All-New 2017 Kia Rio Coming Soon, Current Rio Production Halted

During the launch of the Kia Grand Carnival today, Naza Kia also mentioned that they have halted the production of the current generation Rio, and that the new fourth-generation Rio is slated for production and launch later this year. Kia launched the new Rio at the Paris Motor Show just last year, and it's poised to be a stunner.

The new Rio is larger and more luxurious, with its exterior and interior developed by design centres in both Germany and California- perhaps in order to make it appeal to a wider range of consumers and provide a more premium look. Kia claims the interior is the most spacious in class, with 325-litres of cargo space available. It's no surprise that Kia has put so much effort into developing the new Rio, given that it has been Kia's best selling model since its introduction.

There's no word on what powertrains we'll be getting yet, although it may be a bit of a stretch to hope for their new 1.0-litre T-GDI (turbo gasoline direct injection) engine to feature in our Malaysian variants. Perhaps later on they may offer it in a premium trim level, but details are scarce for now. From the photos we've seen, it certainly looks like it could be a solid contender in class, especially with the new design language that Kia has adopted.