Sit down, buckle up and let’s take a trip down memory lane to explore a magical makeover story that would make Oprah Winfrey cry (well maybe not Oprah). Today on Kia Buzz, we’re going to outline the design evolution of the Kia Rio and how it went from an ordinary subcompact to a top selling vehicle that has won multiple prestigious design awards.
1987 (Pride)
The Rio’s origin dates back to an earlier model which was known as the Kia Pride in 1987. This mini hatchback was sold in Korea from 1987-1997 and was a joint project between Kia, Ford and Mazda. It was sold in the US as the Ford Festiva.
1994 (Avella)
The Pride became the Kia Avella in domestic Korea and was sold as the Ford Aspire in the US. All Avellas came standard with 13 inch wheels, a four-speaker stereo, heated rear glass, anti-lock brakes (ABS), driver’s side airbag, and door impact beams. It was also the first South Korean car in its class to offer dual airbags and ABS-brakes.
1999 (Rio)
The Avella was discontinued in 1999 and both it and the Pride (first generation Ford Festiva) were transformed to the Kia Rio (except it still goes by Pride in Korea). The Rio was now available in both hatchback and 4-door sedan body styles and featured a 96 horsepower, 1.5-litre DOHC 14 gasoline engine from 2001-2002.
Yes, these name changes might be confusing, but simply think of it as the classic tomato saying, “You say ‘tomayto,’ I say ‘tomahto.’Sometimes a car model goes by different names in various markets and regions.
2002
A few years later, the Rio received a slight redesign with new exterior and interior styling along with engine, suspension and brake upgrades.
2006
A fairy godmother transformed Cinderella’s pumpkin into a stunning horse carriage, and in a similar fashion, bringing Peter Schreyer on board as Kia’s Chief Designer Officer was indeed magical. He dramatically introduced new design improvements and our engineers were inspired to match looks with performance with a 110 horsepower 1.6-litre DOHC four-cylinder engine.
2010
In 2010 the Rio embraced Kia’s distinctive tiger nose grille and added some modern and high-tech features such as Bluetooth hands-free phone operation and a new gauge cluster.
2011 – Present
And after 25 years of enhanced design, performance, safety, features and fuel efficiency – we arrive at the present day All-New Rio. It has both style and performance with a choices of 1.2 and 1.4 GDI engines, multiple trims, colors and options to meet the needs of drivers from all walks of life. Talk about the power to surprise!
Learn More
- Check out our previous posting, which dives into the details of the All-New Rio’s design code and story.
- Visit our Rio microsite or download our Rio iPad app here to explore and customize your very own Rio virtually.
Note: Trims and specifications vary by region for more details about what’s available in your area, be sure to ask your local Kia dealer.
What do you think?
What are your thoughts on the Rio’s design transformation? If you’d like to know the history of any other Kia models, let us know in the comments section.
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