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This is the heavily revised Kia Rio, the first model in a product blitz from the Korean maker that will last 18 months. The Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa rival gets new engines, a trick transmission that’s claimed to improve efficiency and a number of upgrades to interior equipment, infotainment and safety technology.
The system, which has a lithium-ion battery, harnesses braking energy and then feeds it back to help the engine during stop-start situations and under acceleration. Kia claims that the technology helps to cut between eight and 10 per cent from CO2 emissions under the old NEDC test cycle, although the company has yet to release any official WLTP figures for the new model.
The biggest news on the engine front is EcoDynamics+, which pairs Kia’s latest 1.0 T-GDi turbocharged three-cylinder engine with a 48v starter/generator that brings mild-hybrid assistance to the model for the first time.
EcoDynamics+ will be fitted to two versions of the 1.0 motor, called Smartstream, which replaces the old Rio’s Kappa engines. Outputs of 99bhp and 118bhp will be available, while the motor will be offered in some European countries without the hybrid assistance (and presumably at a lower price), although Kia UK has yet to finalise its revised model line-up. Either way, the MHEV editions are likely to be pitched in the middle of the Rio range, with the entry-level cars getting a revised version of the current car’s 1.2-litre normally aspirated petrol engine, producing 83bhp.
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