- Engine
- 998 cc
- Power
- 76 hp
- Torque
- 95 Nm
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Drive
- FWD
- Fuel
- Petrol
- Seats
- 4
KIACarHatchbackRay2011–present
A brilliantly packaged Korean city box that makes sense only where it was designed to live — dense urban streets.
- 🇰🇷 South Korea
- Engine
- 998 cc
- Power
- 76 hp
- Torque
- 95 Nm
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Drive
- FWD
- Fuel
- Petrol
Overview
What this generation is, and who it suits.
The Kia Ray is a Korean-market city car built to that country's light-car tax class: a tall, boxy one-litre machine notable for its asymmetric doors, with a conventional front door and sliding rear door on the passenger side to ease kerbside loading. Launched in 2011, it has continued on the same generation ever since, refreshed in 2017 and again in 2022, and offered at various points with petrol, LPG and battery-electric power, the latter making it one of Korea's earliest mainstream EVs.
The Ray's appeal is entirely urban: a tiny footprint with van-like headroom and clever packaging, at the cost of highway refinement and crosswind stability inherent to the shape. It was never officially exported in volume, so outside Korea it is a grey-import curiosity; within its home market it remains a popular, cheap-to-run runabout with a solid reliability reputation.
Pros & cons
What's good
- Exceptional space efficiency for its tiny footprint
- Kerbside sliding door is genuinely useful in cities
- Cheap to run, with a solid home-market reliability record
- EV version suits short urban duty cycles
What to watch
- Weak highway performance and crosswind sensitivity
- Korea-only model, so export support is minimal
- Early Ray EVs have very short real-world range
Owner reviews
Written by people who have lived with this model.
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Trims & specs
One card per trim, with the spec spread across every year it was sold.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Kia Ray have different doors on each side?
The passenger side uses a sliding rear door with no fixed B-pillar section to make kerbside loading of children and cargo easier. The driver's side has conventional doors for body stiffness and cost.
Is the Ray EV worth buying used?
Early Ray EVs have small batteries and short range, so they suit short, predictable urban routes only. Later EV versions improved usability; check battery health certification before purchase.
