Auto News 5

Automobile Magazine has long defined itself by cars like the Kia Rio. As in, we don't care about them. Rudimentary, slow, dourly pragmatic -- the Rio and its ilk are a perfect bogey for writers and readers who proudly chant, "no boring cars." Progress has chipped away at this simplistic worldview with cool subcompacts and stylish new Kias. But at least we had the old Rio to kick around. Until now. With the new-for-2012 Rio, Kia aims to send us into a full-on identity crisis. We flew all the way to Seoul, Korea, to find out if this archetypical boring car has truly become interesting.