- Kia Canada extends professional soccer partnership in Canada with addition of third MLS team.
- Fully customized Rio 5-Door designed in conjunction with the Montreal Impact revealed at Montreal International Auto Show.
- Special edition Rio 5-Door will support the 2012 Montreal Impact season
MONTRÉAL, Jan. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Kia Canada Inc. is pleased to announce an exciting new cooperative partnership with the Montreal Impact. This all-new partnership marks the third official Major League Soccer (MLS) team in Canada that Kia Canada is associated with. In a collaborative effort, both Kia Canada and the Montreal Impact debuted a Special Edition 2012 Kia Rio 5-Door at the 2012 Montreal international Auto Show.
Montreal Impact players, Greg Sutton and Patrice Bernier, were present to reveal the special edition Kia Rio 5-Door to unveil it for the first time today at the Montreal International Auto Show.
"We are excited to partner up with the Montreal Impact, which allows us to whole-heartedly support the MLS in Canada as the exclusive automotive sponsor of all three Canadian teams," said Robert Staffieri, Director of Marketing for Kia Canada Inc. "To celebrate our partnership with the Montreal Impact there was no better vehicle choice than the all-new 2012 Rio 5-Door - with its athletic stance and sporty design."
The 2012 Rio 5-Door subcompact has received recognition by the ABC (Automotive Brand Contest), winning the exterior design category, and has also been honoured on the WardsAuto "2012 10 Best Engines" list, with its 1.6-litre Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine. The Gamma engine was recognized for its fuel efficiency, versatility and available Idle Stop and Go (ISG) technology.
The Rio 5-Door Special Edition vehicle will be present at select 2012 Montreal Impact home games at Saputo Stadium (Stade Saputo) and will also be used at a variety of promotional events and venues throughout the surrounding Montreal area.
"The Montreal Impact is pleased to have Kia as a founding partner of the club as we enter our first season in Major League Soccer," mentioned John Di Terlizzi, Vice President Corporate Sales & Development at Impact de Montreal. "We are most impressed by their commitment to soccer in Canada and look forward to growing our brand and the Kia brand and its family of exciting vehicles through mutual activations in the marketplace. The Rio 5-door special edition is a fine example of this."
The Rio 5-Door Special Edition vehicle was specifically designed and crafted with ultimate detail to showcase both brands in the highest form. Three areas of the vehicle were individually designed, which allowed for the common Montreal Impact theme to interlace throughout the vehicles exterior, interior and engine bay.
2012 Kia Rio 5-Door Montreal Impact Special Edition
Exterior
Custom paint job
Montreal Impact special edition rear badge (paired with Rio badge)
Frosted sunroof featuring Montreal Impact logo
Interior
Custom Montreal Impact seats (Impact colours)
Custom Montreal Impact logo embroidered head rests
Custom Montreal Impact blue dash inserts
Custom Montreal Impact logo floor mats
Custom Montreal Impact logo centre console
Custom Montreal Impact logo shifter
Customized machined brake and gas pedals with Montreal Impact logo
Wheels/Rims/Suspension/Brakes/Engine Bay
17-inch rims and tires
Montreal Impact logo on wheel centre caps
Custom Kspec coilover lowering springs
Customized brake caliper covers feature the fleur-de-lis
Custom painted Montreal Impact logo engine cover
Sound System
Clarion mono amplifier
10-inch subwoofer
Montreal Impact logos on speaker covers
2012 Kia Rio 5-door
Starting at $14,095, the all-new Rio 5-Door ushers in the next chapter of Kia Motors' ongoing design-led transformation with previously unseen levels of eye-catching design, advanced technologies and sophistication in the small car segment. The Rio 5-Door exhibits highly sculpted sloping shoulder lines and a wedge-shaped exterior that projects an athletic profile conveying power and agility. With all-new GDI technology and increased power, the Rio also returns remarkable fuel economy of 4.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway, promising consumers impressive fuel efficiency without sacrificing power or fun-to-drive performance.
Rio's high-strength steel structure includes an innovative Halo Body construction designed to help protect occupants in certain side impact and roll-over collisions, while additional standard safety features include six airbags (dual advanced front and front-seat mounted side as well as full-length side curtain), side-impact door beams, height-adjustable front seatbelts with pre-tensioners, three-point seatbelts for all seating positions and Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH). Also standard on all Rio trims for increased driver and passenger safety are Electronic Stability Control (ESC), four-wheel disc brake with Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), which coordinates the car's ESC and ABS to help the driver stay in control of the vehicle.
Available in five trims - LX, LX +, LX ECO, EX and EX Luxury - the 2012 Rio offers a 1.6-litre GDI four-cylinder engine with a standard six-speed manual or available six-speed automatic transmission. The 2012 Rio offers consumers the elusive combination of power and impressive fuel efficiency, achieving class-leading 138 horsepower while also maintaining fuel economy ratings of 6.6 L/100 km in the city and 4.9 L/100 km on the highway. Rio also offers available ISG technology, new to the Kia lineup, where the engine turns off when the vehicle is not in motion such as at a stop light or in traffic. The engine restarts automatically when the driver releases the brake pedal, resulting in lower levels of fuel consumption and emissions. This technology is not currently offered by any other model in the segment.
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Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart -- is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) in Korea was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte and Sorento through a network of 173 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 150 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and four regional offices across Canada. Kia Motors Corporation continues to showcase the company's global commitment to surpassing customer expectations through continuous automotive innovation
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e-mail: [email protected]
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