Seoul - If you avoid designing a car during a coffee break - in other words, you design it properly the first time around - then you're going to have a lot more time for coffee breaks when facelift time comes around.
This seems to be the mantra followed by Kia and Hyundai, with pleasant looking products like the Sportage, ix35 and Elantra all having recently undergone rather subtle mid-life facelifts. Next in line is Kia's Rio and again it's a case of needing to hire a forensic investigator to help you spot the difference.
At least that's the case at the front end, where Kia's most popular global model retains a mostly familiar appearance despite stylists having redesigned the 'tiger-nose' grille, front bumper and fog lights. The rear end takes a bolder approach with a huge diffuser-like decoration that takes up most of the bumper. Is it not a bit overdone, perhaps?
Kia is also offering three new alloy wheel designs, ranging from 15 to 17 inches in diameter, and two new exterior paint colours, these being Urban Blue and Digital Yellow.
A sprinkle of extra flair hits the cabin in the form of chrome accents surrounding the four air vents on the dashboard and there's a new centre stack surrounding the audio system. Some markets will also receive the option of Kia's new AVN audio-video navigation system linked to a seven-inch screen.
Although the local range, and launch timing, has yet to be confirmed the new Rio is likely to carry over with the current 65kW 1.2-litre and 79kW 1.4-litre petrol engines.