26.1.2012 Kia launches 3 door sub-100gCO2/km Rio

The new Kia Rio is available to order now in three door guise for the first time in its history. The new version will be priced from just £9,995 on-the-road.

The line-up of engines, trim levels and external dimensions from the five door, that went on sale in September last year, are carried over to 3-door Rio. A coupe-like side profile and a –600 saving, compared to equivalent five door models, add to Kia's already appealing supermini hatchback.

The 3 door Rio is available with a choice of four engines – two petrols and two diesels that are carried over unchanged from the five door version. The highly efficient 1.1 CRDi delivers sprightly performance from its 74 bhp and 170 Nm of torque available from a mere 1,500 rpm and all versions deliver CO2 emissions of 99 g/km or below and fuel economy of at least 74.3 mpg.

EcoDynamics technologies, such as Intelligent Stop & Go, will be a standard feature with all new Rio diesels, including the 1.4-litre models. The 1.4 CRDi is a four-cylinder diesel engine from the same U2 family as the 1.1, which develops 89 bhp and 220 Nm of torque. Economy and emissions figures are 70.6 mpg combined and 105 g/km of CO2.

There are also two petrol engines in the new Rio. The entry-level unit is the 1.25-litre Kappa engine which made its debut in Kia's smallest car, the new Picanto. This engine develops 83 bhp and 121 Nm of torque. The new Rio is also available with Kia's 1.4-litre Gamma engine, developing 107 bhp and 137 Nm of torque. It also offers buyers the convenience of an automatic gearbox as an option to the standard manual.

All petrol manual versions of the new Rio comfortably exceed 50 mpg, with CO2 emissions below the EU's 2012 corporate average target of 130 g/km. The 3 door Rio is offered in the same four easily understood trim levels grades as the 5 door version – badged '1', '1 Air', '2' and '3'.

And every new Rio, as with all Kias, is covered by the best warranty in the business, extending to seven years or 100,000 miles on parts and labour, excluding wear and tear items and subject to certain conditions. Insurance ratings are very low – as low as group three for the 1.1 CRDi versions. The 1.25-litre versions are in group five whilst the 1.4-litre petrol and CRDi versions are still only in group eight.

In terms of safety all Rio models enjoy exactly the same standard safety specification. The package includes the potentially life-saving features of electronic stability control (ESC), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA) in addition to emergency stop signalling (ESS). The new Rio also includes the helpful feature of Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) to prevent the car momentarily rolling backwards when pulling away up steep gradients.

Newspress