Kia recently unveiled an all-new version of the Kia Rio for the 2012 model year in Geneva. The new Rio adopts Kia’s current design language and looks far better than the current car that looks at home in a rental fleet.
It looks like Kia is thinking about releasing a hot hatch version of the Rio to boost its image in Europe. Europeans love hatchbacks, where models like the VW GTI are immensely popular. Kia’s marketing and product planning chief Benny Oeyen recently told Autocar, “The quality and design is much greater than the brand image represents. You can improved this with cars. A helpful car for us would be a hot hatch, cabrio or a coupe.”
The most immediate option will likely be the hot hatch. This fall the standard Kio Rio will be released. In the US it’s expected that the Rio will be be powered by a 1.6L engine with 138 horsepower.
Full Story: Autocar
Related Stories:
Geneva 11′ Preview: 2012 Kia Rio Unveiled
