Europeans style latest Kia

Kia's Rio has more space and power, higher performance, better handling and improved fuel economy.

Korean carmaker Kia has drawn heavily on its European styling studio to create the new Rio hatchback, on sale here in a couple of weeks.

The German-based centre was charged with designing a five-door with class-leading interior space for the small-car segment.

It had to add in a car with good looks, refined detailing and an all-new ride/handling mix.

The result, says Kia, is a world away from the outgoing Rio, a bland offering that has been around since 2000.

It says the new model offers more space, more power, higher performance, better handling, a smoother ride and improved fuel economy.

"We designed the new Rio to meet the rising expectations of our customers," says Yong-Hwan Kim, vice-president of Kia Motors.

"With improved quality and a fresher appearance, we have created a superb compact car that is more stylish, more practical and more enjoyable to drive than its predecessor."

Customer clinics held in Europe for the Rio (codenamed JB during development) indicated that more consumers are finding modern Kia products "attractive".

At the clinics, the Rio was voted joint-first with the Holden Barina for interior styling, and joint-second with the Barina, after the Peugeot 206, for exterior styling.

The Rio is taller and wider than the model it replaces.

But it has a longer wheelbase and wider track.

It is also shorter overall by 250mm, a deliberate dimension to enable it to fit into the small-car sector.

As a comparison, it is 350mm longer than the Toyota Echo.

The Rio is powered by a four-cylinder 1.6-litre engine with variable valve technology.

It produces 82kW (110bhp) at 6000rpm and 145Nm of torque at 4500rpm and is mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic.

Kia says the 1.6-litre engine is considerably more efficient and cleaner-burning that the 1.5-litre unit in the outgoing Rio.

It claims fuel consumption based on European findings of 6.5 litres/100km (44mpg) for the manual model.

The new Rio gets an updated suspension system too: MacPherson struts in the front and trailing arms and coils at the rear.

Safety systems include anti-lock disc brakes all-round and six airbags.

The Kia Rio manual is priced at $19,995, the Rio auto is $22,495 and the Rio Sport manual is $22,495.

The arrival of the Rio is expected to provide Korea's oldest carmaker with a further sales boost.

It comes a couple of months after the new 4WD Sportage and the Cerato 2-litre hatch and sedan helped Kia to its first-ever top ten placing in the New Zealand market.