FastMotoring Motor News In Speed

Precisely a year ago, the all new Kia Rio reborn in Australia. The 2012 Kia Rio is the third generation of the car, which was first introduced in 2000. The first two generations of Kia Rio can be awful, but the latest generation of Rio is a total different set of stories. The car is sporty, award-winning run-around that seems as comfortable in most of the road conditions.

As you may know, the car has been spotted many times in Kuala Lumpur with trader’s plate. The new Kia Rio is rumoured to be launching by Q4 2012 in Malaysia. If you are in the market for a Volkswagen Polo or a Ford Fiesta, I would suggest you to wait and give the New Kia Rio a try.

Based on reviews, the car engineered with great handling and performance. Similar to the new Kia Sportage, the new Rio is designed by Massimo Frascella, an Italian car designer who’s had a hand in designing cars for Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar and even Aston Martin. This car is European designed, built in South Korean with a Korean price tag. The car has already received rave reviews (4.7 out of 5) from car buyer, and late last year it was the car awarded Semperit Irish Car of the Year. The Rio has also claimed Car Guide’s 2011 Car of the Year and won Slovakia’s 2012 Car of the Year.

The new Kia Rio has been hailed as a ‘great alternative to the Ford Fiesta’. Reviewers have also said that the Rio ‘continues Kia’s march upmarket and benefits from smart, contemporary styling, and generous space inside. In Australia, there are few variants available – 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrol engine, 3-door and 5-door versions.

The engine of the Kia Rio 1.4 output a maximum power of 79kW (105HP) @ 6,300rpm and a max torque of 135Nm @ 4,200rpm. Interestingly, the Kia Rio 1.6 comes with GDi D-CVVT engine that churning 103kW (138HP) @ 6,300rpm and a max torque of 167Nm @ 4,850rpm. Now I understand why the new Kia Rio was mentioned as “sporty” at the very beginning. I am sure the Rio 1.6 is one of the fastest subcompact cars in the market.

The Kia Rio 1.4 comes with 6-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission.  The top range, Kia Rio 1.6 comes with 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, there are no diesels variants in down-under land. You can check out the specifications across all variants of the new 2012 Kia Rio if you are in Australia.

Lastly, Kia has packaged the car greatly with its styling, performance and handling, but don’t take all their word for it. Just wait until we take the car keys for a test, we will judge whether this is faster and better or the Polo 1.2 TSI!

2012 Kia Rio pricing in Australia

- 2012 Kia Rio S – 1.4 litre petrol – six-speed manual – $16,290

- 2012 Kia Rio S – 1.4 litre petrol – four-speed auto – $18,290

- 2012 Kia Rio Si – 1.6 litre petrol – six-speed manual – $18,990

- 2012 Kia Rio Si – 1.6 litre petrol – six-speed auto – $20,990

- 2012 Kia Rio SLi – 1.6 litre petrol – six-speed manual – $19,990

- 2012 Kia Rio SLi – 1.6 litre petrol – six-speed auto – $21,990

To Kia fans, or Kia Forte fans, Yes. This is the new replacement model for the current Kia Forte. The New Kia Forte was unveiled in a shopping mall, South Korea. The video below shows the sneak peak process that leads to the full unveiled replacement model for the Kia Forte. In South Korea, the Kia Forte will be name as Kia K3 in their domestic market. In some other countries it will be named as Kia Cerato Forte. In Malaysia, due of the CKD collaboration with Naza it will be named as Naza Kia Forte.

The new Kia Forte  will go on sale early next year all over the world. The 2013 Kia Forte is longer, lower and wider than the current model. The next generation of Kia Forte is designed with a new bodyshell structure. Kia has implemented and more futuristic and dynamic styling with a sleeker body line , front-rear LED lamps and some of the chrome finishes.

Kia promises to deliver a better quality, upgraded equipment, more spacious cabin, and a revised engine line-up that further improve fuel economy. The Koreans will get the New Kia Forte or Kia K3 later this year. and we shall update once with get more photos from our Korean counterpart. Lets hope Naza will be able to CKD this model early next year. Let us know what you think below.

Gallery : Kia Forte 2013

Hyundai Motor Group announced that the South Korea’s largest automaker aims to sell a record 7 million cars worldwide in 2012 by strengthening production and sales abroad to outpace competitors amid the global slowdown.

Group chairman Chung Mong-Koo, in a New Year’s message to employees, said the world’s auto industry would see growth stagnate this year and competition intensify as the downturn cuts demand.

According to Hyundai Motor Group officially, the automaker sold 6.6 million cars worldwide in 2011. The production would reach full capacity in 2012 after adding its 30 overseas plants in 9 countries, including new factories in Beijing and Brazil.

Based on the survey conducted in UK, Honda cars are found to be the best-equipped to deal with potholes on “UK roads” (Please note: Not Malaysian road. Anyway, we expect the rate will be higher if the survey is conducted in Malaysia).

In the details of the survey, only 1.4% of Honda owners emerged to have to make a claim due to suspension or axle damage, which is the lowest follow by Toyota and Hyundai.

The survey results:-

Most resilient brands
1. Honda
2. Toyota
3. Hyundai
4. Nissan
5. Kia
6. Mitsubishi
7. Mini
8. Suzuki
9. Ford
10. Mazda

Least resilient brands
1. Chrysler
2. Smart
3. Mercedes-Benz
4. Land Rover
5. Jaguar
6. Saab
7. Fiat
8. BMW
9. Seat
10. Vauxhall

According to Duncan McClure Fisher of WarrantyDirect.co.uk, for luxury brands, such as Jaguar, Mercedes and Land Rover all featured in the least-resilient list. He expressed that surprisingly the high-end manufacturers are just as vulnerable, if not more so, than ‘value’ manufacturers.

Back to us, what you think about your Honda? Is it pothole-proof as describe as comparing to other manufacturers?

The above is the report from J.D. Power and Associates – 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). The statistics is work based on Problem per 100 Vehicles in North America.

Based on the reliability survey ranks Mini last and it is not surprising us that Porsche is more reliable than Toyota. Frankly, the real Porsche is really solid and durable on the road even with regular track day.

Automakers that above Industry average standards in US are like Infiniti (luxury brand of Nissan in US), Saab, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Buick, Acura (luxury brand of Honda in US), Toyota, Porsche, Jaguar, Lexus and Lincoln.

Automakers that below industry average standards in US are like Smart, Chevrolet, Volvo, Subaru, Kia, Audi, BMW, Scion (slightly economical brand of Toyota), Ram, Mazda, Nissan, GMC, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Dodge, Land Rover, Jeep and MINI.

Cars that below industry average standards that did not surprise us are like BMW, Chevrolet, Land Rover and Kia. But we are doubtful that why Volkswagen and Volvo are under that category. Maybe FastMotoring shall conduct one survey in Malaysia to share with our valued readers.