Kia Rio 2015 News

The top end of town has snubbed next week's Paris motor show but the biggest auto event on the European calendar will have plenty of new sheet metal.

Kia's classy but ageing Rio hatch gets a makeover to maintain appeal.As people age, cosmetic surgery becomes more palatable. This approach is equally applicable to cars - midlife makeovers 'freshen" a model to maintain its appeal among buyers.Such is the case with the Kia Rio, our 2011 Car of The Year, which was nipped, tucked and launched at the Paris show with revised front and rear styling - and who doesn't appreciate a nose job and butt lift? - plus a raft of technology upgrades.The base versions will be here in late November, without many of the key enhancements, including engine stop-start and optional satnav.The Rio is still an attraction in this field even if it is no longer at the head of the packKia Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth says prices for the enhanced package will increase a little. No surprises there, given the light car segment the Rio competes in is as price sensitive as a budget beer drinker - forget the brand, focus on the value.That means the $16,290 Rio S five-door is unlikely to climb beyond $17,000. It should also encourage dealers to negotiate hard to shift the last of their existing stock.Haggle as if you're in an Asian street market and the baby Kia will be a bargain.In standard guise the Rio S has a multi-point fuel-injected 1.4-litre engine and six-speed manual transmission (four-speed auto adds $2000).It is one of the more accommodating in its class and a pair of adults in the back will have little cause for complaint in terms of head or legroom. The boot is equally good at 288L, if not up to Honda Jazz standards.On the road the Rio S is a good, if not great, drive. The engine is a willing performer but needs to be worked to extract decent acceleration. In auto guide, fuel consumption increases significantly.In contrast the 1.6-litre Si model needs far less throttle to reach and maintain the speed limit and uses less fuel as a result. It can be paired with a six-speed auto, which doesn't hurt either.The 1.4-litre engine is also fractionally more expensive ($2432) than the 1.6-litre unit ($2383) to maintain over the life of the standard seven-year capped price servicing.Dynamically the Rio is all you want in a light car. It's no VW Polo or Ford Fiesta but has well-sorted suspension and a reassuringly solid chassis. It lacks a bit in steering feel but unerringly goes where it is pointed. The only real omission is cruise control, fast approaching mandatory status.Occupant comfort was obviously a priority and the Rio is still one of the better vehicles to spend time in. The front seats are first rate, though larger drivers may find the bolsters push on their outer thighs (a small price for lateral support). The rear pews are also up to the job of avoiding butt and back fatigue on decent trips. The Rio is still an attraction in this field even if it is no longer at the head of the pack. Don't pay the list price and you'll get a car that's engaging enough to still impress for the duration of its seven-year warranty.

Kia's announcement of an Australian-first seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty could benefit buyers of others brands as they try to match it.One of Australia's fastest growing car brands, Korean company Kia, is about to upset its big name rivals by announcing a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, the longest in Australian automotive history. Kia’s sister brand Hyundai was the first company to offer a five-year, 130,000km warranty in Australia 15 years ago -- in 1999 -- as a response to quality concerns over a bungled safety recall the year before.Hyundai then increased its warranty coverage to five years and unlimited kilometres in 2006.RELATED: Small car price war about to heat upFrench car maker Citroen then raised the bar in March this year, offering new-car buyers an unprecedented six-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.Kia's new benchmark of a seven year, unlimited kilometre warranty will put the market leaders under increasing pressure given brands such as Toyota, Holden, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Subaru, Honda, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz only offer three years coverage. It means buyers of most mainstream brands will eventually be the winners as they try to raise their level of warranty coverage to either match or get closer to Kia's seven-year stretch. But none are yet to react.The longer warranty period will likely boost the resale value of Kia cars at trade-in time because used-car buyers will get the balance of the new-car warranty.Most new cars are sold after four years, according to industry figures. This means a typical secondhand Kia would give used car buyers three years of factory-backed protection against faults.The Kia warranty is part of the company's ambitious sales push in Australia after a decade of weak results.Kia is just outside the top 10 sellers but its sister brand Hyundai -- which sells, in effect, the same cars under the skin but with different body styles and different branding -- is in the top four.It is the largest gap between the two jointly owned companies in the world.Kia recently poached Hyundai Australia's sales and marketing boss Damien Meredith to head the Kia division locally and this is his first step towards doubling sales within four years."This is a watershed moment," said Mr Meredith. "Kia customers now have a peace of mind that can't be matched in the Australian new car market."The deal includes free roadside assistance for seven years -- if the car is serviced at a Kia dealer once a year.Kia has also extended its capped price servicing program to seven years -- one of the longest in the car business -- and that prices of routine maintenance will remain the same as before."The two year increase in warranty, capped-price servicing and roadside assist is absolutely transparent and we will not be asking our customers to dip into their pockets to fund the extra benefits," said Mr Meredith.

Updated Kia Rio light hatch revealed ahead of Paris motor show debut.Kia has taken the wraps off its updated 2015 Rio hatchback ahead of the model’s public unveiling at this week’s Paris motor show.The Rio was Kia’s best selling nameplate in 2013, and updated styling and interior features are tipped to maintain the popular model’s competitiveness both locally and overseas.For 2015 the Rio range receives a mild restyling with new front and rear bumpers that give a sportier appearance, thanks to new grille treatment and metal strakes in the front fog light surrounds.Three new alloy wheel designs complete the cosmetic refresh, while two new paint colours dubbed Urban Blue and Digital Yellow will also be available.Inside, the new model boasts chrome accents around each of the four air-con vents and a redesigned center stack over the current model Rio.The 2015 Rio will also offer the option of faux leather upholstery on range-topping models, with cloth fitted as standard.The updated model will be available with DAB digital radio and an updated satnav system with 7-inch display – though this feature won’t be offered on Australian Rios.The 2015 Rio will be available with either a 1.4 or 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine in Australia, with the smaller unit connected to either a six-speed manual or optional 4-speed automatic. The larger 1.6-litre range-topper is fitted with a 6-speed automatic gearbox as standard.All updated Rio models will be fitted with Kia’s second-generation stop/start engine technology for reduced fuel consumption.The 2015 Kia Rio range is expected to go on sale internationally early next year with Australian deliveries tipped to commence in the second half of 2015.

The Kia concept was one of four outrageous models hown at the Las Vegas 2011 SEMA show. The vehicles were conceived and built in-partnership with the popular lifestyle magazine, Antenna. It's outfitted with everything the modern-day surfer needs for a perfect day and night at the beach, including an authentic Grain wood surfboard mounted on the roof. The Rio 5-door has been lowered with a modified suspension for more aggressive handling, and the aggressive exterior design is accentuated by eye-grabbing 17-inch three-piece gold wheels, a stunning sunset-metallic golden-brown paint scheme, a custom body kit with a front splitter made of wood to match the surfboard on the roof and a redesigned rear fascia with center-mount dual exhaust.

Big-engined family cars are marking time as carmakers find new ways to make tiny engines do the same work. Even engineers say the change over the past 10 years has caught them out. Few would have bet on a 2-litre, four-cylinder Falcon. Kia’s powertrain manager in Europe, Dr Joachim Hahn, says the move to downsize engines wasn’t predicted a decade ago but clearly makes sense. He is planning a 1.1-litre diesel engine for the Rio small car that will achieve a fuel economy of about 3.5 litres/100km - about half the current average for the small car class. “Downsizing is a strategy we see as being the future,’‘ he says. Even the GT (Kia’s new large-car concept) will work well and lose little of its sporty nature when fitted with a 2-litre, four-cylinder engine.’’ The 1.1-litre three-cylinder diesel claims 85 grams/km of CO2 emissions - a figure that Dr Hahn says was “unachievable’’ 10 years ago. “For us in Europe, getting small car emissions down gives us the freedom to make bigger cars - so maybe the GT can have a V8.’’ Kia experimented with its Optima when it entered the US market last year by dropping the V6 engine in its predecessor and offering only four-cylinder engines. “We held our breath,’‘ he says. But no one complained. We replaced the V6 with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and we had better than expected sales and customer feedback.’’ But Dr Hahn cautiond about taking the downsizing to far. “There are many variables,’‘ he says. Some markets expect performance from the car and a small engine will have to work so hard to meet expectations that any fuel economy benefit will be lost. “For example, we could put the 1-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine into the Cerato. But it may not suit al customers in all markets.”

It's one new development that will be joined by an expanded range of turbo engines as Kia lures an increasingly sophisticated list of buyers. Under development is the three-cylinder turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine that Kia's German-based power train manager Joachim Hahn says will soon replace units of 1.6-litre and higher. That indicates there's a new direction for Rio and, for some markets, even the bigger Optima sedan.He clearly lays out a path for Kia that is high on engineering sophistication and with concentration on petrol - rather than diesel - power for the future.  In arriving at the 1.2-litre, Mr Hahn - "it means 'cock','' he says by way of introduction - says Kia also developed a two-cylinder version."But though we could save a bit more fuel, it was noisy and had vibration problems,'' he says.  "To fix the vibration we would have to put in balance shafts and that would increase friction and cost so we would have found more benefits in a three cylinder.''He says Kia has made significant changes in recent years as it developed new engines.  "In the past few years we started quite strongly in diesels,'' he says.  But we found new technology in developments such as the 1-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine for the Picanto (small car) that uses variable valve technology to maximise power and minimise fuel consumption and emissions."Consumers won't accept a lack of power in a small car. They also won't pay extra for new technology because small cars are generally price sensitive. So that rules out turbo-charging for the lower end of the market because it's too expensive."Diesel engines are also too expensive for the Picanto market. It can add about $3000 to the cost and customers won't pay that.  "So, in the case of the Picanto's engine, it is a three cylinder with variable vales and a variable inlet manifold - this is relatively inexpensive technology that won't harm the price of the car.''The carmaker is also introducing bi-fuel - that's LPG and petrol - to its small-car range in some markets because it can slash missions.  A Picanto, for example, with a bi-fuel engine can achieve a very low 90 grams per kilometre of CO2.Kia will add turbo-charging to many of its engines destined for the more expensive end of its market.  "Turbo-charging is clearly on our road map,'' he says."Combined with direct-petrol injection, it is our new future.''  Kia makes a turbo-petrol engine for the Optima for the US market which has 200kW and a flat torque curve.Kia says that model will be considered for Australia but demand in major markets - such as the US - may push out its launch time.  He sees a different type of turbo-charging for diesels and new challenges for petrol-fuelled engines."We are looking at downsizing the capacity of diesel engines,'' he says. "Normally, it is petrol engines that get smaller.  Now we are looking at a smaller capacity diesel with two-stage turbo-charging. It's a high challenge but it s potential to further cut diesel fuel use and emissions.''One of the unexpected problems he sees for the near future is government regulation to reduce the amount of particulates - generally soot from an exhaust in a diesel vehicle - from petrol engines.  "Petrol engines do produce particulates,'' he says."Now we believe that these may be targeted and tat means we have to apply more technology to future petrol engines. Previously this wasn't an issue for us. "It's just another challenge.''