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Kia's dinky Picanto impressed us at its launch in 2011, largely due to its huge improvement over the first-generation model. Trouble is, the city car sector’s moved on leaps and bounds over the past four years, with rivals such as the Hyundai i10 and VW up! pushing the game on in terms of build quality and big-car refinement.
So, to keep the Picanto fresh, Kia has given it a mid-life facelift – and we’ve got behind the wheel for the first time.
Blink and you’ll miss the refresh, though, because as with the Rio supermini, the changes to the 2015 car are subtle. So discreet, in fact, that we couldn’t tell our test model apart from the old car at the front. At the back there’s a reprofiled bumper, but other than that Kia was clearly content with the four-year-old Picanto’s design. It still looks sharp, however, so we can forgive that.
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Inside you’re even harder-pushed to spot any changes, with the overall design and layout the same as before. Some materials are better, and a chrome strip brightens up the dash, but again it’s very subtle. What has improved, though, is kit; our SR7 gets auto lights, electric windows and mirrors, Bluetooth, parking sensors and hill-start assist. There’s no DAB radio, though.
More vibrant colour combinations are also available for the upholstery, but in our model the cabin felt quite dark and rather soulless. At least the switchgear is solidly built and it’s all logically laid-out. Rear-seat passengers still get a reasonable amount of space, but the 200-litre boot is smaller than in rivals such as the Skoda Citigo.
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Under the skin, improvements come in the form of a new Euro 6-compliant 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. The figures look strong; it claims 67.3mpg and slips under the 100g/km barrier at 99/km, the same as for the outgoing car. And 0-62mph has improved by 0.5 seconds to 13.9.
However, although 68bhp and 95Nm of torque seem reasonable, the engine doesn’t feel as perky as similarly sized units in the Toyota Aygo and Citigo, while the i10 does a better job of disguising that resonant three-cylinder thrum.
The Picanto settles down at speed, but feels quite out of its depth on the motorway. We managed 47mpg over mixed routes, but expected better.
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The ride is smooth and refined thanks to the small 14-inch alloys, and road noise doesn’t intrude too much, although it’s susceptible to crosswinds at speed. Plus, there’s decent grip, and body roll isn’t too pronounced.
It’s a shame, then, that the steering feels slow to react in quick direction changes, with artificial weighting making it feel sticky. This means the Picanto simply can’t match the Citigo, i10 or up! for fun.
- Price: £9,845
- Engine: 1.0-litre 3cyl petrol
- Power: 68bhp
- Transmission: Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 13.9 seconds
- Top speed: 95mph
- Economy/CO2: 67.3mpg/99g/km
- On sale: Now