One of the more reasonable (but still enticing) new cars on display at this year’s Paris Motor Show was the 2017 Kia Rio.
The Rio is the Korean manufacturer’s global best-selling model, with more than 473,000 sold around the world in 2015, accounting for 16% of Kia’s annual sales. Now entering its fourth generation, the new Rio will offer B-segment buyers a compelling package – designed and engineered to appeal to more people than ever before.
The new Rio will build on the outgoing model’s key strengths – design, low running costs and a practical nature – with higher desirability, a more enjoyable drive and some of the most advanced safety features in its class.
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 exterior 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. Its driver-oriented cabin is also the most spacious in its class, and – with larger, 325-liter cargo capacity (VDA) – it is more practical than ever before.
The new model will be the most technologically-advanced Rio ever produced, and is equipped with new cabin technologies, safety systems, and connectivity features. The Rio will offer both Android Auto™ and Apple CarPlay™ integration, and will be the first car in its class to offer Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition.
The new will be powered by a range of gasoline and diesel engines. In particular, the Rio features Kia’s latest three-cylinder 1.0-liter T-GDI (turbo gasoline direct injection) engines, offering high efficiency and low emissions.
The lightweight nature of the new downsized T-GDI engines means the Rio benefits from keen front-end handling, with less mass and inertia for the car to work against under cornering.
The new Rio will be manufactured at Kia’s Sohari manufacturing facility in Korea and the company’s new Pesquería manufacturing base in Mexico, which was officially opened earlier this month. The fourth-generation Rio will go on sale globally during the first quarter of 2017.
