The all-new Kia Rio was teased last week via official design sketches, and now an SUV version has been spied testing.

THE ALL-NEW 2017 Kia Rio will get its official reveal at the Paris Motor Show next month. The new-generation Rio is expected to build on the model’s success around the world and cement its position as the brands best-seller.

In interviews earlier in the year, Kia top brass in Europe suggested, in the same breath, the brand would releases an SUV variant of the Rio. And now UK publication, AutoExpress has published images of a Rio SUV testing in America.

It makes sense for Kia to launch an SUV variant of the Rio given the explosion in SUV sales around the world. Locally, the SUV segment is the fastest-growing segment of the market.

Not much is known about the high-riding Rio, but it’s likely to run the same engine lineup as the regular Rio. Given the brand’s push into green technology, it’s possible the Rio SUV will get a hybrid drivetrain.

There’s speculation the high-riding Rio will get its official reveal at the Geneva Motor Show next year before going on-sale towards the end of 2017.

Question: Would you buy a taller Kia Rio if it had on-demand all-wheel drive, rather than a competitor like the Nissan Juke?