Roadkill Roundup – What Can Out-Run a Kia Rio?

Home  >  WOT  >  Roadkill Roundup – What Can Out-Run a Kia Rio? When one considers the high-performance hardware available today, the brands that come to mind are probably BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and possibly the C7 Corvette. Not on most people's lists is the Kia Rio 5. No disrespect to the Kia, as it's among the best subcompact hatches on the market, but a high-performance standard-bearer, it's not. Unless of course, you're Roadkill, where anything random, whacky and nonsensical goes. So Motor Trend's Kia Rio 5 stood as the benchmark against which nine of Roadkill's project cars were judged on an autocross course. The selection of vehicles ran the gamut from muscle cars, complete junkers (even by Roadkill standards) shop trucks, the Roadkill flatbed hauler, and a 700-hp LS7-powered Camaro. The drivers for the day were Roadkill's Mike Finnegan and David Freiburger, and and Motor Trend's Jonny Lieberman and Carlos Lago. Being an accomplished aficionado of high-dollar machinery, Lago laid down some impressive times, but being used to cars with modern, properly-functioning brakes and taut suspension, the Roadkill duo's experience driving cars of less-than-stellar mechanical condition proved valuable, as poor brakes proved to be the defining characteristic of most of the cars tested. Watch the video below, and see how the Roadkill collection stood up to performance prowess of the Kia. Be sure and watch Roadkill every fourth Friday on the Motor Trend Channel!