Kia Picanto 125 X-Line S, one of the best small cars for 2020

In Car Reviews, Kia by Tom Scanlan

There’s often something that immediately strikes you about a new car. Take the Kia Picanto X-Line S…it was the colour. Was it yellow? Was it green? The answer lay inside the car.

The yellow. (I concluded) accented on the dash and door armrests. The whole effect gave the car a sort of funky appeal. Perhaps more to young people than older citizens.

Being a crossover, it sits slightly higher than the other standard Picanto. From the driver’s seat, all-round visibility is excellent, as you should expect from such a small car.

And driving the Picanto?

Well, one of the pleasures of driving small cars is that they seem so easy, especially if most of your time is in busy traffic and tight spaces.

It drives perfectly well, nothing particularly special about its sheer performance (0-60 mph in 11.6 seconds. It’s quite quiet, has a nifty five-speed gearbox able to give super-fast manual changes, (always a delight); and the steering is virtually effortless at any speed, not that you don’t get enough sense of the road you’re driving over.

The longest single journey I made was an hour-and-a-half in varying traffic conditions and I got out of the car feeling not the slightest bit stiff. Kia’s designers have obviously taken on board that super-minis, self-evidently not very spacious, need a good variety of handily-space cubbies and containers — high points for the Picanto in this regard.

You also get functional connectivity, with a useful smart-phone tray with a USB point.

The boot is quite versatile and the rear seat or seats couldn’t be easier to fold down and up again.

I liked the little interior petrol-cap I locker; why don’t all cars have this?
The car arrived with about 60 miles on the clock after its journey from base at an average consumption shown as 44 mpg. In my further 250 or so miles, this increased to a creditable 53.2 mpg; in my hands, therefore, let’s say more like 55 mpg. I’d be happy with that and matched the WLTP’ high’ rating of 55.4.

As such, the 35-litre fuel tank should give a range up to around 350 miles.

This Picanto X-Line S is well-equipped, including a satnav and other info. I found it all reasonably intuitive to access. In fact, for the price of £14,545, the list of features, safety equipment, comfort and convenience and materials is really impressive.

The Kia Picanto is undoubtedly one of the best of the current crop of small cars available, the Picanto 125 X-Line S in its top of the range form, offers a lot for your money and Kia’s unbeatable seven-year warranty.

Car reviewed: Kia Picanto 125 X-Line S, on the road price £14,545 0-62mph 11.6secs Top speed 107mph Engine 1248cc 4 cylinder unleaded Euro 6.2 Fuel Economy Combined 54.3mpg CO2 emissions TBC Max Power 84PS@6000rpm Torque 122Nm@4000rpm Transmission 5-speed manual

What the others say on YouTube

A selection of the latest video reviews of this car….Just click to watch on this page.

Tom Scanlan

Motoring Journalist

Tom Scanlan has written for a wide variety of magazines and newspapers, particularly the Reading Evening Post for ten years, having got into motoring journalism in 1973 via the somewhat unlikely back door of the British Forces Broadcasting Service. BFBS produced a weekly radio motoring show for the services overseas and Tom produced it, as well as interviewing experts and eventually reporting on cars.
He is into classic cars and has owned Porsche, Ferrari, pre-war Alvis and Rileys and currently owns his fifth old Alfa Romeo, a 1984 GTV 2.0.
In his spare time, Tom is a professional cricket coach.

” Drive | Quotes “

“I don’t run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving”. – David Attenborough