The Kia Ray, a Korean domestic model that first surfaced in 2011, will finally get a refresh. Sketches of the new Ray’s front and rear ends were teased by the Hyundai Group Facebook page, with the caption mentioning a debut this month.
Six years for a facelift? This could be a preview of an all-new Ray, but despite them being just sketches the hard points of the car, lines and shape are remarkably similar to the original 2011 Ray – this leads to our guess that it’s merely a restyle of the boxy “Korean kei car” rather than a proper second-generation.
It will be very easy to tell both apart, though. The new car loses the traditional “tiger nose” radiator grille, which looked like a moustache on the original Ray as it was set below the headlamps and logo. The “grille” is now sealed and is in a regular position between the “eyes”. The actual grille is now just a slim letterbox slot below the logo.
The side of the headlamps that encroach into the front wings have been rounded off, and the lights are projectors, with an LED daytime running light strip below the barrel. There are vertical pill-shaped cutouts for the fog lamps below.
At the back, the high-roofed Ray’s black band that visually links the daylight opening to the rear screen remains, but the tail lamps have been redesigned and feature C-shaped LED signatures. The standing pills on the rear bumper mirror those on the front. The boot latch below the license plate is either omitted from the sketch or now designed to be hidden from view. There are “dash lines” all around the front and rear Kia emblems.
The Kia Ray was launched in Korea in November 2011. The unique thing about it is on the passenger side of the left-hand-drive-only car, which has no B-pillar and a sliding rear door. This gave the 3.59-metre city car a huge opening for easy access. It came with a 78 hp 1.0 litre Kappa engine and a four-speed auto, but there was also an EV version with 139 km of electric range.
GALLERY: Kia Ray
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When will Kia gonna introduces PHEV or EV cars into the market?