Kia’s celebration of the enhanced Rio features a number of improvements to maintain the competitiveness of its global best-selling car.

“The Kia Rio was our best-selling vehicle nameplate worldwide in 2013, with a total of 471,000 sales, and among our top-three sellers in Europe with 56,821 units delivered. Improvements to this model are of major significance for our brand,” commented Michael Cole, Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors Europe.

“The immense popularity of the Rio shows that our designers and engineers got most things right when creating the fourth-generation of our compact B-segment challenger in 2011. The Rio retains the core attributes that have proved so popular with owners, while enhancements to the 2014 model include a slight visual makeover, giving it a fresh exterior and interior look,” added Cole.

Under the direction of Peter Schreyer, President and Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors Corporation, the Rio design team in Korea has updated the Rio’s ‘tiger-nose grille’ and given the car a newly-designed front bumper and fog lights. Three new alloy wheel designs (available in 15-, 16- and 17-inch) refresh the Rio’s profile and a new rear bumper completes the exterior makeover. In addition, two new paint finishes (Urban Blue and Digital Yellow) will be added to the colour line-up.

The Rio’s cabin is brightened by the addition of chrome accents around the four dashboard air-vents, and the fitting of a newly-designed center-stack around the audio system. The base model LX is available in black cloth upholstery, while the range-topping EX models come with leather as standard.

The enhanced Rio is being offered with a choice of three highly efficient engines – ranging in power output from 74 to 107 ps – driving the front wheels via five- or six-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions.

Every engine in the enhanced Rio range is available with Kia’s upgraded starter motor, as well as the fitment of low-rolling resistance tyres.

The enhanced model is sold with the usual Kia’s unique 7-Year warranty for complete peace of mind.

The new Kia Rio can be yours from only €13,900 and is available for a free test-drive at Cars International, Mdina Road, Qormi. For more information or to book your test-drive, send an email to kiasales@cil.com.mt, call on 2269 2000 or visit the website www.kia.com/mt or Facebook page Kia Motors Malta.