Kia's rising influence in the compact car segment has become a major thorn in the side of the Japanese. Where Honda,Nissan and Toyota were once alone in producing low cost,high-value cars,Kia has quietly slipped to the forefront. Honda and Nissan don't have a car small enough to compete with the Rio,while Toyota must look to its compact Scion division for a match. The little Rio sedan is priced far below the competition,making it an even more tempting option for first-time buyers. Still,the Rio does not have the strong service record or high resale values of its Japanese counterparts,a fact to keep in mind when shopping any car.