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The new Kia Rio goes on sale in Australia on 1 January 2003, opening the
New Year with a new style, more equipment and features but with the same
2002 pricing, with the Rio sedan and hatch available from $14,990
including, AirCon, central locking, power steering and a CD player.
"The new Rio may be immediately recognizable with its new front and rear
styling, but the big changes are under the skin," says Ric Hull, Managing
Director of Kia Automotive Australia. "The new Rio is more refined, more
responsive and offers a host of new convenience features that will ensure
it remains our top selling model and the mainstay in Kia's growth plans in
Australia."
The Kia Rio has been Kia's top selling model since its Australian launch in
July 2000. In its first full year the Rio has sold 123,372 units in export
markets and should reach its planned export sales of 150,000 per annum in
2003 with the launch of the new Rio
The New Rio has been re-styled with new skin panels ahead of the A-pillar
on both the sedan and the hatchback with a new tail for the sedan and minor
changes to the tail of the five door. Aside from the sleek new appearance,
the main advantage at the front is new light lenses that provide both more
powerful and better defined light on both dipped and full beam. At the
rear, both versions of the new Rio now feature a LED equipped high level
brake light that responds more quickly than conventional light bulbs and
provides a more intense red light.
The re-design of the dashboard of the Kia Rio has been aimed at both making
it more versatile and easier to use, as well as more elegant. This
translates into a new surface finish and design on one hand and a plethora
of new features on the other. For example, there are now two glove boxes
ahead of the front passenger seat; the centre console has two cup holders,
designed to hold everything from the full size one litre cup to normal size
drinks cans and cups; the door pockets are larger than on the previous Rio
and also include a bottle holder at their leading edge that is large enough
for a 1.5 litre PET bottle; the speakers have been upgraded to provide a
richer bass response and, thanks to the tweeter speakers at the base of the
A-pillar, better stereo separation; the standard central locking now
operates from both front doors and the interior light has an automatic
dimmer.
With its larger than class average exterior dimensions, the Kia Rio
continues to offer generous interior space, with more than a metre of leg
room in the front and 787 mm in the rear. The seats in the Rio are also
new, with new variable density foam fitted to more generously shaped seat
frames. This combination ensures both comfort and safety. New cloth
upholstery is used throughout and this extends to the door trims. The boot
of the Kia Rio is equally generous, offering 269 litres in the sedan, while
the hatch has a 449 litre boot with the rear seat in place and a load
swallowing 1.2 cubic metres with the rear seats folded. The interior of the
new Kia Rio is quieter thanks to new sound proofing used throughout the
interior to combat both drivetrain and road noise.
On the road, the new Rio is both more comfortable and more responsive. The
MacPherson strut front suspension has been modified with a new three point
mounting and the struts themselves are 10 mm longer to enable the Rio to
absorb large bumps with equanimity. The tension bar has been chanced from a
bush to bolt type and the diameter of the anti-roll bar has been increased
by 1.0 mm. The entire suspension system has been strengthened and new sound
proofing measures have been undertaken to reduce transmission of road noise
to the passenger cabin. At the rear the new Rio uses a torsion beam axle
suspension and this, too, has been strengthened by straightening the lower
edge of the torsion beam and increasing the diameter of the anti-roll bar
by 3.6 mm and increasing the size of its attachment points. Gas-filled
shock absorbers are standard on the new Kia Rio.
To further improve the safety of the Kia Rio, a number of changes have been
made. The body is now more rigid, which also improves handling and
refinement; the front disks have been increased in size and the size of the
brake lining on the rear axle has been increased for better stopping power;
new re-designed bars and beams have been fitted to the doors to reduce side
impact penetration.
The Kia Rio is fitted as standard with a Kia M-Tech 1.5 litre 71 kW engine
and minor changes have been made to the engine to enhance refinement. It
provides healthy performance and good economy, whether mated with the
standard five speed manual gearbox or the optional four speed electronic
automatic.
The Kia Rio is well equipped. As well as AirCon, power steering and a Hi-Fi
digital stereo system with six speakers, central locking, a rear power
socket, a driver's side airbag, remote control door mirrors are standard.
Cloth upholstery is standard, as is full instrumentation with a rev-counter
and digital clock. The wipers have three speeds and an intermittent setting
and a rear wiper is standard on the five door Rio. The only options are
automatic transmission and metallic paint.
"The substantial changes made to the Rio can only strengthen its position
in the Australian market," says Ric Hull. "It is already the leader in the
four and five door sectors of the light car market and we believe the
changes will make it even more attractive to three door buyers who will
appreciate the new style and added flexibility of the two extra doors."
The Kia Rio is priced at $14,990 for the manual Rio sedan and Rio
hatchback, while the automatic versions of both body styles is priced at
$16,990.
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