The all-new Kia Rio will go on sale during the second quarter of 2017, following its world debut at the 2016 Mondial de l’Automobilein Paris. The B-segment car is the Korean manufacturer’s second best-selling model globally, with just under 450,000 units sold around the world in 2016, accounting for 15% of Kia’s annual sales.
Now in its fourth generation, the new Rio stands out thanks to progressive design, class-leasing practicality, more engaging ride and handling and greater safety credentials.
Spencer Cho, Director of Overseas Product Marketing, Kia Motors Corporation, said, “As one of our best-selling models worldwide, the Rio is an important car for Kia. The B-segment is a hotly-contested area of the new car market, and the third-generation Rio has introduced more people to the Kia brand than ever before.
“The Rio’s attractive design, low running costs and practical nature have made the car a ‘gateway’ to the brand, an entry point into Kia ownership for hundreds of thousands of buyers around the world. It’s for these reasons that the outgoing model has sold in record numbers. The all-new Rio builds on these strengths and has been designed and engineered to meet the needs and desires of a wider range of buyers – it is now even more desirable thanks to a more enjoyable drive, a striking new design and improved safety.”
Exterior design
The Rio’s progressive new exterior and interior design was led by Kia’s design centres in Germany and California, in close collaboration with the company’s domestic design base in Namyang, Korea. The appearance of the new Rio is defined by straight lines and smooth surfacing, giving the car a distinctive new look and more mature character than its predecessor.
At the front, the Rio wears the latest evolution of Kia’s ‘tiger-nose’ grille, now thinner in height and wider across the front of the car, with a gloss black grille mesh and surround. The grille is integrated with the newly-designed headlamps, more sculpted for a sharper look, and featuring an optional new U-shaped LED daytime running light signature.
Interior design
The new Kia Rio features a modern new cabin, with sculptural forms and a more ergonomic layout than its predecessor. The interior has also been designed to accommodate the Rio’s new infotainment system.
Practicality
Achieving high levels of practicality was a key focus for Kia’s development and engineering teams, and the result is a car with one of the most spacious cabins and highest cargo capacities(325 liters) in the B-segment.
Power trains
The new Kia Rio is powered by a choice of lightweight naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre or 1.4-litre MPI (multi-point injection) gasoline engines.
The DOHC 16-valve D-CVVT (dual continuously variable valve timing) 1.6-liter engine drives the front wheels and produces up to 123 ps at 6,300 rpm and 151 Nm maximum torque at 4,850 rpm.