by Gabrielle DeSantis

In the past several years, the Kia brand has moved its way up the ranks and into the public favor. With vehicles growing in popularity like the sporty Kia Stinger and the capable Kia Telluride, it is easier to forget about the less popular models, like the 2021 Kia Rio. While there are plenty of things to love about the Kia Rio, like its more than affordable price point for a brand new subcompact vehicle, it doesn’t quite hit the mark for reviewers like Consumer Reports.

The overall scoring of the 2021 Kia Rio according to Consumer Reports

When it comes to scoring breakdowns, there is one overall score that depicts how Consumer Reports feels each vehicle ranks based on several factors. With this score, buyers can directly compare the rankings of different cars within the same segment. For the 2021 Kia Rio, the overall score was a rather abysmal score of 55 out of 100, scoring it at the bottom of the list as #4 out of the 6 tested vehicles.

The vehicle itself is rather simple, and with an MSRP of just $17,045, it is pretty much what you would expect. Under the hood of every Rio is a 120 hp 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine mated to a CVT transmission. All Rios come with front-wheel drive, with no option for rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

Safety and reliability expectations for the Kia Rio

The 2021 Kia Rio comes with the bare minimum of what buyers would expect from a new car, such as a touchscreen infotainment system that offers Bluetooth connectivity, an adjustable driver’s seat, and an adjustable steering wheel. If you’re underwhelmed by these highlights, it’s because the Kia selected simplicity with the Rio’s design, not giving it much else to offer. Most surprisingly, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard even on the base model.

You can’t go wrong upgrading to the S Technology package, which gives the subcompact car all of the modern safety techs and features to bring it up to par with much more expensive vehicles. Along with a few other tech updates, the S Technology package offers drivers a handful of safety features such as forward collision mitigation, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane following assist, and driver alert warnings.

It’s also worth noting that while the 2021 Kia Rio tanked in several aspects of its review, but it did decent in expected reliability, which is based on reliability statistics from previous model years.

RELATED: The 2021 Kia Rio Is the Best Subcompact Sedan You Can Buy

Where is the Kia Rio lacking?

Of course, if it isn’t for reliability, there has to be something dragging down the rating for the 2021 Kia Rio. While it is by no means a luxury car, it receives harsh criticism for its overall ride quality. Consumer Reports notes the car for having a cabin space that is poorly insulated from noise, causing the ride to be rather loud. Besides that, it isn’t particularly comfortable, with an underwhelming suspension that allows both driver and passengers to feel imperfections in the road.

While we aren’t expecting much from the modest engine, the new Rio is noted for having unimpressive braking performance and underwhelming handling, leaving a lot to be desired behind the wheel even by an average driver.

RELATED: The 2021 Kia Rio Hatchback Is Practically in a Class of Its Own

When it comes down to it, Consumer Reports recommends leaving the subcompact car sector altogether and opting for a similarly priced option in a larger compact car. In fact, there were several alternatives called out directly that compete with the Kia Rio in price but have more enticing scores: the Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla. For some buyers, however, there is plenty of appeal to buying a small, subcompact vehicle, and for the minimalist, the 2021 Kia Rio is really all you need.

The post The 2021 Kia Rio Missed the Mark According to Consumer Reports appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Although Toyota makes a lot of great sedans, some customers may think that those sedans are too small. That’s where a full-size car like the Toyota Avalon comes in, and while they’re still sedans, they’re simply very large sedans. With that being said, the already huge 2021 Toyota Avalon isn’t actually the roomiest sedan of them all.

How big is the 2021 Toyota Avalon?

The Toyota Avalon is a pretty spacious car that can comfortably fit tall passengers, and that’s largely due to its impressive interior dimensions. According to U.S. News, the Avalon offers about 42.1 inches of front legroom and 40.3 inches of rear legroom.

As far as headroom goes, Car and Driver wrote that the Avalon has just over 37 inches of headroom for both the front and rear seats. For shoulders and hips, the Avalon is also impressive as it provides over 50 inches of space for both categories and in both rows of seats.

However, U.S. News said that the Avalon is only the seventh roomiest sedan of the year. To be fair, the next roomiest sedan is the hybrid version of the Avalon, but that hybrid version is only slightly roomier. In any case, there are still five cars that are roomier than the Avalon.

How the 2021 Avalon compares

Off the bat, the Toyota Avalon is roomier than a lot of competitors. For example, the VW Passat, the Lexus ES, and the Dodge Charger all have smaller interior dimensions than the Avalon does. It’s not a huge difference, however, as the Avalon’s interior dimensions are only about an inch or two bigger. Regardless, sometimes an inch can make a difference. 

In fact, that’s also the case for cars that are roomier than the Avalon. For example, the Volvo S90 was ranked above the Avalon, and that was because the S90 has about 0.1 inches more legroom than the Avalon does. Two versions of the Honda Accord, the regular Accord and its hybrid version, were also ranked above the Avalon. But once again, both Accords only provide less than an inch more legroom than the Avalon does.

The first- and second-place cars are significantly roomier than the Avalon, though. The runner-up is the Audi R8, which has about 4 inches more rear legroom than the Avalon. Finally, the roomiest sedan, according to U.S. News, is the BMW 7 Series, which has 4.1 inches more rear legroom than the Avalon does.

The 2021 Toyota Avalon is the best large car

Although those two German luxury sedans have four inches more rear legroom than the Toyota Avalon does, the Avalon ultimately gets the last laugh. U.S. News said that it’s actually the best large car of the year, and it’s pretty easy to see why.

Not only is it a big car with a decently sized trunk, but it’s also a classy and refined car. Indeed, U.S. News wrote that the Avalon’s interior has, “some of the nicest cabin materials in the class.” Additionally, the Avalon is packed full of standard features, including heated front seats with synthetic leather upholstery, as well as a standard 9-inch touchscreen display.

Since it’s a Toyota, the Avalon is also a very safe and very reliable car. That high safety score is partially because it’s also equipped with a ton of standard smart safety features, such as forward-collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring, just to name a few. The Avalon’s 3.5-liter V6 is also pretty great, as it gets 301 hp and 22 MPG in the city and 32 MPG on highways.

Overall, the Toyota Avalon costs about $36,000 MSRP, but there are more expensive trims. For example, the TRD trim can push the Avalon’s price tag up to $43,000 MSRP.

RELATED: The Toyota Avalon Is the Only Large Car to Earn This Consumer Reports Designation

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