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New Rio is more dinner party than street party
Kia is hoping to repeat the triumph of its predecessor with the latest Rio, writes Lerato Matebese
Five years ago Kia turned a corner with its third generation Rio, which was a far cry compared with both its demure predecessors. It essentially took a number of design cues from the previous Sportage, which was one of Peter Schreyer’s most revered designs since taking the reins as head designer at the time. The Rio outclassed the Volkswagen Polo on both styling and cabin appointments, not to mention the Korean’s lower pricing point, too. It was, as you can imagine, popular among the trendy young sets, particularly in high specification Tec trim. Now the marque has launched its fourth generation Rio in an attempt to pick up where the previous model left off. To be frank, it has taken elements of the previous model, but instead made it less daring and youthful and more mature and generic. While this is not a bad thing, it has not particularly moved the game forward. That said, the exterior is clean in its execution with a wider tiger nose grille and swept back headlights with U-shape...
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