2017 Kia Rio revealed – it’s an all new Rio, but it looks very familiar

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The all new Kia Rio supermini – a Ford Fiesta competitor – is heading for a public debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show, ahead of which Kia reveal their new model.

We had a bit of a new Kia Rio tease last week as Kia revealed design sketches for their take on the Hyundai i20, and it looked pretty convincing.

True, there was inevitably a bit of artistic licence in the sketches, but now the 2017 Kia Rio has been revealed – ahead of its public debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month – it still looks a convincing and appealing supermini, even if, certainly at first glance, it’s not exactly a radical design makeover.

What is different is the nose, with a shorter and wider take on the Kia ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, new headlights which are also slimmer and with a ‘U’ shaped light signature and fogs relocated a bit further out make the Rio look wider. Which it is, but by just 5mm.

There’s also a longer overhang at the front, and the extra 15mm of length (and an extra 10mm in the wheelbase) are said to give the new Rio a more balanced stance, coupled with a drop in height.

But in old money, the new Rio is just 1/5″ lower and wider and 2/5″ longer in the wheelbase, and even its overall length grows by just 3/5″. Not really enough to change perspectives.

Further back, the new Rio gets thinner and more upright C-Pillars, shorter rear overhang and long straight lines down the flank to accentuate length, and the back end of the Rio is more upright with slimmer lights which get a new arrow-shaped LED signature.

Inside the new Rio there’s a simplified dash with a new, more ergonomic design, with the dashboard adding visual width, and aimed at the driver, with a new infotainment system featuring a ‘floating’ (plonked on the dash rather than integrated) touchscreen for audio, Nav and connectivity.

Interior upholstery choices are black or grey cloth or black or grey fake leather, and a ‘Red Pack’ will offer red fake leather, with gloss black and metallic trim finishes for the trim.

Kia hasn’t revealed what’s going to be under the bonnet of the new Rio, but the existing engine options are likely to carry over in the main – probably with a tweak or two – with the addition, probably, of the new 1.0 litre 3-pot from the c’eed.