Spy Shots: Kia Rio Spotted

Today, our spy shooter delivered these photos of the new Kia Rio five-door hatchback.

The little Rio will be powered by a 1.2-liter, 78-horsepower engine, a 1.4-liter good for 101 horsepower, and a 1.4-liter diesel mill making 98 horsepower. The 1.4-liter Rio will use a six-speed manual transmission, with an optional automotic. The 1.2-liter will only be offered with a five-speed manual, which sounds fine to us.

Our photographer says we can also expect to see a three-door version down the line.

Scroll down for the photographers comments.

The South Korean brand Hyundai/Kia is hard at work developing new models and the latest catch is these first photos showing the new Kia Rio. The new Kia Rio will share its platform with the Hyundai i20 and therefore it will also share both engines and gearboxes with the Hyundai brother. That means a choice of two petrol engines, 1.2 liter with 78 horsepower and a 1.4 liter with 101 horsepower. Diesel buyers will have to settle with the 1.4 liter CRDi with 90 horsepower. The 1.4 is available with both 6-speed manual gearbox as well as an automatic gearbox while the 1.2 is only available with a 5-speed manual.

The Kia Rio is designed at the Hyundai/Kia design studio in Germany, like most of the latest and upcoming cars. This prototype is a 5-door hatch but we can expect a sportier looking 3-door hatch as well.