#50mph podcast

[galwednesday]

This week's deep dive rec is 50 MPH: the Making of a Movie Megahit, a podcast that goes extremely in depth on the making of tremendously fun summer action movie Speed (1994):

There’s a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes fifty miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below fifty, it blows up. What do you do? Welcome to 50 MPH, a behind-the-scenes podcast that charts the development, production and legacy of director Jan de Bont’s Oscar-winning 1994 summer blockbuster Speed, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels. Featuring more than 100 new interviews with actors, executives, filmmakers, film scholars and film fans, this one-of-a-kind exploration painstakingly unravels the making of an action movie classic — one mile at a time.

I'm always interested in how creative works get made, and host Kris Tapley takes the listener through every aspect of how this movie came together. If you haven't seen Speed, consider that the first part of this rec (it stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves being extremely charismatic at each other during intense situations and at one point a city bus flies off a highway ramp in defiance of all laws of physics, what more could you ask for).

[hanksypanksyblog]

Speed: Oops all VOC

The boys are heading back to Los Angeles in a hurry with this week's episode on Speed, starring Keanu Reeves. Jump on a bus -- yes, that bus -- and try not to go under 50, because jokes are exploding everywhere. Goofs this week include: Dad outfits for any season, additional plane talk, rapid-fire Reeves questions, and a house that produces more than you'd like.

[oldgooddaysoldgooddays]

24

This weekend my appetite is enormous - I can’t consume enough food, enough cigarettes, enough trivia, enough entertainment. If I could be eating, smoking, listening to a podcast about Jeff Bezos as a child, talking with M AND watching an early 2000s music video all at the same time it might make a dent. This year I resolved to try to take more in and put more out - meaning in art and music and writing - to be more of a student than a manic supplier. But I never had a good valve on consumption and wind up both overstimulated and undernourished. With food as with content, I go for low cal bulk and wonder why my brain (and stomach) are distended while still not feeling full

Today, for instance, I decide I have to watch every single piece of Natasha Bedingfield’s audiovisual oeuvre and then eat 6 cucumbers rather than savouring a single chapter of a novel L recommended over a croissant. And this isn’t some low culture vs high culture moralism - Bedingfield’s 2004 hit “These Words” is, aside from being extremely catchy, a touching portrait of what it is to metabolise feelings into song-form. But I didn’t need to dive into her back catalogue so hard and hit my head at the bottom, and I could’ve at least cut the cucumbers up, made the illusion of a salad

Primarily it’s an issue of using something meant to stir feeling as a numbing agent. In this way Dave Chapelle, the corrupt history of the FDA, 9 Celebrity Vegans Caught Eating Animal Products On TikTok, Rothko all produce the same result

I didn’t think M would come to see me today but am over the moon he did. I needed to laugh, and I needed to know Amanda Seyfried has the word “minge” tattoo’d on her foot. We talk about that saying “living well is the best revenge”. Later I realise it dates back to 16-fucking-40, from George Herbert’s Outlandish Proverbs. “Revenge is the only way to live well”, M says, “there IS no living well without revenge”. I agree, searching in my head for any single thing I’ve ever done that wasn’t done in moderate spite, coming up empty handed. “Daddy’s Love and Spite are the only motivators”, I say with the kind of surety only comfortable when around my closest friends, “and they coincide”

I forget to tell M that I’ve been freaked out by the recent lack of iceberg lettuce in stores. That I’ve been Googling “lettuce shortage war pipeline”. Something about shocking rainfall in Spain comes up, and this is how the climate crisis will hit me - in the slow disappearance of unfashionable vegetables I like. Then in studio leaks. Then in being blown off my bike by 50mph wind, slamming into a van smuggling climate refugees. I stipulate to M, because we are talking about burial vs cremation anyway, that if this happens I do NOT want one of those white ghost bikes chained up at the site of my demise. “Because someone alive could be chaining their bike there instead”, I explain. Ever the pragmatist, he says. For his part, M would like to be burned and scattered in a body of water, but he’s open to being rolled into a cigarette that is kept forever behind glass. I love him for this. I ask him if he ever had sex with a woman and get a hard no

The gallery is to open a new show on Wednesday and I haven’t been in a crowd in almost two months, or to a restaurant. I know this because my eyelash curler (eyelash curlers?) is / are literally gathering dust. Chewed free of the house purchase stress, I collapse into the arms of moving house stress. In my mind’s eye for some reason the new house has no heating

I write L saying I dreamed I was speaking at her graduation (?) last night and my written speech was on very thinly shredded paper and therefore almost illegible. I hate to think the shredded paper represented my faith in her to execute the music video she said she’d make me. I can’t remember if I backed out of the dream speech or whether I went ahead and ad libbed

[by-endurance--we-conquer]

Throwing it back to last year’s Ride The Rockies and the awesome climb up Trail Ridge Rd. in Rocky Mountain National Park (not pictured is the 50mph wind). I’d say July is my favorite month of the year to ride my bike. I thank the Tour de France for that. I’m also enjoying Lance Armstrong’s daily Stages podcast. I just can’t hate the guy. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to do a RTR style ride but in France biking up some of the famous climbs of the Tour. Someday. 38 miles on the bike tonight.

[ukimmigrationmatters]

Tesco drone delivery starting NOW threatening thousands of jobs

A Tesco drone delivery trial will start in Ireland dropping off smaller packages at customers' homes within 30 minutes of ordering.

Drones company, Manna, currently runs medicine delivery trials in Ireland.

The 50mph drones can deliver 4kg of shopping a mile away in three minutes.

Amazon made its first commercial drone delivery in the UK in 2016 in Cambridge to a customer within 13 minutes of the order being placed.

In April 2020, the government announced much larger unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would deliver essential hospital supplies from the mainland to the Isle of Wight. Source: BBC

How many jobs could drones replace?

An MIT professor Daron Acemoglu co-authored a new study revealing that each robot added to the workforce has the effect of replacing 3.3 jobs in the U.S.

PWC report says robots could replace $127 billion of human capital and 50% of all jobs by 2030.

Delivery drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers, bank tellers and cashiers, warehouse packers, lawyers, accountants, agricultural workers, prescription pharmacists, tele marketers and call centre workers, and analysts and more are all jobs which can be replaced by robots, drones and AI within the next few years.

Are you ready to adapt to the new economic model?

As lockdown restrictions around the world are being eased, the economic model has subtly changed forever. How will you adapt to this new way of working and running a business, what obstacles and opportunities lies ahead? Will you be a participant or spectator in this revolution?

By Charles Kelly, Wealth Mentor, Property Investor, Author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness and creator of Money Tips Podcast.

There are more examples and practical steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, I cover the 3 R’s of Money Management, the Money B.E.L.I.E.F System and much more. Check it out on Amazon http://bit.ly/2MoneyBook.

If you’d like further information on wealth mentoring and coaching, how to survive the crisis and even quit the rat race, email me at Charles@CharlesKelly.net or send me a message through Facebook or my Money Tips Daily community. See more articles at www.moneytipsdaily.com

[andsotheadventurebeginsblog]

Slaying Demons on the Autumn 100.

I sit here 5 days after completing the biggest physical challenge of my life to date with sore shins, suspected stress fractures, and a totally renewed sense of calm. I did it. I ran 100 miles in under 24 hours.

The night before the race I meet up with Dave, who is glorious, and we go and get some dinner and drink way more wine than any real athlete would even consider healthy. I feel calm. Nervous but calm. Tomorrow I do the thing I love doing the best. After fractured sleep we get up, eat and get to the village hall where the race goes out from. There are a LOT of men here. A lot. There are many people I admire, there are women that have run literally hundreds of 100 mile races, there are men who have done it in under 14 hours there are ultra legends and there is me.

Me standing here in a semi trance, feeling sick and feeling excited and unable to worry about my broken mental state because I have to achieve this. I get my number from Lou - a friend of mine from the online running group I am a part of. She is wonderful and gives me a hug and tells me how excited she is for me. I tell her I’m scared. Because I am. Then at 10.10am on Saturday the 21st October I take the first steps on a 200,000 step journey to running 100 miles. I chat to people, I try and hold my nerve and keep it slow. The pack thins out and it’s very slippery underfoot. My legs feel heavy and I realise I am not enjoying this at all. It’s fairly lonely on these runs. You get people that want to chat and people that definitely don’t. At the first aid station I meet Dan Barrett - he’s so lovely and kind to me. I wonder why. We’ve only met a few times. After 12 miles I bump into someone I met running Bournemouth Marathon - he remembers me - we exchange pleasantries and on I go. I’m really not feeling this today. I am 13 miles in and bored and already tired. This doesn’t bode well.

I get to the 25 mile mark in 5 hours. All on time. All as planned. I didn’t like that leg. I get my drop bag and get changed into a new long sleeve top and have a couple of sandwiches. I feel tired and slightly out of it. I feel a bit hopeless and lost. I get confused as to what I need and what I don’t. I try and do the change over as fast as possible and get out for the second leg. I leave my mobile charger and battery pack in my drop bag. I am an idiot. I am not strategising. It seems like SUCH a long way. I have 75 miles to go and I feel rubbish.

I get my headphones out and put on a podcast. The second leg is better - more forest and the ridgeway is beautiful. Theres technical paths weaving through forests and Kites soar over the fields. These are the trails I love - I feel like I am finally starting to get into my stride, but Storm Brian is on his way and he brings rain and 50mph wind that squalls across the open fields and makes the trails into wet wind tunnels. I nearly get blown over a couple of times but I feel stronger. I have fuelled properly. I love sandwiches. At the 37 mile turnaround point are kids in halloween costumes helping with water. They remind me of my nieces and nephews and make me smile. For the first time I know I will finish this. I’m on the way back. The way back to Goring village hall, to my beloved sister who is pacing me for the next 25 miles. It’s getting dark, I get my head torch out but the route is fraught with obstacles in the shape or tree roots and holes and I fall over twice - once into a patch of stinging nettles - once in a puddle. Classy. My phone runs out of battery. No music. My watch is dying - no mileage or time. I manage to catch up with the guy in front about 3 miles from the halfway point and we chat - he’s lovely and time flies by.

The village hall comes into view - another 5 hour leg. Right on time. And I see my mum and her husband and my sister and three of my best friends who have come to surprise me from London. I double take. WTF. What the hell are they doing here?! I am overwhelmed with love and joy but I don't think it shows. I am in a trance like state. They have come all the way from London to see me for nothing more than a few minutes as I hastily try and get changed and get nutrition sorted. That’s amazing. I can’t tell them how much it means to me. It’s so above and beyond I can’t fathom it. My mum looks a bit worried - my sister is very excited. My friends are warm and cuddly and drunk and I love them. I get changed, I get a hot meal I say thank you and then me and my sister are out, back out into the night. It is 8.20pm. I have been running for 10 hours and I have run 50 miles.

I’m walking as fast as I can trying to guzzle down my dehydrated pasta meal, trying to ignore the tell tale warnings my legs are giving me that I’ve run a long way. I have done this part of the route before. But in the daytime. Night is a totally different game. The ridgeway is exposed and it’s so windy and pitch black. The light from my head torch confuses me.  We are running head on into the wind and it’s soul destroying. My sister is brilliant - she has fresh legs and bags of enthusiasm and I feel bad I can’t keep up with her. I am stuffing my face with as much food as I can but I’ve started to feel sick and tired. And then come the hallucinations. I can see people laying by the side of the road in the foetal position. My sister comments on the beautiful horizon. The beautiful horizon is actually a fence. I dodge things crossing the path in front of me - but there is nothing crossing the path in front of me. We get to an aid station at the top of a hill. It’s in a Luton Van because otherwise it would just blow away. I get coffee and snacks and a cuddle from Lou - plus the personal goodie bag she’s prepped for me that includes the all important mini bottle of jagermeister (I am a pro athlete). 4 Miles til turn around point so we press on - my sister is talking to me about everything and anything. We listen to music and start talking utter nonsense. Then we see the turnaround point adorned in lights but we can’t work out if we’re hallucinating or it’s real. Its 11pm. We are knackered.

A quick coffee then back down the ridgeway with the wind at our backs - it’s like a totally different night. The wind makes all the difference and now the stars are out and its very beautiful. We listen to Foo Fighters. We sing along. We’re trying to stay awake and running. We come across a huge puddle. This wasn’t here on the way out. Shit. We’ve gone the wrong way. It’s so dark and so hard to work out where we are. We retrace our steps and get back on track - we lose about 15 mins but I am determined to get back to the village hall. If I can get back there I can do the final leg. We come in at 2.45am. The last leg has taken 6 and a half hours. I have now run 75 miles.

I hug my sister and send her on her way back to my hotel to sleep. It’s now that I pick up my final pacer Lee. Lee’s pretty experienced when it comes to these huge distances and I trust him implicitly. He knows I am knackered. He knows I am confused and does his best to help as I grab my newly charged watch and some food and spare batteries and get changed for the 4th time. We set out along the Thames Path to Reading at an OK pace but now my legs have started to hurt. My shins are burning. I take some codeine and try and get through it. Lee is a dream and a nightmare. In doing his job as pacer, he becomes the single most important and annoying person in my life. He is making me eat. He is making me drink. I don't want to eat. I get pretty angry with him but he’s having none of it. I eat sandwiches, I drink water and coffee. We keep pushing forward. We’re breaking it up by running and walking but the walking breaks are getting longer and longer and I know I have to keep a 14 min mile pace to break 24 hours. We get to the aid station, quick turnaround and then back out into the dark only to find another aid station a mile down the course. Hang on. It’s the same aid station. We’ve come round in a fucking circle. How the fuck have we done that? Nevermind, on we go. Lee is so chirpy, shouting encouragement at the other runners who say nothing back or just grunt. I imagine they would punch him if they had the energy. It’s 4am and I am running through Reading. I am talking to the swans and ducks, I’m telling Lee his music choices are shit. And then we get to the turnaround point. It’s up some stairs. SOME STAIRS.

I grab a load of fruit and eat about 7 pieces of watermelon - the sugar and gels are making me feel terrible and I am just craving fruit. We head back out. We head back to the village hall for the last time. Its is not about 6am. Birds have started to sing and the end is in sight. Lee is doing a great job of working out times and how fast we need to go to make it sub 24. He keeps telling me I am 10th woman but I don’t care. I just want to finish. Then at about 7am it happens - the sky breaks and the sun begins to come up. It’s another day. I have to finish. I am in a lot of pain and Lee is still making me eat. We are walking and running and walking and running and I am using Lee’s poles because my legs hurt so much. We get the the aid station 4 miles from home. We zip in and out. I am on the way home.

The last 4 miles were such a mix of emotion. I knew I was going to do it,  and everything hurt. My skin hurt. My eyes hurt. My legs hurt. I was very quiet but inside my head was raging. I had a little cry. I walked on ahead of Lee and had a little cry, I think with tiredness more than anything else. Those miles dragged and dragged and everyone we met along the way - the early morning fishermen and the people walking their dogs had a different distance to tell us… “Just 3 miles left” “it’s only a mile!” ARGH!

The one thing I won’t ever forget though, is the feeling that I had beaten the Demon. The Demon that tells me I am not good enough and riots through my head an stomach. That fucking Demon was beaten. Of course there are others in there but the big one was gone and I know I can beat them. I realised the extent of what I had done 3 miles from the end. I am strong. I can keep going physically and mentally.

When I came into the hall and saw my mum, when my sister ran down the last part of the path to meet me, when I saw how proud they all were of me, the Demon was beaten. 100 miles. 23hours 35 minutes. The Demon was beaten.

I am so happy to finish. I am so happy. My adrenaline is high and I pose for the pictures and get undressed and everyone helps me and I am so glad, and I put on my one piece and I step outside. I am shaking and I have to sit down because I think I might be sick. My mum comes with my things and puts me in the car like a baby. She helps me upstairs at the hotel and I just get in bed and curl up, all grubby and sweaty. I find a note form my sister which tells me how proud she is. It makes me cry so much because I love her so much and I am so proud of her.

I just want to sign this off with a thank you to everyone that helped me on this particular journey - my Mum and her husband Jim for their unwavering support. My sister, Janey Wise for her support and pacing and being the best friend and biggest inspiration I could ever ask for. The wonderful David Harvey for his time and patience and training and being brilliant (#withyoueverystep). Lee Stuart-Evans for his advice and pacing and force feeding of an angry toad (me). Tom, Abi, Amy and Lauren for trekking out to see me for 2 mins on a cold October night - thank you, I love you. Lou and Dan from the BBR group - thanks for all your support and encouragement at the aid stations.

This story does not end here.

TBC

[040today-blog]

New Kia Rio, it's easy as 1, 2, 3...

Kia's fourth-generation Rio goes on sale in the UK today priced from just £11,995. A smooth, five door only shape offering more space. There are a sweep of high-tech new engines, boasting improved fuel efficiency and emissions and the introduction of state-of-the-art connectivity and driver assistance systems for the first time.

There will be the traditional Kia trim grades – badged 1, 2 and 3 – with a limited-run First Edition model as the pinnacle of the range, priced at £17,445.

Grade 1 is fitted as standard with air conditioning, front electric windows with an automatic function on the driver's side, remote locking, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, a 3.8-inch display screen, Bluetooth, automatic light control, bi-function projection headlamps and cornering lights and LED daytime running lights. There are body-coloured bumpers, door mirror casings and door handles, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and 60:40 split rear seats. A four-speaker audio system is standard, while safety provisions include Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) and Hill-start Assist Control (HAC).

Grade 2, priced from £13,745, supplements all this with 15-inch alloy wheels in place of similar-sized steel wheels, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshifter, electric windows at the rear as well as the front, electric folding mirrors with LED indicator lights, a digital DAB radio, a 5-inch colour display screen, a six-speaker audio system, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors, a 3.5-inch premium supervision cluster, rear as well as front USB charging ports, cruise control with a speed limiter and Autonomous Emergency Braking and Lane Departure Warning systems. There is chrome trim around the black radiator grille, premium black cloth upholstery and a centre storage box.

Grade 3, which starts at £16,295, include 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic air conditioning with a defogging system, black faux leather upholstery, a 7-inch display screen, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, rain-sensing front wipers, privacy glass on the rear side windows and tailgate, satellite navigation, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and Bluetooth with voice recognition.

Finally, the First Edition version adds 17-inch alloys, a smart key entry system and engine start/stop button, stainless steel pedals, black and red faux leather upholstery and LED rear lights.

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The latest in advanced driver aids and connectivity

The new Rio is the first car in its class with Autonomous Emergency Braking as part of Kia's advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). It also features a Lane Departure Warning system. Both are standard from grade 2 upwards and optional with grade 1. And, in an increasingly connected world, the Rio now offers Kia Connected Services powered by TomTom and featuring Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration. These are standard with grade 3 and the First Edition models.

Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition takes data from radar and a camera to detect sudden and potentially dangerous braking by a vehicle ahead, and activates the brakes. At speeds between 5mph and 50mph the Rio will come to a complete stop, avoiding many potential collisions. It is also able to detect pedestrians who wander into its path and apply the brakes in the same way.

The Lane Departure Warning system, which also relies on a camera that in this case recognises the lane markings on roads, senses when the car is about to veer off course without the indicators being activated and warns the driver to take corrective action.

A new feature – Straight Line Stability – senses any difference in applied brake pressure between the right and left of the car and intervenes to keep it straight, while another first for the Rio, Cornering Brake Control, delivers asymmetrical brake pressure when slowing in tight curves to counter loss of traction. Both are standard across the range.

Kia Connected Services with TomTom are accessed through a 7-inch touchscreen navigation system. The information available to drivers includes live traffic updates, weather reports, speed camera locations and local point-of-interest searches.

The system is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay through a suitable smartphone. Both allow occupants to connect to various apps and functions, including voice-guided, hands-free calls and texts and voice recognition. Android Auto gives access to Google Maps navigation and Google Play music, while Apple CarPlay links to pre-loaded maps, music, podcasts, texts and messages and audiobooks through Siri voice control.

More space, greater style and increased comfort

The new Rio is the largest and most spacious to date, and has new suspension and steering for a more grown-up feel on the road, while the acclaimed styling has a more mature and polished appearance.

It adds a new twist to the award-winning styling which permeates every model from Kia. The brand's instantly recognisable 'tiger-nose' main front grille is more slender and wider, and it integrates neatly with the new highly sculpted halogen bi-function projection headlights with U-shaped LED running lights.

The styling is characterised by straight lines, smooth surfaces and revised proportions and balance. There is a longer wheelbase, bonnet and front overhang, a lower roofline and a more upright and more compact back end. Detailing inside and out has been designed to emphasise the car's interior space and its stability on the road.

The increased leg and shoulder room are among the best in class, as is headroom – despite the lower roofline. A further benefit from the new proportions is increased boot capacity – up by almost 13 per cent to 325 litres – while the fuel tank is two litres larger at 45 litres.

The interior has been designed around the touchscreens for the new connectivity technologies.

The horizontal theme evident in the exterior styling is repeated in the cabin, emphasising width and space while separating the upper information and lower control areas. The touchscreens have allowed the number of buttons and switches to be reduced, giving a neater look and greater functionality. The Rio is the first car in class with USB ports front and rear, so that mobile devices can be charged from any seat.

The new Rio relies on a similar suspension system to its predecessor, but there has been extensive work to enhance comfort and driver enjoyment.

Much of the improvement is due to a stiffer body shell, which is made of 51 per cent advanced high-strength steel compared with 33 per cent in the outgoing car. The stiffer the body shell, the less the suspension has to compensate for flexing under load. Advanced high-strength steels also contribute towards weight reduction, as vital sections of the body construction do not need to be as thick.

The new Rio has more rigid front suspension struts than its predecessor and a raised torsion beam to improve stability; revised springs and shock absorbers to improve compliance and comfort; vertical rear shock absorbers and front shock absorbers with advanced new valve technology for more consistent responses; and a repositioned power steering gearbox which results in improved feel when the steering wheel is in the straight-ahead position. The overall effect is more immediate handling responses and greater confidence for the driver.

A stiffer body shell also enhances crash safety by keeping the passenger cell intact in an accident while the front, rear and side crumple zones absorb impact energy. This is supported in the Rio by the advanced driver assistance systems ESC and VSM, which together mitigate against skids when cornering or accelerating on surfaces with uneven levels of grip. All versions also have HAC to prevent the car from rolling backwards when setting off on steep inclines. 

T-GDi engines head more efficient powertrain line-up

Kia's 1.0-litre T-GDi (Turbocharged Gasoline Direct-injection) engines are offered in the Rio for the first time and head a seven-strong powertrain line-up which shows improvements in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions over the outgoing Rio.

The new engines showcase Kia's advanced engine technology capabilities through downsizing, turbocharging, direct fuel injection and weight reduction, and feature a number of detailed engineering solutions to minimise throttle lag – the delay between the driver pressing the accelerator and the turbocharger delivering boost – and reduce internal friction.

They join revised versions of Kia's 1.25-litre and 1.4-litre petrol engines, and two versions of the European-designed and European-built 1.4-litre CRDi turbodiesel.

The 1.0-litre T-GDi engine is available with either 99 or 118bhp, in both cases with 171Nm of torque across a wide rev band, starting at only 1,500rpm, for effortless driveability. The lesser-powered version has fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of 62.8mpg and 102g/km, while the sparkling 118bhp version is not far behind, with 60.1mpg and 107g/km. Both are capable of more than 50mpg in city driving. The respective 0-60mph acceleration times are 10.3 and 9.8 seconds, and both versions have a top speed of at least 115mph.

The fuel economy champion of the new Rio range is the lesser-powered, 76bhp 1.4-litre diesel, a new option in Rio. Both 1.4-litre diesels have a healthy 240Nm of torque and have CO2 emissions below 100g/km – 92g/km and 98g/km respectively – while fuel consumption figures are 80.7 and 74.3mpg. The 240Nm of torque is available from just 1,500rpm, giving sprightly acceleration from 0-60mph in either 13.5 or 11.6 seconds, with top speeds of more than 100mph.

The 1.25-litre petrol engine develops 83bhp and 121Nm of torque, and has fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 58.8mpg and 109g/km. This easy-going entry-level power unit is ideally suited to urban driving, but is far from out of its depth at highway speeds. It can accelerate from 0-60mph in 12.5 seconds on the way to a top speed of 107mph.

The final option is a new-to-Rio multi-point injection unit with a capacity of 1.4 litres and power and torque outputs of 98bhp and 133Nm. Economy is 56.5mpg, with CO2 emissions of 114g/km. The 0-60mph and top speed figures are 11.8 seconds and 108mph.   

This engine is also available with a four-speed automatic gearbox for the convenience of drivers who spend most of their time in heavy traffic or who have physical disabilities which prevent them from driving a manual. In this configuration, economy and CO2 emissions are 46.3mpg and 140g/km, while the performance figures are 0-60mph in 13.4 seconds and a top speed of 103mph.

All manual versions of the new Rio have Kia's Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG) engine stop-start system to eliminate tailpipe emissions and fuel consumption while stationary in traffic.

Warranty and Servicing

In common with all Kias, the Rio comes with the best warranty in the business ­­– a seven-year/100,000-mile declaration of faith in the reliability and quality of the car, covering all labour and parts except those subject to normal wear and tear. The warranty is transferable if the car is sold before the time/mileage limit expires.

The new Rio is also available with Care 3 and Care 3 Plus servicing packages for retail customers. These cover the cost of all routine servicing work for three or five years respectively and, like the warranty, can be passed on if the car is sold before they expire.

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