All these numbers add up to the longest wheelbase in its class, longest overall length and widest girth in the class, resulting in best-in-class passenger volume of 2,949 litres (104.1 cubic feet) in the sedan and 3,060

The five-door offers 448 litres of storage behind the rear seats and a maximum luggage capacity of 1,405 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.(Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

litres (108.1 cubic feet) in the five-door, the former of which just happens to be more than Toyota's Corolla and Honda's outgoing 2005 Civic. What's more, trunk space is up 30 percent in four-door guise, to 337 litres (11.9 cubic feet) - the five-door offers 448 litres (15.8 cubic feet) of storage behind the rear seats and a maximum luggage capacity of 1,405 litres (49.6 cubic feet) when the rear seats are folded flat.

But there's more to the Kia than just size combined with quality materials, there's also an air of solidity, uncanny really. Its partly derived from the upscale "whump" that its doors make when closing, as well as its isolation from road and other exterior noises when at speed or just crawling along an inner city street. Kia credits efforts spent "tuning" the new car with triple sealed door frames, new insulator pads nestled between the floorboard and carpeting, the six-layer sound

The new Rio is an impressive piece of work. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

dampening behind the dash panel, and such details as a magnesium steering wheel core to reduces vibration. Its low coefficient of drag doesn't hamper NVH levels either. It's an impressive piece of work.

So, while I'm still a bit miffed that ABS brakes aren't even offered, even for those silly nits like me that would be willing to pay an extra $600 plus in order to make up for any poorly executed knee-jerk reactions to would-be problems that are bound to occur at any given time during what would at least be a three year sojourn with any new car I'd purchase (say that three times quickly), Kia protects its Rio owners with a decent level of standard safety features. Its rigid body structure, which has been designed to absorb impact more effectively than the outgoing car, is complimented by three-point seatbelts at all five seating positions, and two front airbags. Unlike the Spectra, however, side and curtain-type airbags are not available.