Kia Rio GT-Line revealed

Kia is pushing ahead with more GT Line models, the Rio small car being the latest addition, making its world premiere at the 2018 Geneva motor show.

Although the GT Line is not quite the fully-fledged high-performance sub-brand, like Hyundai's N Division, the GT Line models are offered on the Sorento and Sportage SUVs, along with the Picanto micro car and Optima medium car.

The Kia Rio GT Line adds 17-inch alloy wheels, funky new four-point LED fog lights and a number of gloss black highlights. The GT Line package is finished off with dual exhaust tips.

Not a great deal of effort has gone into the cabin of the upmarket Rio. It gets a flat-bottom steering wheel with GT Line logo. There's fake leather trim and some carbon-look accents but little else.

In Australia the Kia Rio is priced between $16,990 and $22,990. It is sold exclusively with a 1.4-litre petrol engine (74k/133Nm) paired to a six-speed manual or a four-speed auto.

In total, 6852 Kia Rio cars found homes in 2017, up 13.2 per cent on the previous year's sales.

Sales of the Volkswagen Polo (6515) were nipping at the Kia Rio's heels, while the likes of the Hyundai Accent (17,578), Mazda2 (12,101) and Toyota Yaris (11,226) were more popular with new car buyers.