Kia Motors, South Korea’s second largest automobile manufacturer, is introducing a sedan version of its popular Rio small hatchback – to meet the demand of the market for down-sized large and medium sedans as fuel costs surge.

According to Jason Groube, sales and marketing manager for Kia Motors New Zealand, “Hatchbacks have ruled the small- car segment in recent years, but we are now getting inquiries from people regarding sedans in this size of car. These are buyers who like a more traditionally-styled car with a separate boot to securely store luggage and shopping.” “Fortunately, Kia already has a Rio sedan in its product range, which was designed at the same time as the hatchback and has been available in other countries. We’ve been able to secure a number of four-door Rio automatic sedans to gauge the reaction of buyers as an alternative to the five-door hatchback,” he added.

The Rio looks equally good in sedan and hatchback versions – a rare circumstance. Both models have the same front styling and passenger doors. But, they have different rooflines and rear-styling treatment. In result, the models are considered two very well-balanced and nicely proportioned versions of the same vehicle.

With added boot, the new Rio sedan measures 4240 mm in overall length. That makes up approximately 250 mm longer than the hatchback.

The sedan boot has a decent amount of space measuring 337 liters, though not as great as the luggage height as the hatchback. Both models have similar folding rear seats that maximize the vehicle’s carrying capacity.

In other aspects, the Rio sedan is basically the same as the hatchback. That includes the drive away prices: $21,500 for the LX automatic model and $24,145 for the EX automatic.

The Rio is powered with a 1.6 L engine that uses the latest continuously variable valve timing technology to maximize performance on city and highway driving. It also reduces emissions. This engine generates a peak power output of 82 kW at 6000 rpm. It has 145 Nm at 4500 rpm of torque. The Rio sedan has fuel consumption identical to the automatic hatchback with combined EU figures of 7L/100km (40 mpg).

Standard features include:

The EX equipment package gets additional features, including:

Looks like Kia ready made it that good for us.