Car: Kia Picanto range
Prices: £6,495-£8,495 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-3
Emissions: [1.0-litre] 118g/km
Performance: [1.1-litre] 0-60mph 15.2s / Max Speed 95mph
Fuel Consumption: [1.1-litre] (combined) 56.5mpg
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 3495/1595/1480
PIC & MIX
Our Rating: 6.7 / 10
Kia have mixed in a few extra elements to their Picanto citycar’s successful recipe. Jonathan Crouch checks out the revised version
For Kia, the Picanto citycar was a turning point. When it was launched in 2004, their Sedona MPV had registered the marque in public consciousness but it was still a car you mainly bought on account of its low price. The Picanto on the other hand, could square up to its rivals on equal terms. Kia did rather well with it.
The crucial issue that needed to be addressed when the time came for a facelift was the rather low rent interior (even for a cheap citycar). As you would expect from the thorough Koreans, the revised model takes steps to sort that out.
This Picanto is recognisable by a new front end that features softer lines, a re-designed front grille and more rounded teardrop-shaped headlamps. Existing owners will recognise the rest since every panel from the windscreen back has been carried over from the pre-facelift version. If it ain’t broke… As before, the rear is dominated by a large curved glass screen and some very large light clusters. The chunky utility styling gives the Picanto a substantial look that’s a welcome relief to some of the rather insubstantial looking rivals in its class. It certainly feels a good deal better screwed together than, say, a Daihatsu Charade although those customers looking for a big car feel will doubtless shell out the extra for a Fiat Panda.
Inside, some attempt has been made to improve the ambience of the cabin. Higher quality plastics have been used, swiped from the larger cee’d, the car that has also lent this Picanto its classy orange backlighting for the instrument panel. There’s a revised layout for all the various functions and you can now plug in your MP3 player to the adaptor now provided.
Under the bonnet, there’s the same petrol choice as was on offer in the original model, with either 60bhp 1.0-litre or 64bhp 1.1-litre motors. You might imagine that picking between these two units on the basis 4bhp will be tricky and you’d be right. The engines are identical in all aspects except for the 1.1-litre’s extra 87cc of capacity. The 1.1-litre is the only model available with the four-speed automatic gearbox and that might swing it for some but the standard 5-speed manual is perfectly agreeable.
As you’d imagine, performance is similar whichever engine you choose and the Picanto isn’t especially quick. The 1.0-litre performs the 0-60mph sprint in 16.4s and can reach a 93mph top speed while the 1.1-litre chips in with a 15.2s showing and a 96mph top speed. The automatic gearbox blunts performance considerably slowing the car to a laborious 17.9s 0-60mph time. Economy is obviously far more important than pace in a car of this nature and the 1.0-litre’s 55.4mpg average is very tempting. It’s certainly enough to make you question the need for an expensive diesel engine and the 1.1-litre model’s 54.3mpg is similarly convincing.
As befits a car with a high roofline, front headroom is an impressive 1,003mm up front and 996mm in the rear which means that there’s ample space for taller drivers. Front legroom is also very good thanks to the compact engines with 1,041mm up front and up to 872mm in the rear. Shoulder room is very good front and rear although this is a car that you may not want to travel in five up. With 19 storage areas dotted about the cabin, Kia have done their homework when it comes to sheer utility, learning lessons from their huge selling Sedona and Carens MPV range.
It would be unreasonable to expect a huge amount of luggage space given the car’s urban remit, and the 157 litres of available room won’t make the Picanto your first choice for a trip to IKEA. Fold the seats flat and there’s a reasonable 882 litres of space but you’ll struggle for length. The 60/40 split rear seat back offers a little extra carrying space if you’re travelling with three on board. A fairly rudimentary manual temperature control system is fitted as standard although there is an optional air conditioning system (but quite what running this on full blast does to the car’s acceleration remains to be seen). Prices start from around the £6,000 mark and most Picantos are fitted with electric windows and mirrors with remote central locking for all four doors and the tailgat
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