KIA Adds New Versions To Its Model Line-Up

Kia is adding high-spec models across its line up and making automatic transmission more widely available on the Picanto and Rio. The additions are in answer to customers seeking even greater luxury. Luxury touches and extra technology make the Sorento ‘KX-4’ the brand’s new flagship, offering customers features usually associated with high-price premium brands. New top-of-the-range Picanto ‘4’ and Rio ‘4’ variants introduce features never previously available on Kia’s smaller cars, while the stylish and sporty procee'd is now offered in ‘SE Tech’ specification, with significant equipment upgrades over the previous top version, the ‘SE’. At the same time the Picanto ‘3’ and Rio ‘3’ offer the option of a four-speed automatic gearbox, that will appeal to buyers who spend substantial amounts of time in heavily trafficked urban areas.

OneShift Editorial Team

08 Apr 2014

The new addition to Kia’s larger SUV range still features the standard 2.2-litre CRDi turbo diesel engine common to the model with a CO2 figure of 178g/km. But customers will benefit from the extra technology and luxury added to the car to meet increasing demands from customer for a higher specification. Parallel Park Assist automatically monitors parking spaces through 10 sensors and automatically operates the steering wheel to neatly park the vehicle in the available space. The memory seat function on the driver’s seat allows two users to have automatically set adjustment. Stylish 19-inch alloy wheels, rear side door sunshade blinds and a silver front mesh grille and chrome surround add identifiable touches to the Sorento’s road presence.

The pro_cee’d ‘SE Tech’ is the most lavishly equipped version of Kia’s European-designed, European-engineered and European-built three-door hatchback. It is available exclusively with a 1.6-litre 126bhp CRDi turbo diesel engine and six-speed manual gearbox. It has identical insurance, economy and performance figures to the pro_cee’d ‘SE’ fitted with the same engine – officially rated 65.7mpg on the combined cycle, CO2 emissions of 112g/km, 0-60mph in 10.5 seconds, 192lb/ft torque between 1,900rpm and 2,750rpm, and a 122mph top speed. Standard equipment additions over the ‘SE’ include black leather seats with contrasting mesh inserts, an electric tilting and sliding sunroof with an automatic electric roller blind, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, front parking sensors and Kia’s Parallel Park Assist System (PPAS), that identifies suitable kerbside spaces and steers the car into them automatically.

The range-topping five-door Picanto ‘4’ is powered by a 1.25-litre 84bhp petrol engine driving through a five-speed manual gearbox linked to Kia’s fuel-saving ISG engine stop/start system. The car maintains the extensive equipment offered on the Picanto ‘3’ – including automatic air conditioning, 15-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights and LED rear combination lights, a premium Supervision instrument cluster and heated front seats – and supplements it with a number of luxury features.

The five-door Picanto ‘3’ Automatic is also powered by the 1.25-litre 84bhp petrol engine, producing 89 lb/ft torque at 4,000rpm. It is identically equipped to other Picanto ‘3’ variants, but features the four-speed automatic transmission previously available only on the three-door Picanto White and five-door Picanto ‘2’. In automatic form the Picanto ‘3’ is capable of 53.3mpg on the official combined cycle and has CO2 emissions of 125g/km. It accelerates from 0-60mph in 12.9 seconds, has a top speed of 101mph.

The new top-of-the-range Rio ‘4’ adds to the existing ‘3’ specification with convenience touches including a smart key with engine start button, a power sliding and tilting sunroof, black leather upholstery and a heated steering wheel. Rio ‘4’ is available in petrol and diesel engine variants. The 1.4 four-cylinder 107bhp petrol version features a six speed manual transmission, CO2 emissions of 124g/km. The six-speed manual transmission, 89bhp 1.4 CRDi diesel variant produces 105 g/km of CO2.

The Rio ‘3’ Automatic is also available only as a five-door model, has a 107bhp 1.4-litre petrol engine producing 101lb/ft of torque at 4,200rpm. Standard equipment matches that of other Rio ‘3’ versions, but with the deletion of the ISG engine stop/start system fitted to manual-gearbox models. Combined fuel economy is 44.1mpg, with CO2 emissions of 150g/km. The car accelerates from 0-60mph in 12.7 seconds and has a top speed of 105mph. Previously, the four-speed automatic was offered only on the Rio ‘2’.

Credits: Oneshift News Team