IN RECENT years Kia has been on a hot streak of sorts, introducing an industry-best warranty program to go with a number of well-received new models such as the Sorento large SUV, Picanto light car, as well as the highly-anticipated Stinger, which is due to land later this year.

The Korean car-maker has gone a long way to shed its reputation as a cut-price manufacturer of vehicles with questionable quality, and the results are showing.

At the start of the year Kia introduced the fourth-generation version of its Rio light car, a model with plenty of rivals to contend with in a busy segment that focuses on value and safety.

We tested the top-of-the-range Rio SLi variant, which retained its pricetag of $22,990 plus on-roads, but has added a bunch of standard equipment while deleting the old 1.6-litre engine in favour of a smaller 1.4-litre unit.

Can the new Rio continue the Kia renaissance?