UK: 2012 Kia Rio 3-door starts at £9,995.

The new Kia Rio is available to order now in three door guise for the first time in its history. The line-up of ultra-efficient engines, easy-to-understand trim levels and external dimensions from the five door, that went on sale in September last year, are carried over to Rio 3-door.

A striking coupé-like side profile and a £600 saving, compared to equivalent five door models, add to Kia’s already appealing B-segment hatchback. Rio 3-door is available with a choice of four engines – two petrol and two diesel that are carried over unchanged from the five door version. The highly efficient and much acclaimed 1.1 CRDi delivers sprightly performance from its 74bhp and 170Nm of torque available from a mere 1,500rpm and all versions deliver CO₂ emissions of 99g/km or below and fuel economy of at least 74.3mpg.

EcoDynamics technologies, such as Intelligent Stop & Go, will be a standard feature with all new Rio diesels, including the 1.4-litre models. The 1.4 CRDi is a four-cylinder diesel engine from the same U2 family as the 1.1. It develops 89bhp and 220Nm of torque. Economy and emissions figures are 70.6mpg combined and just 105 g/km of CO_2.

There are also two petrol engines in the new Rio. The entry-level unit is the 1.25-litre Kappa engine which made its debut in Kia’s smallest car, the new Picanto. This engine develops 83bhp and 121Nm of torque. The new Rio is also available with Kia’s 1.4-litre Gamma engine, developing 107bhp and 137Nm of torque. It also offers buyers the convenience of an automatic gearbox as an option to the standard manual.

All petrol manual versions of the new Rio comfortably exceed 50mpg, with CO₂ emissions below the EU’s 2012 corporate average target of 130g/km. Even the 1.4-litre automatic version of the Rio is capable of 44.1mpg in mixed driving.

Rio 3-door is offered in the same four easily understood trim grades – badged ‘1’, ‘1 Air’, ‘2’ and ‘3’ – as the five door version. Even on entry level ‘1’, standard features include daytime running lights, body-coloured bumpers, door handles and door mirrors, speed-variable front wipers, headlamp levelling, front electric windows, 15-inch steel wheels, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, two-way steering column adjustment on the petrol model (height-adjustable only on the entry level diesel), a tachometer and trip computer, split folding rear seats, a boot light, a 12-volt power socket and an MP3-compatible RDS radio and CD player with USB and AUX ports. Bluetooth is also standard on the petrol entry model, and on all versions with other trim grades.

The ‘1 Air’ grade is for buyers who want the comfort of air conditioning without upgrading to level ‘2’. The ‘2’ is distinguished by 16-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights and a chrome radiator grille surround. Inside, there is premium black cloth upholstery, a cooling glovebox, electrically adjustable heated and folding door mirrors with side repeaters, leather trim on the steering wheel and gearshift and a centre console armrest.

The luxurious level ‘3’ specification adds 17-inch alloys with low-profile tyres, LED daytime running and rear combination lamps, automatic air conditioning with auto de-fog, rain sensing wipers, cruise control, automatic projection-type headlights, heated front seats and six speakers instead of four.

And every new Rio, as with all Kias, is covered by the best warranty in the business, extending to seven years or 100,000 miles on parts and labour, excluding wear and tear items and subject to certain conditions. Insurance ratings are very low – as low as group three for the 1.1 CRDi versions. The 1.25-litre versions are in group five whilst the 1.4-litre petrol and CRDi versions are still only in group eight.

In terms of safety all Rio models enjoy exactly the same standard safety specification. The package includes the potentially life-saving features of electronic stability control (ESC), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), emergency brake assist (EBA) in addition to emergency stop signalling (ESS).

The new Rio also includes the helpful feature of Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) to prevent the car momentarily rolling backwards when pulling away up steep gradients.

Should an accident be unavoidable, the new Rio has a stiff body shell featuring front and rear crumple zones that absorb and dissipate crash energy to minimise the risk of injury to occupants as well as twin front, side and curtain airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners with load limiters for the front occupants.

Kia Care-3: Great value servicing

First introduced on the recently launched Picanto, Rio 5-door and all-new Optima, Kia’s Care-3 all inclusive national servicing package is also available on the new Rio 3-door. The Rio’s service intervals are 12 months or 10,000 miles across all four engines.

The Care-3 package is just £259 including VAT, which covers the first three services – either 36 months or 30,000 miles or the Care-3 Plus package is just £499 including VAT which covers the first five services – either 60 months or 50,000 miles.

These packages are not just excellent value for money, they offer a fixed cost and inflation proof servicing for the full three or five years. All work will be carried out by trained product technicians, using genuine Kia replacement parts and specified oils.

The Care-3 and Care-3 Plus package stays with the car, so is fully transferable to another customer. If a second owner would like the five year service package – on a vehicle with a Care-3 package, the new owner can top-up this package to cover the next two years.

The UK Rio 3-door model line-up and pricing 

Rio 3-door dimensions and weights – All unchanged from Rio 5-door.