- A + A print
Home > Motoring > Reviews > Car reviews > Subaru Car Reviews >  

Long-Term Tests: Kia Rio, Subaru Outback, Peugeot 508


Long-Term Tests: Kia Rio, Subaru Outback, Peugeot 508

Author: Isaac Bober & Trent NikolicDate: 21 February 2012
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Kia Rio

It’s all well and good to pass judgement after a week-long test drive, but how do some of the country’s favourite cars perform after a longer trial? We’ve got three new cars (and a fourth on the way - a Holden Cruze) to find out...

Subaru Outback Premium

Subaru is the brand that arguably kicked off the whole crossover thing, and it’s the Outback that was the first of its mainline crossover models. That first car, launched in 1995, looked like a sneaker and continued to do so until the late 1990s. It was well built, solid and reliable and most owners simply traded into the newer iterations when they were released. That loyalty is most likely being tested with the current variant of the Outback, which has lost its rugged and lovable looks and become more staid and conservative looking.

That said, it’s just as comfortable as ever, has good ground clearance for driving on rough-ish dirt roads and is very, very well appointed. As it arrived in the garage our new Outback came fitted with EyeSight (the Outback is premiering this technology) and this alerts the driver to things like lane wander and if they’re too close to the car in front. In terms of pricing, the Outback 3.6R Premium lists for $55,990; the engine is a 3.6-litre boxer six-cylinder making 191kW and 350Nm, six-speed auto only, and fuel consumption is a claimed 10.3L/100km.

In terms of what we’ll be doing with this vehicle, well, we’ve had a towbar and brake controller fitted to it, so it’ll be doing a fair bit of trailer towing in our caravanning publication (Australian Caravan + RV).

Kia Rio

It might have won our 2011 Australia’s Best Cars Award for Best Light Car Under $20,000, but we wanted to see what the Kia Rio was like to live with. Would it handle the cut and thrust of inner-city living? Could it take having a couple of kids thrown into the back and driven up into the mountains? Well, that’s what we’re going to find out...

In the few weeks we’ve been trundling about in the Rio we’re still mightily impressed with it. It’s got a well appointed interior with things like Bluetooth and iPod connectivity as standard (our car is the entry level Si) and much, much more; the chassis is sharp, although the assisted steering is a little dead in the first few degrees off-centre up to about 60km/h, but livens up after that.

In terms of pricing, the Rio is very impressive with a list price of $18,990 for the 1.6-litre toting five-door hatch with six-speed manual (our car runs a cost-optional six-speed auto and lists for $20,990 - 103kW and 167Nm; 6.1L/100km). You can get into the Rio for $15,290 (three-door, 1.4L, six-speed manual).

Peugeot 508

We were impressed with the Peugeot at its launch back in 2011, and impressed enough with it to make it a finalist in the 2011 Australia’s Best Cars Awards. But, with the shaky reputation of French cars for reliability we wanted to see how one of our favourite cars of 2011 could handle being subjected to ‘family life’.

Since I’m the only member of the team with ‘dependents’ I’ve taken the biggest, most comfortable member of our long-term fleet. And it’s already had to handle a few runs up and down the Blue Mountains, swallow box-loads of IKEA furniture, and ferry two kids to and from childcare; and despite not being the roomiest of wagons it’s done it all with ease.

Being the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel (which makes 120kW and 340Nm) it’s pretty good on fuel with a combined cycle of 6.1L/100km. In terms of standard features, the 508 Touring is loaded to gunwales with the sort of kit, like a panoramic glass sunroof and sat-nav that you usually have to pay extra for. Indeed, its list price of $45,590 makes this an incredibly attractive car.

>> Click to go to next instalment

Specifications

 Subaru Outback 3.6RKia Rio SiPeugeot 508 Touring
CategoryMediumSmallMedium
Body TypeStation Wagon5-door hatchbackStation Wagon
Pluses
  • Great ride and handling
  • Big boot
  • EyeSight technology
  • Great chassis
  • Plenty of room for four adults
  • Quality of the interior
  • Plenty of standard kit for the money
  • Engine is nice and strong
  • Luxurious interior

 

Minuses
  • Quite thirsty
  • Quite expensive
  • A little conservative looking
  • The steering is a little dull
  • Some trim issues already
  • Ride is a little too firm
Price of vehicle testedFrom $55,990 (+ORC)From $18,990 (+ORC)From $45,590 (+ORC)
Number of cylinders644
Engine size3.6 L1.6 L2.0 L
Claimed max power (kW)191 kW @ 5600 rpm103 kW @ 6300 rpm120 kW @ 3750 rpm
Claimed max torque (Nm)350 Nm @ 4400 rpm167 Nm @ 167 rpm340 Nm @ 2000 rpm
Transmission6-speed automatic6-speed automatic6-speed automatic
Fuel consumption (ave)10.3 L/100km6.1 L/100km6.1 L/100km
ANCAP rating5-star5-star5-star

Tags:

Subaru, Kia, Peugeot, Outback 3.6R, Rio Si, 508 Touring, Medium, Small, Station Wagon , 5-door hatchback , Reviews, 5-door-hatch, Station-wagon, Medium, Small, Rio, 508, Outback, Comparison-test , Long-term-test, Motoring Feed

Car Reviews

Make
Model
Year
Review type

Join thousands of others following NRMA

  • rss

    RSS

  • rss

    Twitter

For loop not initialized