Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the city car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a General Motors-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 86hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 12-valves 87hp engine designed by Hyundai.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the American car offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Chevrolet does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Chevrolet, as well as KIA, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Aveo as average reliability-wise, and Rio is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the American car rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

KIA is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 172 kilometers per hour, 11km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (57 mpg), in combined cycle.

Verdict

Chevrolet appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the American car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Chevrolet offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... At the end, as much as I'd like to give you a winner here, it's simply a pure tie if you ask me. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.