Kia Rio Hybrid introduced at Geneva 2007

Kia Rio Hybrid 1

Proton is not the only one with a sedan modified to go the hybrid way – the Koreans have their Kia Rio Hybrid for display at he 77th Salon de lAutomobiles in Geneva as well. This Kia Rio Sedan has it’s 1.4 litre CVVT petrol engine mated to a 12 kilowatt, 95Nm electric motor, and like the GEN2 EVE, uses a CVT gearbox, a first in any Kia car.

The CVVT engine makes about 90 horsepower and 120Nm of torque, and is hooked up to the electric motor which is placed between the flywheel and the gearbox. This electric motor ‘assists the petrol engine during starting, accelerating and hill-climbing. The electric motor switches off at cruising speeds, and also has ‘regenerative braking to store energy and re-charge its Ni-MH 144 volt power pack. There’s also a start-stop system for shutting off the petrol engine when not needed and restarting it automatically.

Zero to 100 km/h takes 12.2 seconds, top speed is 180km/h, and compared to a standard Kia Rio, air pollutants are reduced by 37% (down to 126g/km) and fuel efficiency is improved by 44% (now rated at 4.4 litres per 100km). To help with the fuel consumption, the body of this Kia Rio Sedan has also been changed slightly, saving about 220kg of weight through the use of an aluminium bonnet, boot lid and front seat frames, plus lightweight road wheels, low-friction tyres and an electric power steering.

Three more photos after the jump.

Kia Rio Hybrid 2

Kia Rio Hybrid 3

Kia Rio Hybrid 4

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • pkimalaysia (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 3:13 am

    its all about cvvt,cvt,kind those…tctcvtvtvtvtc…wallah…and hybrid..

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  • maibatsu_thunder (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 3:30 am

    Should introduce this in Malaysia ASAP!

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  • LittleFire85 (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 5:42 am

    Now i even thinking that korean cars are more better then malaysian P1. At least they improve faster then P1, and their engine is CVVT engine. While our P1 still with what? Campro? WTF that only a DOHC engine without any fuel saving system on it! Even a VVT or VTC also non… I bet KIA is more better then P1 now for overall quality… Except made from NAZA haha…

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  • proton GL (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 6:19 am

    is it sedanization?

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  • proton GL (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 8:28 am

    so hybrid car power train is heavier to accomodate both, to compansate that some bodypart need lightweight material,..

    ……complex calculation to get the same answer (1+1-1=1)

    NGV straightfoward and clean n cheap. (1=1)

    anyway i dont blame auto industry struggling for cleaner environment,

    anyway its actually a race, who be the first, and dont want to left out.

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  • honda_driver (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 4:58 pm

    "littlefire85", " At least they improve faster then P1"

    Kia has been in the business of "4wheels" for more than 60 years. proton has only been in business for about 24 years, and in that time, Kia has gone bankrupt once and is now fully owned by hyundai. The Kia Rio is also built on the hyundai accent platform. So to say they improve quicker than proton is not entirely accurate.

    PAUL, is this kia a production ready model? launched? on sale?

    i also wonder, do all hybrid cars use a 144volt batt? the EVE system from lotus uses a 144 volt batt as well.

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  • maibatsu_thunder (Member) on Mar 08, 2007 at 11:13 pm

    If you compare build quality of the Sorento & 206 with Fortuner, Civic & CR-V you can see the difference. Gurun plant build quality is quite good, so don't listen to hot air talk and competitor propaganda. Go see for yourself.

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  • proton GL (Member) on Mar 09, 2007 at 9:47 am

    hybrid hybrid hybrid, latest vw polo tdi has a lower emission than hybrid prius!

    i bet normal gassoline or diesel will achive batter effiency through weght saving ,aerodinamic, high efficiency engine mated to taller gearing,

    hybrid is not peoples car for now,and maybe not at all, its just a car with price add on

    nite,

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  • Infinitt (Member) on Mar 09, 2007 at 8:33 pm

    Errr.. this 90 horsepower and 120Nm of torque at what RPM? now all veh manufacturer have the hybrid tech..+ve way to go..good for emission.wait n see.

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