Kia bucks the trend, staying faithful to the city car sector with the New Picanto

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Car Reviewed: Kia Picanto ‘2’ 1.0-litre 5-speed manual

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In a competitive market, the Kia Picanto stands out, value for money, good-looking and offering a range of desirable features that cater to owners who are mindful of their spending. Competitors are thin on the ground, but the Suzuki Swift Hybrid comes to mind.

The new range starts from £15,595 with a simple four-tier line-up: ‘2’, ‘GT-Line’, ‘3’ and ‘GT-Line S’. It features two petrol engines and a choice of transmissions, and it is now available to buy now.

Kia Picanto sales accounted for more than one in five A-class UK registrations last year as its sales climbed over 35% in 12 months, and now it has been given a significant facelift both outside and inside.

There’s a range of advanced technologies and inside Picanto offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an 8-inch touchscreen navigation and multiple USB charging ports, all of which are standard on every variant of the new Picanto and it has a suite of features to please the safety testers at Euro NCAP.

Under the small bonnet, you have 1.0 3-cyl or 1.2 4-cyl petrol engines with lower emissions than the previous versions and five-speed manual or automated gearboxes.

In the UK, the 1.0-litre engine is available on the ‘2’, ‘GT-Line’ and ‘3’ grade variants, while the 1.2-litre engine is available exclusively on ‘GT-Line S’ models, with the top model costing £19,145.

Luggage space expands from 255 to over 1,000 litres and seats four at a squeeze.

The Kia Picanto is available on a PCP deal with a 7.9 per cent APR and £1,000 finance deposit contribution from Kia. This is offered across the entire model line-up, from the entry-level ‘2’ to the range-topping ‘GT-Line S’. All variants come with Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty.

First impressions

Kia stands out in the city car sector and Picanto has always been a favourite. Its strong sales performance backs up the experience of running a car on a limited budget.

Our 2-grade Picanto test car had a distinctive diesel-like note from the ‘thrummy’ 3-cylinder petrol engine. It fairly whizzed up the rev range with ease and was not an unpleasant sound, just a busy one. The standard five-speed gearchange was feather-light and direct, which was just as well because the one-litre engine required frequent changes over the hilly test route we used.

Even so, with some longer stretches of flatter roads between the slopes, we recorded a very respectable 61mpg.

The maximum speed is a claimed 90mph, so it easily keeps up with the flow on motorways. However, you have tocarefully judge overtaking, with just 62bhp coming at a busy 5000rpm and only 93Nm developed at 3750rpm. The 0-62mph time is a sedate 15.4 seconds.

The front struts and rear multi-link suspension would not be out of place in a sports car, so it handles well despite some body roll due to its profile and a tendency to run wide on tighter turns unless you ease off the throttle,  the Picanto maintains a comfortable and controlled ride.

It’s roomy in front but less so in the back, with limited knee and shoulder space. As the seats fold, the boot capacity rises to 1010 litres from just 255 litres.

Value for money is where it’s at – The Kia Picanto is a very good, modern and well-equipped city car with long-legged economy potential and just group 5A insurance, which are important considerations with all motoring costs climbing so steeply.