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Kia Australia has confirmed the updated Rio hatch will be available in July.

 

Locally, the Rio S and Sport variants will retain the 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 74kW and 133Nm. It will be paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

 

The GT-Line is still powered by the 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol unit, however, it has been detuned to 74kW (from 88kW) and 172Nm. The drive is sent to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

 

At this stage, Australia misses out on the latest mild-hybrid powertrains available in European markets.

 

Externally, the Rio gets a refreshed front design featuring a tweaked ‘tiger-nose’ grille, a lower and wider front bumper, and a new fog lamp housing.

 

Two new exterior colours are also available for the GT-Line - Perennial Grey (also available on Sport trim) and Sporty Blue.

 

On the inside, all Rio models now get a larger 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

 

Sport and GT-Line variants also gain a new 4.2-inch driver information display in the instrument cluster. The GT-Line also gets climate control and an automatic window defogger as standard.

 

The Sport model gets a safety boost with the autonomous emergency braking system now recognises cars, pedestrians and cyclists. Previously this tech was only available on the GT-Line.

 

Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Alert and High-Beam Assist are now standard on the Sport and GT-Line.

 

Full specs and pricing for the updated 2021 Kia Rio will be announced closer to the launch date in July.