Last April, I leased a new 2015 Kia Rio LX with manual transmission, a total stripper. There is not a single option on this car, but that’s not the point here. The point is, why did it take me six months to write my COAL on my new toy? Even I didn’t know the answer in the beginning, but after six months behind the wheel, I think I have a good idea of how to proceed.
I had been shopping for a daily driver for about a year, as my beloved 2000 Acura TL is simply too old and thirsty for daily driver duties. In the compact/subcompact classes I drove a lot of cars, too many to mention, so I will narrow it down to the short list: Kia Rio, Mazda 3 or Honda Fit. Of all the cars I drove, these were the only ones that had what I call “good car feel,” whatever that may be. Each had its own particular merits: the Honda had its brilliant loading system, the Mazda was a compelling package and, believe it or not, the Rio was the driver’s car of the trio. Once I had a good drive in it, the close ratio six speed, 138 hp direct injection CVVT engine and four wheel disks had me hooked. It is actually faster than the 2.0 litre Mazda, as it has only 12 hp less, and about 200 kg less weight.
Around the same time, my wife’s 2006 Taurus, a car I have always detested, developed Old Forditis, meaning it was refusing to start, hold a charge, or generally run. After tossing some money at it, the car developed a bottom end knock. These cars usually grenade around ten years or so, so this one was right on schedule. Anyway, the real clincher was that the Kia dealer was willing to give me $2300 in cash for it, and lease me the Rio on a 36 month lease for $185 a month, taxes included with no down payment. That’s dirt cheap for a new car with a five year bumper to bumper warranty. It would be nuts to commute in a beater with cars this cheap available.
The Rio has been a big surprise to me. First of all, it handles beautifully, and it actually understeers less than my Acura! In really sharp turns the rears actually break first, and the stability control lets one play right to the danger zone. The ride is firm, but not harsh like my Fit was, and very compliant. There is loads of steering feel, and effort is very light for city duties. This is the first time I have had a car with CVVT (Continuous Variable Valve Timing) and direct injection and the driving experience is quite different. The main point of CVVT is to minimize pumping losses, and it works as advertised: there is very little engine braking, so it is good the car is equipped with four wheel disks. The transmission is simply brilliant, one of the best I have ever experienced, a genuine, close ratio six speed. Each shift is only about a 500 rpm drop, so it is very easy to keep the engine in its sweet spot. What is more is the shift lever is one of the best I have ever used, even better than my Fit.
The driving experience of these cars is also different for me. First, it produces much more low end torque than cars of previous technology. The 1.6 will pull 1000 rpm all day and produce excellent fuel economy figures. Transport Canada rates the car at 8.7L/100 km, but I only got that one the first tank. After 8000 km, I am averaging 7.5L/100 km (31.36 mpg), which I consider excellent, given Vancouver traffic. My 2008 Fit ran around 8.5, but it also had 29 less horsepower. Above 4000 rpm, the short intake passages open up and the engine runs nicely to its 6500 rpm redline. Of all the small cars I drove, the Rio was the only one that felt truly quick and light on its feet.
What really surprises me more than anything about the Rio is the amount of content even strippers now have. This one is very comprehensively equipped for a low end car. The only thing lacking I might miss would be remote keyless entry. It does have central locking, but there is no way to unlock the hatch with the key, which is a minor pain.
The seats and driving position are fine and the car has many nice little touches: for example, theatre lighting, and all the door switches are illuminated when you put the key in, a USB port, a stereo that really is pretty good, two 12V power outlets, a hill holder, trip computer, power windows and a lot of other stuff. Added to the five year warranty, these cars are a pretty good value. I don’t miss having air conditioning in mild Vancouver, and in the two whole weeks of warm weather this summer I got along just fine. Now that things have cooled down, it is not an issue.
Downsides? Well, the vision to the rear is awful, and a backup camera should be mandatory. Especially to the rear quarters, vision is limited, which is unfortunate, as front and side vision are excellent. The engagement point of the clutch is a little hard to figure out, and I stalled it a few times when I got it. The lack of a way to open the hatch with the key is a bit of a pain. That’s not much of a list, and I am a picky shopper.
Upsides? The holeshot is great in this car, making driving in heavy traffic doable. Front and side visibility are excellent, the car is quiet and very well built, the glove box is huge, there is loads of storage and the brakes are excellent. Driving it up to Whistler was a blast as it is a real sleeper.
Modern industrial technology has given us cars like the Rio. Cars sold in huge numbers all around the world, allowing for really cheap unit costs. What we lose in individually we get back in excellent product. This Korean brand has totally surprised me with its sophistication. But then again, the head of the design team was a German, and it’s great that Korean companies no longer limit themselves in their talent pools. When the lease is up in three years, I sincerely hope that an electric can compete with the cost per km of a little stripper. Until electrics can compete on price, there may well be another Rio in my future.
that’s funny you write this now. I just bought my daughter her first car and it was a 2013 Kia Rio. My daily is an 06 5 series so my expectations even with an older BMW were not too high for the KIA. But low and behold it is a fun little car to drive. the last thing I expected when I bought it were all the amenities. Her car does have a backup camera,satellite radio, and bluetooth, etc. I am quite impressed with it since my last run at a car like that was 22 years ago when I bought my 1993 Integra. Its no Integra but its mighty close in a lot of aspects. Its much more refined than I expected.
Love it! You’re going to motivate me to write about my 2009 Kia Rondo, and incredible little 7 passenger vehicle that was very similar except that no stick shift was available. And yes, a key, with no fob, and no key holes in any door except the driver’s door is the way my Rondo was equipped as well!
When I read “total stripper”, I thought that it would not have A/C, power anything, radio…no clothing…Oops! LOL! It is common now (most likely a cost saving measure) that if you have remote unlocking, the drivers’ door is the only one that has a key hole. 🙂
Might want to read the fine print on that 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. I’ve read stories of dealerships declining warranty claims based on owners being unable to provide documentation/evidence that they religiously followed the maintenance schedule and/or they did not have routine scheduled maintenance performed by an authorized dealership. Not exactly legal, but, hey, when has that stopped a manufacturer from denying warranty claims in the past?
I doubt it will be much of an issue as here in Canada, consumer protection laws are pretty strict on warranty issues. Added to that, I will only have the car three years anyway.
Plus, it’ll probably be serviced at the dealer since it’s a lease
EVERY review, everywhere, for this car mentions the really bad rear visibility.
Probably the main reason I have trouble with the Hyundai/Kia brands is that while they have a great warranty, the internet has enough stories on it about dealers that wouldn’t honor that famous warranty.
Here in the ‘states, it’s almost impossible to lease any car that has a manual transmission. Ideally, leases are done on cars specced like rental/fleet vehicles. A/C would be a must on a rental/lease vehicle.
I should saw that I really like the looks of these Rios, and would consider one….even with that blind spot, but for the rep of local dealers.
Try as I might, I could never bring myself to buy a Kia. A friend of mine told me that they were the Korean Ford cars, and not very reliable.
In fact, the Ford Festiva from 1988-93 and the Ford Aspire from 1994-97 were built by Kia Motors before they started selling cars under their own name in the US.
That was then, this is now.
Kia and Hyundai have made one of the largest, if not the largest turn-arounds that a car company has ever made. They went from selling Excels 30 years ago to making a very nice vehicle today.
I wonder what credentials your friend has to validate his viewpoint, Jason. Name me one truly unreliable modern car model built in the last three years that is statistically verifiable. There simply isn’t one. In my own experiences (which does not make them statistically verifiable or significant) the cars with lower sticker prices tend to be more reliable than ones with higher sticker prices. This one should excel.
It’s a bit harsh, but Jason’s comments typically don’t warrant reading, never mind responding. I’m not sure whether he says stuff like this because he’s trolling, or just clueless. But they keep on coming, even though he changed his user name.
Anyone who didn’t just crawl out from under a rock and considers himself a car enthusiast would know it’s been decades since Kia built Mazdas for Ford. And the ironic thing is that the Ford Festiva was an exceptionally tough little car to boot.
the korean ford thing is like the ‘double-insult’ that my wife uses when she compares me disparagingly to my father,
The Mini Cooper is terrible on reliability
http://tradeinqualityindex.com/reports/MINI/Cooper.html
Wow, that site is fascinating! If you remove the Mini Cooper from the link it charts all kinds of cars. I haven’t studied their methodology but on the face of it it’s really interesting.
The Mini Cooper graph ends in Model Year 2010 so more than 3 years old but I’m on board with what you mean. I wonder if there is a way to overlay the 2000-2010 Mini data with similar data from other, more regular cars from the decade prior to that.
Thanks for the link!
Try VWs with g/boxes that need changing/repairing at 50K Km…
I had one of those first Kia’s, a Ford Festiva. A really nice little econobox which gave me excellent service in the years that I had it. Case in point, I remember that car, I don’t remember what I traded it in on.
Bottom line, the memories of that Kia convinced me to talk Maggie into buying the Kia Spectra she’s currently driving. And the results of that one got me to buy the Kia Sedona that is our long haul driver, campervan, and reenactment hauler.
Add in an excellent relationship with the local dealer, Kia will be the final stop after we’ve looked over everything else when it come time to replace Maggie’s car next year.
” Try as I might, I could never bring myself to buy a Kia. A friend of mine told me that they were the Korean Ford cars, and not very reliable. ”
in my experience this is not true. 96,000 miles now on my 09 Kia Rondo ,and brakes and tires has been all it has needed.
This is definitely a smart looking little car, and one I’d consider owning. I’d have to have AC and an automatic, and that keyless hatch would annoy me, too. But if anything happened to my current wheels, I would give this a look. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I rented a Kia Optima and the experience was almost identical to yours. My biggest complaint are the horribly uncomfortable seats.
Today’s strippers just aren’t what they used to be anymore.
Basic-model Fords, Opels and -especially- Volkswagens from the seventies and eighties, now those were strippers !
I checked the North American Kia website. There’s a model called the Forte5. I wonder if that’s basically the same hatchback as the Kia cee’d here. That’s right, Kia sells a model called the cee’d. Available as a 3- or 5-door hatchback and as a wagon.
That seems about right. I wonder what the reasoning was behind having two similar models, but not the same one.
For some reason, the cee’d and Forte were developed independently of each other. I’m sure there are some mechanical similarities but they’re not the same car. It’s like how there’s the Hyundai i30 in Europe and the Elantra in America.
No! Not the Acura! I still miss my TL.
New Kias are getting much better, would consider one if I had the money for something new.
Well, I still have my Acura TL.
Props, what year? Mine was an ’03, beige with tan interior. Met it’s fate at the hands of a red Crown Vic.
Nice post.
I had a 2010 Kia forte stripper model that did not have A/C but did have a really good stereo with bluetooth in it. I loved the manual trans in the car and it is second to my 2012 Fiesta in shift quality.
I agree with you on the quality of Kia. I figure in about 5 or 10 years from now Hyundai/Kia will occupy the top spot over Toyota. Toyota products seem to feel more cheaper every new generation. I also love the Kia dealer experience, when I had my 2010 Forte, I had nothing but good service at the Kia dealerships I took the car in for routine services(such as oil changes) they even replaced a door weather stripping that was damaged, with no questions asked or even me telling them that the weather stripping was damaged.
By contrast the local Toyota dealers were disappointing and after dealing with them, I resolved that I would not ever buy a Toyota again.
I test drove a 2014 Rio and a 2015 Rio and found them to be too cramped for me to drive daily. If I get another Kia, it would probably another Forte.
The only thing I would not do is lease as I would like something to show for monthly payments.
Enjoy your car
The one saving grace of some leases is that, while you don’t have anything particularly to show for your monthly payments, the buyout option price may be lower than the typical (dealer) retail price for the car. That was the case with my 2012 Forte, which we ended up buying off lease. It wasn’t a steal (and we probably came out about even after dealer fees and the like) but you’re also buying a “used” car that you know the history of.
Would I do it again? Not especially likely. Moving out of state with a leased vehicle was one of the most frustrating bureaucracy experiences I’ve ever had. Absolutely maddening (took me about two months and I think 8 trips to the DMV plus just as many calls to Hyundai/Kia Leasing to get it done). And while you may not lose money, you’re going to get a better deal buying straight up (which also gives you more negotiating room). But you do end up with a “pre-owned” car that you know the entire history of, which is a plus. And it made sense at the time…
According to Autocar magazine, open in front of me, a total stripper Rio has 1.25 litres and 83 horses……
And indeed, if I were to buy a Rio in the UK, that would be an engine choice.
Here the only choice is the 138 hp 1.6 litre. And in all honesty, the 1.25 litre would be perfectly adequate for the kind of driving I do.
The holeshot is great in this car…
What is this “holeshot” of which you speak?
“Holeshot” is defined as being the first out of the gate or off the starting line. In my neck of the woods we’d say “it has a lot of get up and go.”
This must be local slang, and taxi drivers use this term a lot, or did when I was doing it three decades ago.
In urban driving on 2 or 3 lane streets, 99% of drivers will bunch up in the centre lane. Getting in the right lane can get you far ahead of that blob of traffic, but it requires a car that has a good holeshot. A manual is always better at this in my experience, although from 0-60 km/h I have never seen a better car than my Acura.
It’s when the Rio walks away from my 30 year old Jetta and I fall into the ditch thinking my engine stalled but the cars still moving. Great deal on the Rio. Kia/Hyundai’s have really improved, At least I have similar MPG, big windows, frosty AC and no payments. Nice write up.
Its a drag racing term. First off the line.
I purchased a base LX no options Kia Forte manual in 2011 for US$14,500. I too was impressed with the handling, power, shifter, and thriftiness. However, I found the upolstery and carpeting were thin…and the manual window handles laughably light weight. It was a fantastic value and was entirely dependable over the 4 years 85K miles I drove it.
Like you said, the car was $14,500. Want nice carpets? Spend more.
Wow, just checked the websites of the 3 local Kia dealers near me…..only 1 Rio hatchback, though it does have a manual transmission, and about 5 or 6 Rio sedans. ALL the sedans have automatic transmissions.
Now, if you want a Soul, you have a HUGE number to choose from, all colors and both transmissions.
If you want it, snap it up. Kia seems incredibly enthusiastic about culling sticks and the ’16 Rio hatch is auto (CVT?) only, the 6-speed only comes on the base sedan. So much for being the sporty division.
Of all of Peter Schreyer’s Kia designs, I find the Rio the most attractive. It is just so well proportioned and European in appearance! They facelifted it recently and messed up the front and rear ends a little though.
I stlll think the Optima (2010-2015 generation) is the most attractive by a significant margin (though it requires the panoramic sunroof and 18″ wheels to achieve the full effect of the design). The Rio hatch is certainly well-proportioned though.
Nice Len. I rented a Rio when on vacation in western NY not too long ago. Liked it just fine. Wouldn’t mind making one my next choice if I can talk the wife into it. She liked it then.
What kind of monthly mileage is typical for a lease? That’s what has kept me buying instead of leasing.
I was having fits convincing myself that I wasn’t getting 40 mpg. Maybe an air bubble when I filled it. It got us where we were going and didn’t cost much in any way.
Mine was 1000 miles/month on a 39-month lease. More were available but, naturally, you pay more. Better to negotiate a higher monthly allowance up front than to pay it out on the back end though. It was a non-issue for us (my wife was a grad student for 2 of the 3 years so it wasn’t driven daily during that time) but I can see how that could be a concern.
Your experience with the manual transmission and talking about it as a “driver’s car” made me think of the 2005 – 2011 Hyundai Accent and how it was available (in three door hatchback form) as a GT model with a B&M manual short throw shifter.
That was likely a car that was much more fun than it looked like.
I thought I was on to something with my feelings that my local Kia dealerships were….not the best places to buy a car. Checked on Dealer-rater and the 3 or 4 Kia dealerships in my area have dismal ratings from customers….but nearly all of it having to do with the sales experience while the service experience gets very good ratings.
Strangely, the Hyundai dealerships get very good ratings for sales and service.
Nice car, Len, thanks for sharing. I like the entry level offerings from H/K. Lots of car and features for the money, an attractive design, and a great warranty. What’s not to like?
As horrible as a KIA is, no money down and $136 a month for 36 months is a good reason to get one as a daily driver. In Australia we don’t have any super lease deals like that. Here, you would need to finance the full price ,$16990, pay $368 per month for 36 months and hope it’s worth the residual figure, $8495 at the end so you can get out of it.
I think there might be some negative equity at the end …
We do get a massive 7 year warranty on Kia here.
At $136 a month, I can’t see how you can drive a dunger used car in the US. This is virtually a free car to me.
KJ in Oz
Correct review.
Believe or not: make numbers..
It’s a free Car in time
A stripper with power windows but no AC?
I remember for many years in the early-mid 2000s the Rio held the title of “cheapest new car in the US” – it was advertised by KIA and the automotive press a lot. If I recall right the Hyundai Accent stole that title when both were redesigned in 2006 (same platform), with its base 3-door hatchback variant that was so stripped out, it had no radio! But it hit the magic $9995 price point. I think the cheapest new car is now around $12k, but I’m not sure if it’s the Chevrolet Spark or Mitsubishi Mirage and frankly I find both so unappealing, I don’t care to look it up. I used to follow the bare-bones subcompact segment closely, but I don’t find many of the recent versions very attractive.
I enjoy basic skinflint cars, and I’ve had much experience with the Accent and Rio. The 2000-2005 version was awful – tinny, loud, rattly, cheap, chintzy, and you’d be lucky to get over 100,000 miles without a major engine or transmission failure, maybe 150k tops out of a manual one if you can deal with every accessory and piece of hardware failing. The 2006-2011 versions were “OK”, still basic and not something I’d expect 200k miles out of, but pleasant enough to drive. They sold a version of the Rio until 2011 with manual steering and steel wheels with no hubcaps from the factory (see pic below) I test drove a brand new one in 2009 and the salesman said it would be $242 a month to BUY it, not lease! He said they were hard to get rid of because of the manual steering, but I didn’t find it too heavy, although it was noticeable when parking.
My only experience with the current generation was an automatic sedan I rented on a vacation to California in 2012. Granted, this generation is bigger and heavier than the previous Rios, but I was shocked how quiet, stable, and smooth it was at 75 MPH on the freeway – it felt more like a compact or even a mid-size car. I’d consider one, but when I was last shopping (2014) the Forte was actually cheaper to lease in the US because the higher resale value of a C-segment car offsets the higher sticker price versus the subcompact car (this is the case for almost all brands when leasing in the US – looks like it is different in Canada?)
Nice car. I bought the red hatch. 2015, Mid level, with everything you have but with auto, heated seats and air.
Cons….Not really fond of black interior as it shows all dust dirt. No spare tire, but one of my winter tires fits in the trunk well…had to buy a bottle jack and lugNut wrench. Passenger seat sits way too low to floor, remedied with 4 hockey pucks to raise it up just the perfect height..(not sure why it’s so damn low)…but I didn’t sit in that seat when I bought it…
pros are the sweet fuel mileage, the car is super quick, six speed trans works well, price of ownership, and lots of compliments on it. We tinted the rear windows (don’t care what’s behind),and installed Amazons rain guards. I change the oil myself, and had it under
coated from a local business. Good value as our son drives the old 2007 Accent, 220,000 kms, and it still runs and looks good. Very reliable cars. This Rio is just has a tad more technology, which it packages decently. ( We also own a Kia Soul.) We used to buy Fords and Dodges for decades. Fuel is much to dear these days, and the South Koreans know how to build a fuel efficient RELIABLE auto…I’m too old for mechanical repairs nowadays.
Nice to hear that you are enjoying it. I have been very happy with my 2012 Sedona. A nice 6 speed stick is getting to be a rare thing.
Strippers are indeed better than they used to be. Mine stickered at about 24k and after incentives and a bit of negotiation, I bought it for 19k. The extra money gets you seating for 7, front and rear air and a 271 hp V6/6 speed auto. I had been a little leery of Kia but would definitely consider another.
You would have hated the 6MT in the third-gen Fit/Jazz… folks on the Fit forum complain of a super-low first, and a sixth that barely drops RPMs from fifth, and which is the exact same ratio as fifth in the 2nd-gen Fit. It also turns 1,000 RPM higher at highway speed than the CVT (which is why I bought mine with the CVT). No change for the ’16 models, either.
I like the CVT for road trips, but really miss having a manual on the rare occasion I’m on a twisty road.
I still can’t believe Honda did that, every review of the Fit ever had dinged the 5-speed for being too buzzy at highway speeds (and very little else) so the wasted opportunity to make 6th a tall cruising gear is baffling.
This has been a Honda trait for many years. It might (might!) make sense on something like an S2000 or the older Si/SiR cars, but for economy cars, family sedans, or luxury models, it’s just silly.
did you cross shop the Ford Fiesta? if so, how do they compare?
I know your asking the writer but for what its worth I was looking at a 2013 Fiesta when I bought my kids 2013 RIO. The RIO was much nicer driving car. Certainly handled better in corners. Neither Interior stoodout they are both cheapy but if I had to choose the Fiesta seemed a bit less plasticky. The Fiesta had heated cloth seats also.
Transmission the RIO had the Fiesta beat hands down.
I did drive the Fiesta. It was nice, but the Rio has more power, a better shifter, six speeds vs five, four wheel disks and power windows.
Sounds like a good little car I see far to many Kias around for them to be lemons nobody seems to complain about Korean cars anymore except those who decide to buy the Cruz and lament that it isnt made in Australia (actually a bonus) the cars themselves are quite ok.
The Holden Cruze sedan and Hatch are made in Australia. Not sure where the Cruz is made though. Maybe it’s a Chinese knock-off and someone is pulling the wool over your eyes?
Around these parts, the Kia dealers are a mere half-step above Mitsubishi dealers in the “We Finance Anybody (at 18%)” racket.
I visited Jim Marsh Kia, where a $14k base Soul had a $4000 ADM sticker.
I bet they sure are happy to finance someone into a $20k loan at 18% on a $14k car!
They give me the heebie-jeebies. If Kia was the best car on the planet and sold for $6k, I wouldn’t set foot in a Kia dealer.
my understanding is that kia was an independent korean manufacturer until the asian currency crisis. as a result of the crisis, the korean government engineered a hyundai takeover of kia. the quality has improved exponentially over the years. my korean wife is astounded at the high quality of korean rental cars these days. she told me that in the seventies before the koreans were exporting, these cars were abysmal.
i am a car share person. i have my choice of several low end cars from zipcar every time i drive. to my own surprise, i find myself gravitating to the kia forte rather than the mazda 3, honda civic or nissan versa.
I’ve liked the current Optima since the model was introduced in 2011, but never seriously thought I would ever want to own one.
A day-long Kia Rio rental last year in Dallas convinced me Kia was (finally) for real. After shopping around for a large car, three weeks ago I pulled the trigger on a new Cadenza; the dealer was a small one, but the personnel were friendly and on top of their game.
The only change I plan to make to the car is changing the “KIA” badges with the proper Korean stylized “K.”
I own a 2013 Kia Soul that I bought as an appliance – not inspiring but a good reliable car. It’s a base model but it has everything I need: automatic, power windows and doorlocks, an intertainment system that takes a college degree to operate, abs. The window sticker was $18,999. The discounted price was $15,000and they gave me $3,000 on a 2000 Mustang that was slowly coming apart. The Kia does what I expect it to do, no more or less. I’ve had good experience at a local dealer but I’ve had no warranty claims. I’ll see what happensin the long haul. BTW, Souls are very numerous in my neck of the woods being driven by older drivers (like me). Would I buy another Kia? I’m a long time Ford guy and will probably buy another Ford next time around.
Well, for 2016 you can only get the stick in the 4 door in the states. Windup windows, manual doors, but it does have A/C! They still make a base 5 door but you have to take the auto. Not sure of this thought process at all.
No A/C, wow. I can see that in Europe or Vancouver though. Good for you on the purchase Len!
Looks like a good choice, and for $185/month out the door, tax included, it’s hard to go wrong. My wife drives a 2012 Forte Koup which is nearing its fourth anniversary in our care; it was also a lease originally but we took the purchase option at the end of the lease in February. It’s got the 2.0 CVVT engine (why do I keep wanting to type CVCC?) and the six-speed automatic, EX trim which is a handful of options over the base LX, things like satellite radio and remote locks.
It’s been a very good car for us–it’s only been ln for warranty service once in four years, and that for a minor issue with a trim piece that was quickly and painlesly fixed. Not bad at all. Competent, composed driving character, great seats, good mileage and it’s (in my opinion) a good-looking machine. We plan on keeping it until such time as a 2-door becomes impractical. If you’d asked me even 5 years ago if I’d be driving a Kia the answer probably would have been a quick no, but cross-shopped against the compacts of the time (notably the massive letdown 2012 Civic) the choice was easy. Kia/Hyundai really have accomplised a lot in a short time!
Hey that’s my car! Except mine is an lx + wich means ac, heated seat and cruise control…felt like I had bought a mini deluxe when I got it last year! (Coming out of a very stripper Matrix) Same color too, I had no trouble whatsoever with mine 27000 km on it, I agree with every comment made by the author except for the poor back visual, it’s not that bad…great thing with these is the easy way you can order parts to make it better looking (on the cheap), changed the manual shifter for the leather one for 30$, the aluminium pedal for 30$ and ordered the entire soft touch front fascia for the dash (around 170$)…got the 16 inch mag wheel from an EX for 500$ with brand new tire…I love this car, only regret is not getting the opening glass roof, but It was 3000$ more so…The ride and pleasure of driving must be similar to a first gen GTI, Jack Baruth said it in TTAC….