Rio will do little to alter the dynamics of the subcompact market, since it is pretty much a generic starter sedan. Kia say it has "Power Round Design" whatever that means, but it is essentially a featureless appliance.
The really interesting version of Rio is the station wagon, which has a strange funky charm but is not at this time scheduled to make the pan-Pacific crossing. Pity.
Kia did give Rio a decent amount of interior space for a little car, and the key element to that is the ability to adjust the seats to your liking and set them as high as possible so you do not feel like you are sitting in a sled.
Not being cramped helps somewhat to reduce the sense that you are in the smallest vehicle on the road (it is 1 440 mm high and has a curb weight of 1 017 kg with a 5-speed manual), but only somewhat. This is a small car and, given the on-going buyer's preference for trucks, it will get smaller every day. That is probably not ''the real of it" that Kia had in mind, but it will be for a lot of people.
Thanks mostly to the DOHC, 16-valves, 1.5-litres inline-4 with its iron block and aluminum head, Rio can be fun to drive. If you stay with the 5-speed manual that is standard on every model, you can force the 96 horses and 98 pound-feet of torque to bend to your will by keeping the revs up near their maximum points - 5 800 and 4 500 rpm, respectively. The electronically controlled 4-speed automatic costs more and does not allow easy access to the power available, but it is pleasingly smooth shifting.