WITH its reputation now firmly established and its model range fitting British motoring tastes just perfectly, more and more buyers are checking out just what the Kia brand has to offer.
From the little Picanto city car to the large seven-seat all-wheel-drive Sorento SUV, each and every Kia model offers a great balance between style, fine engineering and high-end build quality.
Today's Kias are class leaders in every way, spearheading innovative safety and security and offering the type of handling that used to be the sole preserve of offerings from the prestige car sector.
Yet despite their full programme of improvements, Kia continue to keep their pricing structure at an affordable level and this means great buys for those in the used car market.
Take the current five-door machine for example which took on the Rio mantle in 2011. The entry-level vehicle sports a price tag today of just £10,095 with the top of the range model costing £16,695, and with each model you get a cracking-looking machine boasting - according to trim level - a compact town car with many fine executive vehicle touches.
For those in the used car market, a middle of the range model is a good place to start, for generally it's going to offer the best buy. So in this instance, the 1.4-litre diesel powered version in trim level 2 offers more than enough to satisfy most tastes.
Sitting on 16-inch alloys, with its front and rear fog lights, tinted glass, variable speed wipers and daytime running lights it looks great from the outside.
Its interior standard fixtures include air conditioning, electric windows, day and night driving mirror, radio with MP3 compatibility, Bluetooth handsfree system, twin front air bags, side and curtain airbags, ABS, electronic stability and hill start assist.
But the real worth in any car is its performance and while this belter can top out at 107mph and reach 60mph in 11.1 seconds, it returns an impressive fuel economy figure of 70.6mpg on the combined cycle. The urban rating is 62.8mpg and its extra urban figure is 76.3mpg. The CO2 rating on this hatch is 105g/km, making its annual road tax fee just £20.
The Rio's suspension is set on the firmish side, so expect some rattle and roll on really badly surfaced roads. However, it really comes into its own on nicely topped motorways and dual-carriageways.
While never pretending to be a sports hatch able to mix and match it with the GTIs and STs of this world, the Rio is still assured at speed, with a decent amount of stability, body control and grip making for safe passage.
One of the most spacious cars within its class, it is able to accommodate up to five in comfort. Up front, there's oodles of shoulder room, while headroom is also up there with the very best.
Not only that, but the car's long wheelbase makes sure there is plenty of rear legroom for even the tallest of passengers.
On the open road the little Rio is fleet of foot, safe when overtaking while it handles impeccably. It's economical, sits and hugs the road well and is as enjoyable to drive as the best of the rest.
The Rio comes with no less than six airbags and also features stability control as standard throughout the range which has helped secure it a five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating.
Kia has also been punching above their weight in the JD Power customer satisfaction surveys and last year came ninth overall, leaving big hitters such as BMW, Audi, Vauxhall and Ford trailing in the wake. And for total piece of mind, every used Rio should benefit from Kia's transferrable seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
Price-wise, you should be looking at paying from around the £5,595 mark up to £7,820 for a 2011 11-plate, 1.4-litre diesel EcoDynamics model in 2 trim with 40,000 miles on the clock.
Move on to a similar 2012 model and prices should come in at between £6,620 and £8,880, while a 2013 13-plate version should be available from between £7,660 and £9,795.
However, for those willing to do without the advantage of air conditioning and can do with just the bare minimum of life's little luxuries, then you should be able to source a lower-powered 2011 1.1-litre diesel in 1 trim for a bargain price of between £4,540 and £6,345.