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29/04/2011
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Kia Rio Sedan
By EWAN KENNEDY in New York
CAPTION: Kia’s upcoming Rio sedan has the sort of style normally reserved for larger more upmarket models.
BODY COPY
Kia chose the New York Auto Show to give us an advanced look at its new Rio small sedan. An impressive looking four-door that doesn’t look as though it has been built down to a price with a minimum of effort by the styling department.
From a distance the new Kia Rio could be mistaken for big brother Kia Optima, the latter in its latest generation launched at the start of 2011 has received rave reviews from many critics.
Rio receives the now-established ‘Schreyer’ radiator grille, named from the company’s chief designer Peter Schreyer. The upper grille theme is continued below the front bumper, but we must admit we find this area somewhat overdone in a ‘trying too hard’ manner.
We have yet to see a 2012 Rio on the road, only under the bright lights of a motor show so will reserve our final opinion on this matter.
The roofline is domed and works neatly, adding a Euro look that should stand Rio in good stead on the showroom floor as Australian buyers still show a strong preference for European automotive looks.
Sitting inside the new Rio - it’s longer and wider than before and sits on an all-new platform - reveals good interior space in front and reasonably leg and headroom in the back. The swept up line of the lower shoulders make take some visibility away from the kids.
The interior also has a look and feel that lift it out of the ‘el-cheapo’ range at the lower end of the Australian market. Though the Australian small car segment is expanding rapidly there are more and more competitors seemingly by the week. So any vehicle with an edge in style and quality is in with a better chance of picking up buyers.
New Kia Rio sedan will be powered by a new direct petrol injection four-cylinder engine displacing 1.6 litres. Fuel consumption on the Australian combined cycle is expected to be in the 6.5 litres per hundred kilometres range.
Transmission options will be six-speed manual and six-speed automatic.
The new Kia Rios we examined at the Auto Show in New York are to North American specifications, but are unlikely to differ much when Australian details are finalised later in 2011. |
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