Kia Really Goes To Rio and Hyundai Nexo Goes Five Star.
Turbo or not turbo, that is the question. Kia seems to think the answer is yes, with the petite little Rio getting a rejig both in the mechanical and model sense. Finally the four speed auto has been given the flick and will be replaced by a six speed. The Si and SLi have also been discontinued and replaced by a model called Sport which will take the new six speed. The GT has a revvy 1.0L three cylinder and Kia’s own seven speed dual clutch auto.
It’ll still be a three model range. The S kicks everything off with the unchanged 74kW four with six pseed manual or, sadly, the four speed auto. There’s a pretty good list of standard equipment including the expected stability and safety programs, reverse camera, reverse sensors, six airbags, and the smart apps of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Sport goes up a notch with a leather trimmed tiller, the aforementioned transmission choices, leather trimmed gear selector, and electric folding mirrors. It’ll also roll on stylish 17 inch alloys.
The top of the range GT-Line features a three cylinder turbo engine. It pack a fair bit of a punch for the size, with 88kW and 172Nm of torque on tap. The new seven speed dual clutch auto should take advantage of that and make the GT-Line the car it’s deserved to be. Autonomous Emergency Braking, Idle Stop and Go, and Lane Keep Assist enhance the appeal. The funky GT-Line body kit, LED driving lights and position lamps, LED rears and LED fog lamps add to the visuals of the pert Rio GT-Line.
Along with Kia’s standard seven year warranty comes some sharp pricing. The S manual is a steal at $16,990 driveaway, and just $500 more for the S auto. The new Sport will start at $17,990 for the manual and $18,990 for the auto, with both also a driveaway price. The GT-Line remains super competitive at $21,990 and with the new seven speed DCT promises fire cracker performance in its price and class. Contact Kia for more details.
A car due to land in Australia in the first half of 2019 is the hydrogen fed Hyundai Nexo. With the known volatility of the fuel, safety is paramount and the Nexo has achieved a Euro NCAP five star rating. This makes it the world’s first fuel cell vehicle to receive this rating. To back up the claim is a full suite of safety equipment under the Hyundai SmartSense banner. Forward Collision Avoidance Assist with pedestrian assist utilises radar and camera technology. In a three stage process the FCA will alert the driver by sound and by a visual alarm. Assessing the situation the onboard system may apply the brakes depending on the danger level. Maximum emergency braking is applied if the system feels it’s warranted.
The onboard Lane Keeping Assist is part of the package that helped gain the EuroNCAP five star rating. That’s backed up by the Lane Following Assist system that’s also standard equipment. The pair keep the Nexo on the straight and narrow at speeds up to 150 kilometres per hour. Contact Hyundai for more details.
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