Continental Associates, a subsidiary of the Continental Group and the sole authorised distributor of Korean auto maker Kia in Nepal, rolled out the all-new Kia Rio on Sunday. The car is available in hatchback and sedan options.
According to the company, the Rio comes in three variants, each available in hatchback and sedan models.
The new Rio has no resemblance to its predecessor, and boasts a sporty and elegant look, said Continental Associates.
Addressing the launching ceremony, president of Continental Group Suhrid Ghimire said that Kia has given the new machines a European look with minute attention to design details and with its trademark characteristics both on the outside and the inside.
“We have been selling Kia vehicles in Nepal for the past two decades, and there are around 6,000 Kia vehicles on Nepal’s streets. With these new variants, we aim to take our stakes here one notch higher,” said Ghimire.
The new Kia vehicle has been fitted with four bulb MFR type projection lamps, Kia’s signature twin tab grille, big and wide front bumper, projection type fog lamps, prominent rear combination lamps, 15-in alloy wheels, sunroof in automatic transmission variants and an aerodynamic body. As for the interior, it features leather upholstery, aesthetic seats, air conditioning, Bluetooth, audio control system and factory fitted music system with branded surround sound system.
Kia has powered the Rio with a 1.4 l Gamma Engine which delivers 107 ps of power at 6,300 rpm and 13.8 kg torque at 4,200 rpm. The car comes with a six-speed manual transmission system or four-speed automatic transmission system. The Gamma engine, according to the company, has MPI (Multi-Point Fuel Injection) technology and has been built with light weight die-cast aluminium which maximizes fuel efficiency and reduces carbon dioxide emission, the company said. The Rio is one of the most environment friendly cars produced by Kia, the company added. Likewise, the car’s MDPS (Motor Driven Power Steering) makes handling very light and a pleasure for driving. Its high suspension allows the Rio to navigate all types of Nepali street conditions without having to worry about ground clearance. The Kia Rio has been rated five stars in terms of safety features by the Euro NCAP. The EXII and above variants of the car are equipped with driver and passenger airbags and ABS (Anti-Lock Braking system). The deeper crash pad with thicker foaming and strengthened front and side sills give an added sense of luxury and, at the same time, better safety.
Other interesting features of the car are aero blade wipers which keep the wiper blades in contact with the windscreen at high speeds, solar control glass that reduces the penetration of heat rays for a cooler cabin, rain sensor that senses raindrops on the windscreen and activates the wipers accordingly, 15 l glove box cooling which keeps drinks cool and auto defog system that detects mist on the windscreen and automatically deploys the fans to defog the screen rapidly.
Continental Associates has priced the vehicles in the range of Rs 3.24 million to Rs 3.99 million.
According to the company, the vehicle will be available in nine different shades—white solid, bright silver metal, fresh beige pearl, beg signal
red pearl, wendy brown pearl metallic, electronic blue pearl metallic, formal deep blue pearl metallic, platinum graphite pearl metallic and aurora black pearl colour options. The company gives a 100,000-km or three-year warranty.
