Spotted: a Kia Rio … sedan?

The spotted specimen

In Hoorn, we saw this 2018 Kia Rio. Except that the license plate is a bit newer than the car (it has been in the Netherlands since 2022), at first glance there is nothing special about it. Until we look at it from the side and back. This is the sedan version! It was never delivered to us.

Indeed, as far as we can tell, this generation of Kia Rio sedan was not officially on the price lists anywhere in Europe. The sedan versions of earlier model generations were still delivered in Europe, but in the Netherlands the sedan disappeared as early as 2005. Although we wonder who imports something like this and why, yours truly thinks it is a successful model and, above all, a nice, interesting spot.

The Kia Rio sedan: an overview

For as long as the Kia Rio has existed, there has been a sedan version. Only with the first generation was it also officially delivered in the Netherlands. That is the aforementioned model, which disappeared from the market here again in 2005. A new model generation appeared that year. Although the sedan version of that was no longer delivered to us, chances are pretty good that you have come across it on vacation in southern Europe (or eastward).

With the sedan version based on the third-generation Rio, it becomes a bit more unfamiliar territory for us. The number of European markets where this model was delivered was severely curtailed. With very few exceptions, this model only drove around Eastern Europe. To make things even more confusing, Kia introduced another Rio. A similar, yet rather different model that was primarily intended for the Russian and Chinese markets. There was also a sedan version of this, which was delivered in some other Eastern European markets.

The latest Kia Rio sedan

In 2016, the fourth-generation Kia Rio appeared, followed a year later by a new Rio for Russia and China. Again, a sedan version of both models also appeared. As mentioned, the sedan version of “our” Rio was not delivered in Europe, as far as we can find out. However, the ‘other’ sedan version could be found in only a few Eastern European countries. Meanwhile, the Rio as a whole has been succeeded by the Kia K3, a similar model that no longer comes to Europe at all.