Kia Rio 3-door

While the all-new Kia Rio 5-door hatchback is generating positive media coverage around the world and arriving in dealer showrooms across Europe, Kia is celebrating the world premiere of its new Kia Rio 3-door model at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show.

Designed primarily for the European market, the new Kia Rio 3-door will expand the appeal of Kia's latest B-segment model to attract a new group of consumers to the brand for the first time - boosting conquest sales after its introduction during the first quarter of 2012. Ultimately, Kia expects the Rio 3-door to account for approximately 20 to 25 per cent of total Rio sales.

Kia Rio 3-door has the same key dimensions as the 5-door model (length 4,045 mm, width 1,720 mm, height 1,455 mm and wheelbase 2,570 mm) and retains the same roofline that is one of the lowest in Kia's European product range, emphasising its purposeful, sporty stance.

In most European markets, Kia Rio 3-door will be available with the same range of powertrains, equipment and options as the 5-door. The new model will offer customers a choice of four highly efficient three- and four-cylinder engines - with a 75 to 109 ps power range.

The fastest Kia Rio 3-door will accelerate to 100 kph (62 mph) in 11.5 seconds and be able to reach a top speed of 183 kph (114 mph). Fuel consumption will be as low as 3.2 litres per 100 km (88.2 mpg) for the newly-introduced EcoDynamics diesel model, which will also deliver an industry-leading CO2 rating of just 85 g/km.

To maximise the impact of the new Kia Rio 3-door´s striking appearance, Kia will be offering customers a choice of up to 10 body colours - White, Black, Bright Silver, Signal Red, Fresh Beige, Electronic Blue, Deep Blue, Wendy Brown, Graphite and Caramel Yellow - which help to underline the car's refined and stylish character.

With two bodystyles for new Rio, plus the already-popular 5-door Soul and Venga B-segment models, Kia is confident of capturing an even larger share of the increasingly popular compact car market in Europe.