Here are the very-first spy shots of the all-new 2011 Kia Rio, codenamed UB!

It’s been a long, long wait, but it’s over now! The very-first prototype of next-generation Kia Rio sedan has finally stepped out in public for the first time and  Sonytone.com spies were on hand to capture the moment.

Codenamed UB, the prototype of the next-generation Rio sedan sports some heavy camouflage, which is covering the most important styling details of the new car. What is clear already is the fact that the 2011 Kia Rio will feature far more attractive exterior appearance as the current model.

Its exterior styling will be influenced heavily by the up-coming 2011 Kia Cadenza and next-generation Kia Optima mid-size sedans. It is evident from these spy shots that the 2011 Rio takes some styling cues from the afore-mentioned sedans, which is not bad since both of them look outstanding. It is also evident that the all-new Rio sports a new Kia family look as seen on new Kia Sportage, Sorento, Soul and Venga mini-mpv.

These very-first Kia Rio UB spy shots confirm that the 2011 Rio will initially be available as a sedan, like the new Hyundai Accent. A five-door hatchback is also expected to follow later.

According to initial reports, the next-generation Rio is going to share its powertrain technology with the up-coming 2011 Hyundai Accent. Under the hood, engines options will likely include a 1.4L and 1.6L four-cylinder engines packing 107 and 126 horsepower, respectively.

If that doesn’t sound interesting enough, Kia is also expected to introduce  a more potent 1.6L GDI four-cylinder engine, packing 140 horsepower, in the next-Rio. At least two modern diesel engines are also expected to be available in Europe.

Although there is no official word yet about the inaugural launch date of the 2011 Kia Rio UB, latest rumours suggest that full production of next-generation Rio will commence in the first half of 2011.

2011 Kia Rio gallery:

This is a guest post from our daily reader Rob Woodward from Canada. You might know him as an owner of Reptile Kia Soul.

Thank you to Kia-World blog for allowing my team and I to get our message out, and for the donation we received from Kia-World.net towards our goal. If you are wondering what I am talking about please read below.

Well I will be leaving the Reptile Soul in the driveway on the weekend of September 11^th and 12^th, trading it for a couple good pairs of walking shoes, and over those two days my team and I will be walking to raise money to cure womens cancers.

The cancers we are raising money for include breast, ovarian, cervical and uterine. All the money raised goes the The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation (http://www.pmhf.ca), one of the world leaders in cancer research. You can visit the weekend site at www.endcancer.ca

Working together with health care and research professionals, patients, and the community, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation raises over $60 million annually to support breakthrough research and patient care and education programs of Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH). PMH is a recognized international leader in the fight against cancer. But none of this would be possible without the generous support, commitment and dedication of all its donors.

This is all the Foundation does, is work on finding a cure for cancer, so much in fact that there slogan or vision is TO CONQUER CANCER IN OUR LIFETIME.

We have just under 3 weeks left (deadline Sept 7^th at midnight EST), to reach our goal, and we are $1200 short. If anyone would like to donate to the cause it would be greatly appreciated. Please click one of the links below. All donation receive a tax receipt.

Donate here: http://www.endcancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Toronto2010?px=3414473&pg=personal&fr_id=1440

The highly-personalizable 2010 Kia Soul compact crossover vehicle receives yet another important citation.

For the second year in a row, Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com named the 2010 Kia Soul as one of the year’s “Top 10 Back-to-School Cars.” Students are going back to school and if kbb.com is right, we should see more students pulling over their new Kia Souls inside America’s leading campuses.

The popular website believes that high-school and college students will find the Soul’s modern style, wide interior space and modern technology very attractive.

With its unique styling and personalization options and outstanding safety and reliability ratings, the Soul appeals to both younger buyers and their parents. The award-winning five-door urban passenger vehicle, along with the 2011 Sorento and Sportage, reflects Kia Motors’ design-led transformation and continues to attract new buyers to Kia showrooms.

Other vehicles that made it to the popular website’s list include the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, Suzuki SX4 hatchback , Ford Crown Victoria, Saab 9-2X, Honda Fit, Pontiac Vibe, Mazda3 and Ford Fiesta.

The kbb.com editors made their choice according to these cars’ reliability, safety, affordability, practicality, and the latest safety and technology advancements. They were chosen from all new car models below $18,000 and used car models from whose retail value is under $12,000 based on the Kelley Blue Book Suggested Retail Value.

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Stunning Kia POP concept car set to make its official premiere at the forthcoming 2010 Paris Auto Show!

Kia Motors Corporation today released a set of images previewing the all-new POP concept car, which is scheduled to make its official debut at the upcoming Paris Auto Show.

With the new POP concept car, Kia continues its tradition of unveiling an eye-catching and environmental friendly concept vehicles at motor shows, which are all primarily used to showcase the automaker’s design and development capabilities.

According to Kia, the all-new POP concept car is a zero-emission electric vehicle, which features electric motor and next-generation lithium polymer battery.

As evident from the released pictures, the POP concept car offers seating for three, with two seats placed at front and additional one at rear. With only 3 meters in length, the POP concept vehicle is smaller than Kia Picanto, which is currently the smallest vehicle in the automaker’s model line-up. Its about the same size as Toyota iQ, which is already on sale in Europe.

The latest Kia concept is inspired by Kia Ray electric concept car, which has been unveiled earlier this year at New York Auto Show. It features LED lightning and large panoramic roof that reveals vehicle’s purple colored interior and chromed dashboard.

Kia announced it will take the wraps of its latest Pop concept car at the 2010 Paris Auto Show on September 30.  That’s when we expect to see more official shots and hear more details about the vehicle’s powertrain technologies and capabilities. Stay tuned!

Kia POP concept car image gallery:

Kia becomes the top-selling foreign automobile maker in Russia. July sales hit 10,000 units mark for the first time.

Kia Motors Company has been enjoying steady growth in terms of new car sales lately. The company has seen its sales soar in the US and South Korean market, as well as in Russia, where it has recently became the top-selling foreign auto brand in the country.

In July, Kia set a new sales record in Russia with sales surpassing 10,000 units mark for the first time since the company entered the market. According to latest reports from Autostat.ru, Kia sold 10.502 new vehicles there in July, up a whopping 105 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Year-to-date sales reports reveals that the South Korean carmaker sold 56.231 new cars in Russia during the first seven months of the year, which represents a 57 percent increase compared to the first seven months of 2009. This is quite an impressive sales result, especially when considering that the Russian car market has contracted sharply in the last few months or so, recording a 37 percent fall in sales in January this year when compared with the same month a year earlier.

Kia’s top-performing vehicle in Russia last month was cee’d hatchback, which saw its sales topping 3253 units. It was followed by Rio sub-compact car and Sportage crossover with sales of 3205 and 1677 units, respectively.

Taking second spot in July sales was Chevrolet, which sold 8.986 new cars. It was followed French automaker Renault and Toyota with 8.574 and 8.251 units sold, respectively. Kia’s sister firm, Hyundai Motor Company, took seventh spot among foreign automakers selling cars in Russia. Hyundai sold 7.201 new vehicles in July, while its sales soared 56 percent compared to a year ago.

According to Autostat.ru, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group topped the Russia’s import market in the first half of the year.

Next generation Kia Rio is set to give tough competition to VW Polo in terms of quality, aesthetics, and endurance.

Kia Motors has made a foothold in the automotive industry with the latest vehicle introductions. Exclusive style, power packed design, and high-end technology is the essence of every new vehicle launched from the house of Kia and the next generation Kia Rio is another feather in the cap of the company.

The next generation Kia Rio is expected to hit the market by the end of 2011. Latest news from Kia representatives suggest that new Rio is going to matchup with quality and technique of new VW Polo but definitely surpass Volkswagen in terms of style as it is being designed by design chief and former Audi man Peter Schreyer.

Great attention is being given to the exterior appearance of the upcoming Kia Rio in order to make the vehicle look unique and distinctive. Its design will be highly influenced from latest corporate models, such as new Kia Venga, 2011 Sportage crossover and 2011 Kia Optima sedan.

During the official launch of new Sportage in the UK, Kia’s design chief  Schreyer revealed the new Rio will use the latest corporate grille design. Apart from that, no other information has been released to the press.

How about powertrain technology? The new Rio is expected to share its platform with the upcoming 2011 Hyundai Accent, so you can expect to see gasoline direct injection -GDI technology applied to at least one of the Rio’s engines (possibly the 1.6L gasoline four-cyl. engine). Kia’s fuel-stretching Start-Stop (ISG) system, which switches off and then restarts the engine in congested city driving, is also expected to be available across entire Rio lineup.

More details about the next generation Rio sub-compact, as well as other Kia plans for 2011, will be revealed at the forth-coming Paris Auto Show in October. The fastest growing South Korean carmaker is promising to take the wraps off  “something very exciting” at the French exhibition!!

American automotive data provider ALG has declared that 2011 Kia Sportage has the highest residual value rating in the compact CUV section. The outstanding rating of 61-percent of original MSRP for 3 years of ownership has made 2011 Kia Sportage stand in the league of BMW and Subaru.

The 2011 Kia Sportage Residual Value is 20 point more than 2010 model, which is remarkable leap in the automotive industry. This compact utility vehicle has created a benchmark in the history of Kia Motors by attaining the highest residual value rating the company has ever received for any vehicle from ALG.

The high Residual Value Rating from ALG of new Kia Sportage have definitely added to the brand value of Kia Motors and will probably increase demand for the vehicle. Apart from the Kia Sportage Residual Value, the new 2011 model has a first-rate design and is equipped with the latest technology.

The change in size and style of Kia Sportage has given a new dimension to look of the vehicle.  The stylish look of 2011 Kia Sportage will significantly leverage the Kia brand. Not only the design of the new crossover vehicle has been revamped but, it is also added with more power and improved fuel economy.

The 2011 Kia Sportage also supports some advance features like panoramic sunroof, push-button start, rear camera display, navigation, LED daytime running lights and an air-cooled driver’s seat that will enhance the performance of the vehicle considerably.

In addition to all amazing features, the vehicle is said to have the UVO powered by Microsoft 1 in-vehicle communication and entertainment system based on the Windows Embedded Automotive platform.

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New Kia Venga MPV wins prestigious award from Autoexpress’ New Car Awards…

Kia’s hot loking Venga MPV has won another prize from automotive media. This time, the B-segment mini-MPV has won a highly coveted Best Supermini MPV award from UK’s Autoexpress.

Auto Express Editor-in-Chief David Johns told: New Kia Venga is a refreshingly honest machine that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or high-profile gadgets for its appeal. Instead, it simply provides lots of cabin and load space in a handsome package that also happens to be very attractively priced and good to drive.”

Critically acclaimed since its launch in February 2010 the European designed and built Venga combines attractive styling along with the practicalities and features of a larger car in a compact sub-four-metre package.

Kia Motors UK’s Managing Director, Michael Cole told: “Competition in this segment is particularly tough because customers are looking for an unrivalled combination of quality, style and value so I’m delighted that Venga has been recognised as the best in its class with one of the industry’s most prized awards.”

Other Kia Venga awards include: iF product design award and Red Dot design award.