The Rio's ride is somewhat noisy. Sounds from passing semis made their way inside the passenger compartment. Trunk space of 9.2 cubic feet compares with 8.8 cubic feet in the Lanos sedan. In the back seat, the Rio's headroom is just two-tenths of an inch shy of the 37.8 inches in the Lanos, and at 5 feet 4, I didn't have my head touching the ceiling. I appreciated the fact that when I sat in the Rio's back seat, my head wasn't under the rear window glass as it often is in other small cars.
Rear windows go down nearly all the way.
The Rio includes the government-required frontal airbags but doesn't offer side airbags. Antilock brakes are optional, and the middle person in the back seat gets a lap belt only. But prices of these features aren't out of line. The Rio is a new model for Kia in the 2001 model year. The company said it planned to sell 50,000 Rios a year.