Kia Introduces New Three-Door Kia Rio in Britain, Priced from £9,995

Following on from its world premiere at last September's Frankfurt Motor Show, Kia has now launched the three-door version of the new Rio supermini in the UK.

This is the first time that the model is available in a three-door guise with Kia expecting it to account for around 20 to 25 percent of the car's total sales.

The three-door model gets the same engine range and trim line-up as the five door model that went on sale last year but offers £600 saving compared to the equivalent Rio 5d with prices starting from £9,995 OTR.

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Woman gets Trapped in a Kia Rio Swallowed by a Sinkhole in New Hampshire

It's a pretty scary situation if you think about it; while you're driving in the middle of a city street, the road suddenly opens and swallows up your car leaving you trapped inside with water pumping out from the ground around you.

But that's what happened to a woman in a Kio Rio sedan when she approached the intersection at Beech and North Streets in Manchester's North End just after 6 a.m. on Monday. What looked like a puddle turned out to be a sinkhole that trapped her car.

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2011 SEMA: Kia Goes Racing with 2012 Rio B-Spec and Optima Hybrid USTCC Pace Car

Looking to further associate itself with the world of motorsports after the first two motorsports championships in company's history in the 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSSC), Kia today unveiled two more track-ready models at the 2011 SEMA Show, the 2012 Rio 5-door B-Spec racecar and the Optima Hybrid pace car.

Developed in partnership with Kinetic Motorsports, the new Rio 5-door B-Spec racer will compete in the newly established showroom stock racing class against various subcompact rivals such as the Mazda2, Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta starting from 2012.

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Kia Joins Forces with Antenna Magazine to Build Rio and Forte Specials for SEMA Show

Less than 24 hours before the doors open at the 2011 edition of the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) Show and Kia Motors has revealed a pair of tricked concept models that will make their debut in Las Vegas.

Both the Rio 5-Door Surf and the Forte 5-Door Hockey were built in partnership with Antenna magazine.

Starting with the 2012 Rio, the surf-themed tuning project features a sunset-metallic golden-brown paint along with a custom body kit with a front splitter made of wood that matches the surfboard on the roof, and rear fascia with center-mount exhaust. A set of 17-inch three-piece gold wheels and a Thule roof rack that holds the surfboard complete the look.

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Kia Prices 2012 Rio Sedan from $14,150*, $200 Lower than the Hatchback

About a month after announcing pricing for the new 2012 Rio five-door hatchback, Kia today released prices for its four-door sedan sibling that starts from $13,400 or *$14,150 if you include a $750 destination and handling fee, for the base model with a manual gearbox. That's $200 less than the equivalent 5-door variant.

If you prefer to not to change gears manually, the automatic transmission version of the base Rio sedan begins at $15,250.

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Red Light Sinner Repents: You have to Watch this Video…

Dear Carscoop readers, we would appreciate your input with this one. Please watch the video after the break and tell us what the heck could be going on in the head of the person behind the steering wheel of this silver Kia Rio sedan.

Agreed; we've all seen drivers run a red light either by mistake or because they don't give a damn about the own or other drivers' safety. But seriously, have you ever seen someone do anything like this? The only thing missing from the clip is the Benny Hill background music...

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Kia will Focus on Quality, not Quantity says co-CEO

Kia Motors does not intend to build new plants despite increased worldwide demand for its products, the automaker’s co-CEO, Lee Sam-ung told Autonews in a recent presentation. The Korean company will instead focus its efforts on quality.

“Quantitative growth is important, but qualitative growth is also important. We plan to focus on improving product quality and our brand," Sam-ung said at the launch of the new Rio.

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All-New 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door Hatch Priced from $14,350* in the U.S.

Unveiled earlier this year alongside its four-door sedan counterpart at the 2011 New York International Auto Show, the all-new 2012 Kia Rio 5-door hatchback launches in the States with a starting price of $13,600 for the manual gearbox model, not including a $750 destination and handling fee (*total $14,350).

If you prefer an automatic transmission, the starting price is $15,450, while the range-topping SX trim will set you back $18,750, with all prices including the $750 destination fee.

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IAA 2011: Kia Enhances Rio's Presence in Europe with New Three-door Version

Although five-door versions of most B-segment cars are more popular in most markets, in order to satisfy those customers that don’t need the practicality of the two extra doors and prefer a more dynamic look, Kia launched a three-door version of its new Rio at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Read more »

Kia Prices New Rio in the UK from £10,595

The all-new 4th generation Rio will reach Kia's UK showrooms on September 1 with on-the-road prices starting from £10,595 for the entry-level 1.25 "1" and reaching £14,895 for range-topping 1.4 CRDi "3" EcoDynamics.

The Rio will be available at launch only as a five-door model but a three-door bodystyle will be added to the range early next year.

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Kia Wins “Best of Best” for Overall Design in German Contest

Kia walked away with no less than four awards from the inaugural Automotive Brand Contest organized by the German Design Council. The most important was that of “Best of Best” for overall brand design, acknowledging Kia’s new styling language.

The other three awards were won in the Exterior category by the latest Sportage, the Optima sedan and the new Rio.

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2011 NYIAS: All-New 2012 Kia Rio5 Hatchback

Kia’s brand-new Rio small sedan was joined by the hatchback version of the sub compact model named Rio5 at this week’s New York Auto Show. Unlike the four-sedan that received its world premiere in the Big Apple, we got our first taste of the Rio5 at the Geneva Salon in March. The only visible styling changes over the European model, concern the colored turn signals up front and the market-specific trim options inside.

The 2012 Rio5 is available with a 1.6-liter GDI four-cylinder engine with the option of either a six-speed manual transmission or six-speed automatic. The direct-injection four-pot delivers 138 horsepower, and thanks to the addition of Kia’s ISG start-stop technology, it returns 30 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.

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All-New 2012 Kia Rio Sedan for North America Breaks Cover

After rolling out the China market Kia K2 sedan at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show on Tuesday, the South Korean automaker exposed the sub-compact sedan’s North American sibling that will be sold under the Rio nameplate. Even though the K2 and Rio share the same underpinnings being the sedan versions of the all-new Rio hatchback, which was unwrapped in Geneva this past March, the two models get feature unique exterior designs.

The North American Rio sedan keeps the hatchback model’s front end styling with the large, almond-shaped headlights adding a new window line and a different rear end design. Same goes for the interior which is identical to the five-door model we saw in Geneva, sans the different trim and features.

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New Kia K2 is the China Market Rio Sedan

This pint-sized Optima lookalike is the new Kia K2 and it will make its world premiere at this week’s 2011 Shanghai Motor Show. It is the China market version of the upcoming Rio Sedan that will be revealed at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday. However, it remains to be seen if the two models will share the same look as Kia said the K2 was designed and engineered specifically for the Chinese market. Read more »

Kia Confirms 2012 Rio Sedan and Hatch, and 2012 Soul Facelift for New York Show

In a move that shows Kia has no intention of letting the momentum it has gained with the launch of seven new products in the past two years fade away, the South Korean automaker confirmed today the world premiere of two new models at the rapidly approaching New York Auto Show (April 22 – May 1).

The first global debut concerns the four-door sedan version of the 2012 Kia Rio, which was unwrapped in hatchback form at the Geneva Salon in March. The 2012 Rio sedan will be joined by the North American debut of the Rio5 hatchback.

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Rumors: Kia to Reveal New Rio Sedan at New York

The word on the street is that Kia will lift the covers off a sedan version of its new Rio series in a world premiere at the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show in mid-April. The new generation of the Rio was recently unveiled in hatchback form at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month.

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Geneva 2011: Next Kia Rio Keeps the Tiger Style Alive, the Circle is Complete

Kia insists on not holding back any punches with its new lineup, and its fourth-gen Rio is no different. The new Rio is lower, longer, and wider, and looks all the better for it. With the added dimensions come more passenger space, more comfort, and more storage capacity. Don't worry, as Kia will offer a variety of engines and transmissions to suit your needs. Scroll on down for the all-informative spreadsheet.

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Geneva Preshow: 2012 Kia Rio Revealed in Detail, gets 1.2-liter Turbo Gasoline Engine

Kia's product assault continues with the presentation of the all-new Rio subcompact, which will receive its world premiere together with the new Picanto at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show in the beginning of March.

The latest car to be revealed by Kia boasts a far slicker exterior design than the current Rio bringing it in line with the rest of South Korean company's passenger model range. There are no photos of the interior, but Kia says its newcomer "will deliver a high level of quality previously associated with larger models" along with a wider selection of trim options.

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Kia Release Sketches of 2012 Rio Hatchback, will Debut in Geneva

Kia has big plans for this year's edition of the Geneva Salon as along with the 2012 Picanto city car, the South Korean automaker will also host the world premiere of the 2012 Rio supermini, the first official sketches of which were released today.

The company said that its Ford Fiesta rival is "designed to inject emotional appeal into the B-segment, targeting progressive, energetic consumers who want a stand-out design", adding that the new Rio's styling marks “the next big step” in the company’s ongoing design revolution.

But while it's obvious that the new Rio will be a more stylish proposal than the current model, our recent spy shots suggest that Kia's renderings aren't as close to reality as the company would like us to believe.

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SCOOP: 2012 Kia Rio Spotted out on the Road

Like sister company Hyundai, Kia is in the midst of a new-product blitz that started a little over a year ago. Since the second half of 2009, the South Korean automaker has refreshed its lineup with a slew of new models such as the Forte Koup, Cadenza sedan, Venga mini MPV, Sorento, Sportage and Optima sedan.

Now, following the announcement on the completely redesigned Picanto city car that will break cover at the Geneva Show, our spy photographers snapped the next new model to be added to Kia's range, the 2012 Rio subcompact, while testing in Germany.

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