Kia Rio spy shot

The all-new Rio, with a European design focus, is into final testing in Germany and is already confirmed for Australian sales midway through 2011.  The Rio is caught during testing in Germany where the five-door hatch - one of three models in the UB development program - shows a trendy style with an upmarket drive including alloy wheels.

The five-door Rio will be the first car into Australia, with the three-door hatch and four-door sedan to follow later.  "We are expecting an official reveal of the UB early in 2011. We will be launching the car here in the middle of next year," says Kevin Hepworth, spokesman for Kia Australia.

He agrees that the apparent growth in the five-door hatch’s length may not all be down to camouflage padding.  “If it has grown, that would open up the sub-compact category as a future possibility for Kia,” Hepworth says.

The design chief of the new Rio is Massimo Frascella, formerly at Aston Martin and Ford, who was also responsible for the body of the good looking new Sportage SUV. He works from Kia's design studio in California.

The mechanical package of the UB is completely new and Kia stresses it is not shared with anything in the Hyundai family, and definitely not the latest i20 baby car.

Frascella talked openly about the UB project during his visit to New Zealand this year for the Australian press preview of the Sportage, and insiders say a clay model of the car has already been previewed in Europe.

But Kia Australia has no information yet.  However, it confirms the car will be built in Korea for sales in Australia despite a plan which will see European cars built at one of the brand's European factories.

The new Rio is likely to be unveiled in Europe early in the new year, which points to a preview of the five-door hatch at the Geneva Motor Show in March.