Ahead of the 2016 Paris Motor Show, Kia has unveiled the fourth-generation Kia Rio, which arrives wearing a brand-new design, courtesy of Kia’s design centres in Germany and California. According to the carmaker, the new Rio will enter production towards the end of 2016 for Europe, with production timings for other regions to be announced closer to launch.
Breaking out the measuring tape, the new Rio measures 4,065 mm in length (+15 mm), 1,725 mm in width (+5 mm), 1,450 mm in height (-5 mm). The wheelbase has also grown by 10 mm to 2,580 mm, accompanied by a longer front overhang and shorter rear overhang as well.
The new look here starts with the latest evolution of Kia’s “tiger nose” front grille, which has a hint of the Optima PHEV in its design – thinner and wider. Flanking the grille grille is a pair of projector headlamps, which are slimmer than on the previous car, and come with U-shaped LED signature lighting.
Moving on, the car’s fog lamp enclosures have also been redesigned, with the lighting element positoned closer to the main headlamps. The lower grille is also new here, with a different mesh design, and appears to host what appears to be a radar sensor as well.
Profile-wise, the new car’s long bonnet (and increased front overhang) are certainly very noticeable, as are the flashy 17-inch, eight twin-spoke alloy wheels (wrapped with 205/45 Continental ContiSportContact tyres). Look closely, and you’ll notice the wing mirrors have been repositioned closer to the A-pillars as well.
As for the rear of the Rio, the entire section has been redone to be more upright, with a near-vertical windscreen, New “arrow-shaped” tail lamps are also part of the updates, along with a new rear hatch and repositioned rear fog lamp/reflector.
Inside, there is a brand-new dashboard which is more upright than before, highlighted by a “floating” high-resolution colour touchscreen infotainment display. New switchgear for the car’s single-zone automatic air-con and quirky-looking vents are part of the interior overhaul too, along with a steering wheel that looks identical to that on the Optima PHEV.
As far as the eye can see, the kit list on the Rio includes ventilated seats, start-stop engine idling, heated steering wheel, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, steering-mounted media controls, navigation function and TFT colour multi-info display.
According to Kia, the new Rio is available with a choice of black or grey cloth seat upholstery, or with black or grey leather. With the optional “Red Pack,” the car gains black with red leather-trimmed seats throughout the cabin. The cabin itself features gloss black and metallic trim throughout, for a more “modern” finish. Kia also claims the Rio’s new cabin is more ergonomic and gives a better sense of space than its predecessor.
No details on the powertrain options that will be available for the Rio, but expect a range of direct-injected petrol engines to be part of the mix. A six-speed manual is a definite transmission offering (as you can see), along with other automatic options.
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Hoping it will come to Malaysia someday
Hope no, because of bad RV!
only bad RV is Toyota now. Nobody buying cars with no VSC anymore. Toyota showrooms are EMPTY
I see the Vw Polo influence on the design..maybe because its designed in Germany.
Looks is meh
I like the current Rio because it looks like a more youthful VW Golf. This one…. Well is definitely not looking love at first sight, definitely not the Stick on Screen(Seriously, there are more elegant solution to that, look east to Hiroshima for inspiration). Hopefully it’ll bring some tech to the segment.
Poor man’s Merc A-Class
Then why not u compare a Bentley vs Lexus. Your comparison doesn’t make sense.
this is like a million times better looking than the 3rd gen which was a million times better looking then the 2nd gen…
Well done, copy VW.
Poor man’s Golf? Looks the part, wonder if it works as well as it looks.
Rio MY is famous for being underpowered (yes, the 1.4 mill is really that bad) and drinks fuel. That is the biggest hurdle when buying a Rio.
I own a KIA Rio 1.4 SX since 2013, and travel on weekly basis from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh. Fuel consumption still better than a 1.6 Waja Campro providing one drive at 110 – 120km/h. Even with 1.4 mill the under power is due to the 17 inch rims that came with the SX model. It’s not significant if one knows how to downshift. I am happy with car especially it’s still stable at 180 km/h fast driving and confident at cornering.
the lack of power is not significant until you’ve driven something with more power..these things are relative.
even on the road when people say “I smoked this and that with my toaster on wheels”, you don’t really know if the other guy was going as hard on the throttle.
I’ve driven the EX and SX and I gotta say, they’re both equally down on power but it’s more than sufficient for getting around town.
It’s the weight, the car is almost 1.4tons. Engine is fine although quite loud above 3k rpm. 13km/l isn’t too shabby either. Really stable at 100 mph and I won’t push beyond that as I’ll go deaf. Quality and reliability is good for its price. The current model has more charm and uniqueness than the new one.
i believe the 4 speed transmission is a let down. The engine in terms of numbers is good….
100x better looking and better than the cockroach Proton Iriz
In Malaysia, Proton Iriz’s RV is better than Kia Rio’s RV.
I’m not quite sold on the exterior(looks like a VW Golf from certain angles) compared to the outgoing model, but the interior looks much nicer.
actually its more like the Seat Ibiza rather than a VW…
looks nice and premium …somehow its gets screwed up when it reaches here….
A lot of cars has some similarities in the design someway or the other. Trying to find that comparison is mere foolishness especially when its compared to higher class cars … why would some compare a Kia with VW or Merc ? Kia should be compared to the likes of Proton or Perdua or Datsun or Dihatsu or Lada or …
that’s a bit extreme, I reckon it’s the likes of Toyota, Honda etc. only in Malaysia do we have this mentality of how certain Jap brands are more “superior” but being a global operation, and looking at things from a broader spectrum, more often than not you’ll find Kia being pitched against popular makes whether European or Japanese.
aww it looks like polo
wish it were like the concept…disappointing..
If you photoshop the golf and remove all the sharp edges of the design, you will get a design similar to the new Rio. Its a conservative and safe design, not going to excite but not going to turn people off either.
Hmm prefer the bulbous design of the current gen sold in Msia.. it has gone through some strict diet. I guess the trend now is for cars to look a tad bit anorexic compared to stocky.
look like Proton Persona 2016
Blind man giving his comment..
What an ugly car.
This looks like a car made in India.
Ugly, unreliable, poor Resale Value.
This car is made for idiots to buy