Looks like we did a thing

It all started when a friend of mine was trying to replace her bf's pos focus. Terrible car. Always broke. So she was sending me links for review. They ended up getting a newer accent. But a couple of the links were newer low mileage elantras and fortes for $7k range. Wife has gotten to where she hates, nay loathes two doors. So I showed them to her. 
 

much to my surprise she said ok. See if we can sell mine for $4k. After a morning getting inundated with requests and two planned to come look Friday it was time to find the replacement. 
 

Tonight we go to pick up a 2012 rio5 sx. This is the 138hp gdi 1.6 6-speed auto with all the important bits for her. 

$5k and 80k miles with a clean title. It is two years older than the forte but less miles and better fuel economy. Also new backup one lap car ! more picks after we get it. 

This also makes Korean car #6. I've officially owned more Korean cars than gms coming from a gm family. 

There is something that I absolutely love about those wheels.

In reply to wae :

what I don't like is they are 17x7, 205/45/17 tires. With the 11" rotors I'm not sure I can fit 15's and 16" tires suck in that size. 

17 is the new 15

I just priced out some 16's with 205/55 Kumho all seasons and tpms sensors installed for $900. Or maybe I go with winter tires and then put summer tires on the 17's.

One good thing is, that ND's are expanding 17" 4x100 wheel options.  Dunno if they'll fit, though.

In reply to bobzilla :

I just purchased 4 BFG Advantage Sport all seasons in that size mounted, balanced and sensors for less than half that at Costco. Sale time

bobzilla said:

In reply to wae :

what I don't like is they are 17x7, 205/45/17 tires. With the 11" rotors I'm not sure I can fit 15's and 16" tires suck in that size. 

What about 225/45/17?

Your wife is right that 2 door coupes suck. 

It's got a brand new set of tires. I also found H&R springs, shocks/struts, rear sway bar, catback, header and intake. Then I stopped myself because this isn't racecar.

I gotta stop looking at things. So apparently a NA manual 1.6 gamma can reliably make 135whp with a tune/intake/exhaust. thats only 30 whp less than my bigblock Forte made and 300lbs less.

One of the 3 new cars I ever bought was Korean. 1986. $6100 out the door! 5 door with AC. (Only two options!)  Only $900 more than the Yugo... and twice as nice! Yea, it was a E36 M3 box, but knowing that going in, compared to the other E36 M3 boxes for more money, it was very good at its job!

yep. Did the thing. I'm copying and pasting from our private chat...

Ok. Driving like and asshat averaged 37.4mpg trip home. Ride reminds me of the first forte after the Bilstoni upgrade. Firm but forgiving. Steering response for a bone stock econobox is ridiculously good. Power is the same as the 2.0gdi koup. It’s quiet, comfy and all the doodads are just right. The infotainment is identical to the Koup but yet easier to stream BT.

i really like it. 

Waiting for the "oops I bought a slightly uglier one with a stick" thread in a few months. 

Daylan C (Forum Supporter) said:

Waiting for the "oops I bought a slightly uglier one with a stick" thread in a few months. 

That is followed by the "well crap I just got divorced " thread by about 1 day. 

So the car is still not registered and parked in the garage. It's driving me nuts. Wife refuses to insure and plate it until the Koup is gone. I love this woman but I'd strangle her right now if I could. 

Anyway, we found two issues with it. The passenger mirror turn signal repeater thingy is broken where it likely hit a garage door or shopping cart. New part from Kia is $40. The other is what looks like a cigarette burn in the middle of the drivers seat back. I have no idea how that is even possible. 

We did sort out the jack and tool issue (jack that came with it didn't fit in the spare tire well since the guy we bought it from put a full size (15") spare in it. So we used the Koup jack which is 1/2" shorter in collapsed length. While testing it out I was under it enough to say this car is CLEAN underneath. like, the '14 Koup has more rust and dirt than this thing with 2 more years on it.

Still think this was a great buy, even if the wife still hasnt driven it

bobzilla said:

The other is what looks like a cigarette burn in the middle of the drivers seat back. I have no idea how that is even possible. 

my guess is, they lit a cigarette on leaving the car... then remembered they needed to grab something out of the console, and leaned in and braced an elbow on the top back of the seat.  Somewhere in that, they had to twist their arm, and burn 

There's no other signs of it being a smokers car. No smell, no other marks. I almost wonder if it's not a burn but a puncture. 

We shopped these last night some. I wish there was one for sale local. 

I'd like to test drive one of these with a stick, but the sales guy had the world's blankest stare the last time I stopped at the dealer and asked.

Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) said:

We shopped these last night some. I wish there was one for sale local. 

well if we ever get it titled and registered you're welcome to come over and drive a bone stock auto SX, 

I didn't realize the upsize Rio OEM wheels were 17". We bought my mother in law a 2013 Accent hatch last year (twin to the Rio) with the OEM 16" wheels. I expected a significant ride quality reduction compared to the 14" on my wife's 2016 Accent, but I was pleasantly surprised, it might even ride better on 16". I remember reading a review where they indicated something similar. Weird suspension tune I suppose?

One of the things I like about sub-compact cars is the price of tires and how often you can find cheap used tires and wheels.

I bought a used set of 16" aftermarket wheels with great shape tires mounted. I pulled the tires off the wheels and put them on the MIL's OEM wheels. I sold the recently purchased aftermarket wheels for more than I paid for the two combined. All in cost for the tires was like $40. :)

A number of years ago I picked up a set of steel winter wheels for the MIL's Civic for $40. A few years ago I bought a used set of Michelin X-Ice 3 for $100. She drives so little that they'll age out before she wears them out. Then the Civic was replaced and the new wheels/tires fit on the Accent.

For my FiST I picked up a set of new, never used 15" alloys for winter use for <$200.

Fuel economy for the Accents is "okay" in subcompact terms, but its so little you don't need to care if another car is 10% more efficient, that's like $100/year tops.

Another thing I like about subcompacts is how light the wheels/tires are for DIY changes. So many vehicles have wheels/tires which aren't fun to repeatedly move through the entire range of body motion carrying, mounting, etc.

I'm really dying to know what this thing gets with her DD. Coming back home from Batesville at 75mph and haulin' balls downtown I averaged 37.4 where the Koup would have been around 33-34 indicated. 

In reply to bobzilla :

I test drove one last night with a stick and really loved it beyond it needing tires and the color. These are on my list for new daily. 

So we finally got it registered. It has the Rio dash rattle. So I'm going to try pulling the glovebox and seeing if I can reach up and insert foam under there. Also needed spare keys, shift knob and the drivers door trim. I get those little things fixed and she will love it I hope.