Kia Rio 2012 revealed

The Rio is the Korean company's price fighter and must do the heavy lifting for the brand as it lifts its lineup and reputation downunder with everything from the upscale Optima to the sellout Sportage diesel.

The Rio is previewed as a four-door sedan in the Big Apple, alongside a revamped Soul with Kia's new 'face' on the front and a bigger platform below, following the unveiling of the five-door hatch in Geneva in March.

The sedan is more elegant than before and expected to spread the Rio's impact as Kia  Australia looks to lift sales beyond the current level of 650 cars a month. It is already into runout and a major push could easily lift total sales - with three models - towards 1000 a month.

"Kia is learning all the time. The new Rio shows that and also reflects the changes in our cars," says Kia Australia spokesman, Kevin Hepworth.

The sedan, like the hatch, is based on the mechanical package of the Hyundai i20 but with considerable changes and tweaking for Australia under the control of the company's resident chassis guru, Graeme Gambold.

But the bad news is that prices are likely to rise a little, from today's starting sticker at $14,990, despite the strength of the Australian dollar.

Kia Australia is planning a staggered rollout of the Rio as supplies become available from Korea.

"The five-door hatch will be the first car for us, in August," says Hepworth. "We don't have a definite timing on the four-door sedan, but we're expecting late this year or very early in 2012. The three-door hatch that completes the lineup will be revealed later in the year at a major motor show."

Kia is claiming class-leading efficiency for the new Rio, thanks to 1.4 and 1.6-litre engines which start with 102 kiloWatts. "We're still finalising the engines, but we hope to get both," says Hepworth.

The Soul is confirmed with a 1.6-litre direct-injection GDI petrol engine and relatively minor body changes to bridge the gap between the current model and an all-new Soul 2012.

"The facelifted Soul should be coming to Australia by the end of this year," says Hepworth. "It's an opportunity to put a new engine, the 1.6-litre GDI, in the car, and give it a bit of a tweak to keep it fresh."