NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. — A drive down the River Road, which matches every serpentine kink in the Guadalupe River as it slithers southward toward New Braunfels through the hills of Texas, shows us that the 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door SX — a new subcompact hatchback by Kia of South Korea in sporty SX trim — loves to tackle a curvy course.

Push the alloy throttle pedal further toward the floor and a new four-cylinder engine, enhanced by direct fuel injection, propels this little car too quickly into the face of a broadly sweeping bend. All of the rules of prudent driving and laws of physics suggest a slower speed for curves like this, yet the oversized 205/45R17 tires bite steadfastly and maintain their grip as torque flows to the front wheels, which pull our vehicle through the bend without a hitch or slip.

On the exit you get the feeling this thing could take that curve even faster and still remained rooted.

It’s obviously playful, and in the hands of a skillful driver allows a creative expression of kinetic movement in linear form which can be both exhilarating and satisfying.

But the 2012 Kia Rio is more than fun to drive:  It’s a downright cheap set of wheels.

Out of the box as the entry edition, the 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door LX issue carries a bottom-line MSRP of $13,600 with a six-speed manual transmission or $14,700 with a six-speed electronic automatic.

A deluxe EX edition with the six-speed automatic lists for $16,500 while top-trim SX with sport-tuned hardware aboard goes for $17,700.

The 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door in long-roof hatchback format spins off Kia’s Rio 4-door notchback sedan, which has been rebuilt for a third generation in the Class of 2012. Each Rio 5-Door model features a sleek package design with pronounced wedge profile and a prominent prow with gaping lower grille divided into three sections, edgy contours on side panels and wheelwell flares which turn into sculpted shoulders.

The new renditions of Rio seem more substantial:  The package is larger, there’s more spark from a stronger engine and more sophisticated mechanical components apply, along with comfortable and attractive appointments in the cabin.

Rio’s new treatment features a revamped platform with longer wheelbase and broader wheel track, far more safety gear aboard and class-capping power from the new four-cylinder engine.

The wheelbase length for Rio 5-Door stretches 101.2 inches long while the width of the body extends to 67.7 inches and the distance from the prow up front to the back bumper tallies to 159.3 inches — more than 13 feet long.

These spatial hard points translate to a passenger compartment of surprising scale — 88.6 cubic feet of room for riders with headroom up to 40.0 inches, legroom to 43.8 inches in front and back, shoulder room to 53.1 inches and hip room of 52.1 inches.

The overall look and feel for cabin materials seems like a plush upgrade over previous Rio editions.

Cabin layout shows a pair of bucket seats in front of a bench with defined seats for two but room in a pinch for three, and a rear cargo bay of 15.0 cubic feet with access from the tail-side hatchback door.

Measures for passenger safety in the cabin extend from the sturdy safety-cage construction to front seatbelts with load-limiting and pretensioning apparatus, backseat restraints with anchors to mount a child’s seat, smart multi-stage frontal air bags and side air bags for the front seats along with curtain-style air bags tucked in the ceiling for outboard seats on two rows.

Rio also stocks active safety systems including an anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD), plus hill-start assist control (HAC) and vehicle stability management (VSM) which coordinates the electronic stability control (ESC) and ABS systems to maintain control of the vehicle.

Popping the hood reveals that Kia’s treatment for the front-wheel-drive Rio 5-Door encompasses an impressive and powerful engine, along with engineering innovations which combine to make the car quiet and easy to drive.

All 2012 Kia Rio editions employ an in-line four-cylinder aluminum engine which displaces 1.6 liters and has dual overhead cams with gasoline direct injection (GDI) and continuously variable valve timing (CVVT) for high-tech metering of the fuel burn. The plant produces 138 hp at 6300 rpm plus 123 lb-ft of torque at 4850 rpm.

A six-speed manual transmission works with this engine for Rio LX, but a new six-speed electronic automatic applies to EX and SX editions. Fuel economy figures climb to 40 mpg for highway driving using the automatic.

For Rio EX, Kia’s optional Idle Stop and Go (ISG) technology reduces fuel consumption slightly by automatically shutting the engine off when the vehicle stops at a traffic signal, then automatically restarting when the driver releases the brake pedal.

Kia installs a load of gear even to the price-leading LX model. Standard equipment includes air conditioning, heated power mirrors, variable intermittent wipers, rear window washer/wiper, tilting steering wheel, six-way manual driver seat, cloth upholstery, split folding rear seat, roll-up windows and manual door locks, an audio kit with AM/FM/CD/MP3 and steering wheel controls, and 15-inch steel wheels with 185/65R15 tires.

The Kia Rio 5-Door EX stocks power-folding mirrors, power controls for windows and locks, cruise control, metallic cabin trim and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Rio 5-Door SX goes further with alloy pedals covers, Supervision meter cluster, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, sports suspension calibrations, larger front brakes, foglamps and 17-inch alloy wheels with 205/45R17 tires.

2012 KIA RIO 5-DOOR HATCHBACK SPECIFICATIONS

• Description: Subcompact 5-door hatchback
• Model options: LX, EX, SX
• Wheelbase: 101.2 inches
• Overall length: 159.3 inches
• Engine size: DOHC 1.6-L I4/GDI/CVVT
• Transmissions/speeds:
  • Manual/6
  • Auto/6
• Rear/front drive: Front
• Steering: PS/rack and pinion
• Braking: Power 4-disc, ABS/EBD/ESC/VSM/HAC
• Air bags: 2 (front), 2 (side), 4 (side curtain)
• EPA mileage est. city/hwy.:
  • M/6: 30/40 mpg
  • A/6: 30/40 mpg
• MSRP, est.:
  • $13,600: Rio 5-door LX MT
  • $14,700: Rio 5-door LX AT
  • $16,500: Rio 5-door EX AT
  • $17,700: Rio 5-door SX AT