Improving 11 points in the JD Power 2007 Initial Quality Study, the Kia Rio earns extra power points and proves Kia are moving in the right direction.

Last year, Kia launched a new Sales and Aftersales programme developed alongside JD Power and Eclipse Marketing, both experts in customer satisfaction, and the rewards are starting to pay off.

Posting an 11-point year-on-year improvement on 2006, scoring 125 points, Kia's focus has been on quality of design and quality of production, meaning a consistent increase in scores. Improving by 43 points since 2003, Kia has achieved the best improvement of all non-premium brands on the survey over the last five years.

The JD Power survey is regarded as one of the most comprehensive of its kind, and measures 228 vehicle attributes across eight categories, including the driving experience, engine and transmission, as well as a broad range of quality problem symptoms reported by vehicle owner.

The Kia Rio underwent a total redesign in 2006 and is unrecognizable from the previous model and is also a big hit in the US. However in the UK it enjoys a somewhat smaller share of the market, given the rather large and crowded pool of b-segment cars, although Kia's recent decision to re-introduce the "diesel for the price of petrol" offer has boosted sales of the small to medium sized hatchback.