Kia is launching its new Rio supermini next year and plans are afoot for a new crossover version to compete in the booming compact crossover segment. The Rio SUV will cost more than its supermini stablemate when it goes on sale late next year; we’d expect it to be priced from around £14,000.
This new small Kia crossover could also get plug-in hybrid power. The manufacturer has put out teasers of a baby SUV before, with 2013’s Niro concept (pictured) but now insiders claim a production model, based on the next-gen Rio, is due soon after the supermini’s launch in 2017. A senior Kia source said: “Kia is launching some new products next year, such as a new Rio, with an SUV as well.”
Thanks to a higher driving position and a bigger boot, the new model will be more practical than the Rio. Key Kia styling cues such as the ‘tiger grille’ will feature, along with sporty design touches to help the car rival the funky Juke. The small SUV won’t be offered with four-wheel drive. However, Kia is considering a plug-in hybrid, potentially mating the electrification tech in the new Niro crossover with a smaller motor than that car’s 1.6-litre unit.
The new crossover would join the Soul in the Kia range and the Soul does have a pure-EV version already available. This uses a 109bhp motor with a range of 132 miles but with the extra weight of an engine, we’d expect a Rio plug-in hybrid model to have a shorter all-electric range.
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In terms of styling, the Rio SUV will get a toned-down design compared to the funky Soul. Asked if there is room for a more conventional SUV than the Soul in the B-segment, Kia’s design boss Peter Shreyer told Auto Express that “the Soul has a very unique personality - maybe there is potential for this.”
The new Kia Rio SUV’s design direction is set to follow on from the striking new Sportage. Kia’s design boss Peter Shreyer told Auto Express that; “we have built up a design identity and future cars will follow on from that.”
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We expect to see the familiar Tiger-nose grille on the front, plus sporty design touches to help it rival Nissan’s stylish Juke, which is due for a refresh in 2017.
Could a Kia Rio SUV beat the Nissan Juke? Let us know in the comments section below...
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