Carmall.com - "Its back looks like that of the Audi A3's," uttered a CarMall.com editorial staff.

"Yup, some of the fellas at KOI (Korea Otomotif Indonesia) had the same comment," replied Syukur Akbar I, Branch Head of Kia Bintaro.

The above dialogue became our first impresson of the All-New Kia Rio as we tested the hatch last mid-July. To save us from already some curiousity, we immediately looked up the Internet, which turned up the name Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer of Kia Motors. This shed the light for us...

This 59-year-old German man is the designer behind the birth of the Audi A3. We were even more impressed to know that the Audi TT also attributes its design to his name. These facts spiked our expectations towards this Rp183.5-million hatchback.

Exterior

Firstly, these once words by Schreyer feel relevant to mention, "In the past, Kia's lineup have been out-and-out standard. Upon your sight of them in the streets, Korean or Japanese seemed impossible to tell... And for us, it's a crucial matter that you are able to recognise a Kia at first sight."

In respect to its preceding generation, known as the Pride, the All-New Rio is indeed more of a revolution than evolution.

One of the exterior parts that has received more exposure, from both Kia Mobil Indonesia as well as the national media, is the "Tiger Nose" design - first introduced at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Schreyer interprets his understanding of the "Tiger Nose" through the grille design, which has also become the unique feature across Kia's lineup.