The KIA PICANTO at a glance
- Price from* £6544
- CO2 emissions from 114g/km
- MPG up to 67.3
- Insurance group from 2
- *Price PLUS 1st Reg Fee & Road Fund Licence
A well screwed together budget citycar, the Kia Picanto is more than substantial enough to stand up to its rivals on equal terms.
Recently the Picanto has undergone a few minor tweaks and with its soft lines, teardrop headlamps and chunky styling it feels much more capable than many other cutesy cars in its class.
The Kia Picanto's cabin has had some improvement made to it with higher quality materials now used throughout, and there's an MP3 compatible stereo with orange backlighting on the instrument panel which all add to the refinement. The New Kia Picanto may be compact, but it's very tall, meaning lots of headroom for taller drivers. Supremely practical, the Picanto boasts 19 nifty storage compartments and 882 litres of cargo space with the seats down.
Ultimately it's the number crunching that counts in a car of this type and the Picanto's stats stack up well. Of the two petrol units available the 60bhp 1.0 litre comes out on top with very persuasive fuel economy of 55.4mpg, closely followed by the 64bhp 1.1 litre's 54.3mpg. You don't pick a car like the Picanto for its pace, however the 1.0 litres 0 to 60 sprint is a reasonable 16.4 seconds and maxes out at 93mph, compared to the 1.1 litre's 15.2 seconds and 96mph. The engines are mated to a five speed manual gearbox, four speed automatic transmission is only available with the 1.1 litre.
Safety features are well catered for, with anti-lock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution and twin airbags. Side and curtain airbags are available on request. Unusually for a car of its class, the new Kia Picanto features disc brakes all round. Entry level Picantos come with electric windows and mirrors plus remote central locking. Not bad considering you can snap one up from around the £6,000 mark.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information above, however, errors do sometimes occur. Therefore, please check all details with the dealership, prior to your purchase.Prices, details & information subject to change at any time without notice. E&OE. Images shown are for illustration purposes only, and may not be the exact vehicles on offer.