared to my current 35-40 ish mpg I get
I'd still notice a marked improvement in petrol costs (I am assuming it'd go to
around £150 a month instead of £240, is this realistic?).



Thanks for your help and wise words and
sorry for the very many questions!



Beany

 

[corsa57]

I currently run a Venga 1.4 diesel and get around the 60 mpg. This is achieved driving long distanceson rural roads at 50 mph with economy in mind.
I have ordered the Rio 1.1 diesel and if Kia ever get around to bringing this model into the U.K. I would hope to achieve an average of 80mpg.

This is a significant saving in fuel and is the right decision for mebut I am not concerned about performance so only you can judge after driving both engines.

The performance figures show under a second difference in the 0-60 time from a Venga 1.4 diesel to the Rio 1.1 diesel and for me this is so small as to be irrelevent.

Kia with the 7 year warranty and the new cheap servicing package win hands down as far as I am concerned over Ford. I also am lucky enough to have a very good Kia dealer that looks after me if ever there is a problem.

 

[BanditGT]

If you do a lot of small journeys then its a waste of time having a diesel. If you had a 1.1 you would notice the difference thats for sure. I have bought a new Rio 1.4 3 petrol and its great, it has just enough power and we are getting between 45-50 MPG at the mo.

 

[Beany1983]

Hi I mostly do long journeys (30-40 miles in one go and then the same again home), hence wanting the diesel. I want to get around 60mpg at least. Petrol is out of the question

 

[BanditGT]

Fair enough.

 

[YoungAtHeart]

If you really want an economical Rio then buy the 1.4 Diesel model. It may not be as economical as the 1.1 Diesel but it will be a hell of a lot easier to drive. Remember that the mpg figures quoted by Kia are not real life economy figures. All car economy figures are produced under lab. conditions on rolling roads so that all makes of car can can be directly compared. Real driving conditions give nowhere near the same economy figures. Also, for the most economic 1.1 model, you get a stripped down weight saving spec. : no air-con, no rear wiper, rear brake drums, noisy low friction tyres, high gearing etc. Also it requires a disciplined driving technique to attain the best mpg figures and this is not much fun.If your mileage isn't too great, I would recommend the 1.4 Petrol, decent performance, reasonable economy and a saving of a thousand quid over the diesel equivalent spec.

Hope this proves useful?