Kia Rio: A First Look at the Koreans’ New Supermini

Have you heard the news? Kia will unveil its fourth-generation Rio at the Paris Motor Show in September. We here at Wagner KIA of Shrewsbury couldn’t be more excited when we heard the news. After all, the Rio is Kia’s best-selling model, with more than 473,000 vehicles built in 2015. So, it’s pretty obvious that the company will give everything to create an outstanding model.

What We Know so Far?

The new Kia Rio is set to be released in less than one month at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The Korean company has offered a first look at the new supermini, with a few sketches showing the car’s design.

The images showcase a very sporty-looking Rio, with a lower look and a wide grille that expands to meet the headlights. In fact, if you pay close attention to the pictures, you will notice that the grille is bigger than before, and the bonnet is longer than the current Rio model. The lights also look sleeker than in the previous Rio models and have a descending angle.

The wheelbase of the new Kia Rio is also longer that the currently available model, and it’s combined with the sculpted doors, giving the car a more dramatic look. The shoulder line is higher than before, and the alloy wheels seem to be larger than what we were used to. The pictures also show new taillights, a petite roof spoiler, and some extra upright C-pillars.

Pictures of the interior highlight a minimalist dashboard with just a few buttons. However, there appears to be a large display screen. Kia announced that the new Rio would feature the newest connectivity options, which means that the vehicle will have technology from either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

Although Kia wasn’t very generous with details, rumors have it that the new Rio will also get an automatic version. You can tell this just by looking at the gear selector displayed in the pictures.

Kia also said the new Rio had been designed in both Germany and California, and it has a lot of improvements regarding functionality. The new supermini promises a more engaging ride and better handling features. Although we here at Wagner KIA of Shrewsbury can’t complain about the current Rio, improvements are always welcomed.

Unfortunately, the Korean automaker didn’t offer too many details about the new car’s performance. The current Kia Rio has a choice of two diesel engines – a 1.1-liter and a 1.4-liter. All models, however, have long gearing which provides flexibility, a much-appreciated feature. However, it isn’t much to talk about the current Rio regarding performance; even the 1.1-liter model can pull sixth gear with acceptable conviction.

Although Kia Rio is considered more of a city and family car rather than a sporty vehicle, we can expect to see some impressive improvements. One feature that we hope the new Rio will fix is the suspension. The current model has a firm edge and struggles with bumps a lot. As a result, the ride doesn’t feel very smooth at all times.

There’s a lot of speculation regarding the new Kia Rio. We’ll know if the car lives up to the promise when we drive it in the coming months.

When Will the New Kia Rio Hit the Roads?

The new Kia Rio is expected to go into production at the end of 2016. However, it’s not very clear when the supermini will enter the market. We expect that the prices for the new Rio to start from $14,000, similar to the cost of the current model.

It’s less than a month until we will get to see the new Kia Rio in all its glory. And we have a lot of questions. Will this new model be able to outshine the legacy set by Kia Rio? Will it sell better than the current model? Will it prove to be a fierce competitor in the supermini market? We will have an answer to all these questions soon.