The new Kia Rio launched at the Detroit Motor Show is the four-door sedan version of the car that – as a five-door hatchback – will be built at the South Korean manufacturer’s new European factory in Slovakia from next year.

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The Rio will be launched in Europe in May or June with right hand drive vehicles arriving in the UK in July or August.


Kia UK PR director Steve Kitson said: “The Rio will be a big car for us because it completes our line up in the A, B and C segments with the Picanto below it and Cerato above it.”


The Rio will be sold only as a five-door hatchback in the UK and will have new engines, 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre petrol plus a 1.5-litre four cylinder diesel, and manual and automatic transmissions.

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