Enhanced quality and refinement

The 2012 Kia Rio is no stranger to success having been named Motoring TV Canada’s Car of the Year and it looks set to prove that small cars mean big business in Bahrain.

The fourth-generation Rio was launched at the weekend by A. A. Bin Hindi, the distributor in the kingdom, in the presence of company officials and media at the Kia showroom in Khamis.

Thomas Oh, senior executive vice president and COO, Kia Motors Corporation, said: “Rio has always been a commercial success and with this new incarnation we now have a car which is extremely attractive with a fresh feeling of sportiness – a car that people will want to buy for its new looks, as well as for its new premium feeling, generous features and environmental credentials.”

Kia’s engineers and designers say the 2012 Rio combines European finesse with Korean spice to create a language that also communicates Latin flair – for a truly global appeal.
 
The marque is available with a choice of three body styles (5-door and 3-door hatchbacks and 4-door sedan), four-cylinder 1.4-litre gasoline engine and two trim levels (LX and EX).

To lower fuel consumption and help achieve Rio’s class-leading emissions, Kia engineers have carried out an extensive programme to shed weight across a broad range of components. As a result, although the new Rio is a significantly larger car than its predecessor, with extra equipment, its weight-gain has been kept to a minimum.

The Rio has undergone a revamp both inside and out and its designers say the enhanced quality and refinement of interior materials and the attention to detail and finish have been design priorities.
 
The interior has a variety of trim options which give the car a genuine premium feel, with three trim colour-concepts available. In addition to this, the cabin is more spacious than the previous model.
 
Optional features available on new Rio cars include17-inch alloy wheels, smart-key entry system with engine start/stop button, radio CD player with MP3 compatibility plus AUX, iPod and USB connections, Bluetooth hands free (EX only), cruise control, climate-control air-conditioning (EX only), a cooled glove box and UV protection glass.

Safety was also a big factor during the design process. The all new Rio boasts a 5-Star safety rating in Euro NCAP crash tests, following the top 5-Star ratings scored by Soul, Sportage and Sorento – and a ‘top score’ rating in other official crash safety tests around the world.

A.A. Bin Hindi is offering the new Kia Rio at an introductory price of BD4,900 until March 15.

For details, contact the Kia showroom on 17408800 or visit www.binhindi.com