By: IOL Motoring Staff
Johannesburg - the upgraded Kia Rio, first seen at the Paris motor show in October 2014, has landed in South Africa, in both hatch and sedan format, with a range of interior improvements to go with a mild styling makeover.
The signature 'tiger-nose grille' has been updated to match the new front bumper and foglights. As with their predecessors, the front treatment of the hatch and sedan are also subtly different; the hatch has a sportier design with lower air intakes and foglight mountings, while the sedan is more 'of a piece'.
There's a new rear bumper on the hatch to match the chunkier front end, and three new alloy rim designs to bling up the car's profile.
Inside, there's a new centre-stack layout around the audio system, finished in piano black, and each of the four dashboard air vents gets a chrome trim.
NUTS AND BOLTS
The motorvational department is unchanged, with either the 1.2-litre Kappa petrol four (65kW at 6000 revs, 120Nm at 4000rpm) mated to a five-speed manual or the 1.4-litre Gamma (79kW at 6300 revs and 135Nm at 4200rpm) driving via either a six-speed manual or a four-speed auto with the Rio 1.4 6-speed manual model accelerates to 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds before reaching a top speed of 183 km/h. A 4-speed automatic transmission is available as an option.
PRICES(The same for hatch or sedan)
1.2 - R176 995
1.4 - R199 995
1.4 AT - R211 995
1.4 TEC - R212 995
1.4 TEC AT - R224 995.00
An optional sunroof is available on the 1.4 TEC for an extra R7000.