Kia Picanto
New from £15,625 / £207 p/m
Is the Kia Picanto Hatchback a good car?
Read our expert review
Words by: Mark Nichol
"You can’t buy that many new cars like the Kia Picanto anymore: teensy, simple cars with teensy simple petrol engines, five doors, and a teensy price point. Cars that are cheap to run and easy to park. Cars that you look at and think “canny little runabout, that.” There are still a few, like the Toyota Aygo X, the perennial Fiat 500 and the Picanto’s twin, the Hyundai i10, but it’s a dying breed. It’s a shame because when little cars are done properly, they’re brilliant. Super satisfying to own because they’re genuinely good fun to drive while being cost-effective, and more practical than something the size of a TV cabinet has any right to be. The Picanto is a little car done properly. This is the second update of a model that first came out in 2017. In theory it should be on its last legs now, but Kia has given it one more facelift to give it a few more years on the road. Enjoy it while it lasts: it looks better than ever, still offers loads of value, and still serves up proper driving fun."
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Running costs for a Kia Picanto
5/5
You’re really looking at the perfect new first car here, because they don’t come much cheaper than this. Dacia Sandero aside. The simplicity of the thing, and the focus on keeping costs down (in a good way), makes it cheap as frozen chips to run. There are only two engines: a 1.0-litre or, if you want to go mad, a 1.2-litre. Both petrol. Neither of them have any electrical assistance, and both exceed 50mpg whether you go for a manual or an automatic gearbox. Every Picanto is in the bottom fifth of the insurance group ratings, and won’t cost much to tax, maintain, or repair. Proper budget motoring, this.
Reliability of a Kia Picanto
5/5
In the age of complicated petrol-electric hybrid systems and all kinds of fancy software-based tech, the Picanto feels like a mechanical anachronism. The basic drivetrain and electrical systems (and the fact that this car has been in production for almost seven years now) mean problems will be rare. And when they do happen, they’ll be cost-effective to fix. Kia tends to do well in customer reliability surveys – the Picanto in particular, over the years – and it comes with a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Nice.
Safety for a Kia Picanto
3/5
On one hand, the Picanto doesn’t look that ideal when it comes to safety. It’s a small car, so you don’t feel as inherently protected as you would in a high-riding SUV, or even something with a longer bonnet. That feeling’s exacerbated by the three-star Euro NCAP rating (out of five) that it achieved back in 2017. That said, it does have a lot of safety equipment as standard, including six airbags, traction control, braking assistance, automatic low-speed collision avoidance, and lane-keeping assistance. GT cars get auto collision avoidance for junctions and lane changing. It also has fuss-free infotainment and air con controls, including buttons and knobs – remember those? – so you’ll rarely find yourself raging at software submenus. That’s a safety feature in itself.
How comfortable is the Kia Picanto
4/5
Despite there being a couple of ‘GT’ models, which evoke added sportiness and dynamic tuning, all Picantos are mechanically the same – engine and gearbox choice aside. But one of the fun things about a small car with small power and thin tyres is that, when it's set up properly, it can be almost as much fun as a proper sports car: loads of road feel, easy to chuck around, but without the speed to get you into trouble. The Picanto is beautifully set up in this regard. It’s the most fun you can have with something really slow this side of a trip to Disneyland with Joey Essex. How comfortable you’ll find it will depend on how you feel about being bounced around a bit, though. The Picanto does that, while also feeling quite firm over the road. It’s...unsophisticated. But then you’d expect that. And the way it leans into corners while having ‘road feel’ is the basis of its character. The driving position is brilliant for such a small car, too – lots of adjustment and significant headroom. It’s mainly rear passengers that pay the price for the Picanto’s stunted stature. Two adults in the back will be rubbing shoulders, assuming they can get their legs behind the front seats in the first place.
Features of the Kia Picanto
4/5
Kia still offers four trim levels with the 2024 update, starting at ‘2’ and ending with GT-Line S. But take a number 2 and you’ll definitely be satisfied. It gets alloy wheels, heated door mirrors, rear parking sensors, manual air conditioning, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a digital instrument panel, an eight-inch touchscreen including navigation, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A '3' gets you bigger wheels, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, keyless entry and wireless phone charging - a lot of car. 'GT Line' and 'GT Line S' mainly add styling stuff - fancier wheels, body kit, gloss black trim and a few visual upgrades for the interior. The boot’s a decent size: 255 litres, about enough for three stuffed bags for life. The price walk is very reasonable, too, starting at £15,500 (give or take a few quid) and rising by about a grand with each trim level; you'll pay around £19,000 for a Picanto GT Line S with everything thrown at it, the bigger petrol engine and an automatic gearbox.
Power for a Kia Picanto
3/5
Two petrol engines, a 1.0-litre with 62 horsepower and a 1.2 with 77 horsepower. It’s potatoes and tomatoes, to be honest. Neither is powerful or quick, so you’d probably only choose the more powerful one if you live at the bottom of a hill and/or regularly carry other people and a boot full of stuff. We’d go for the 1.0-litre manual in a car like this, to keep your costs down, albeit it’s great to have an auto option if you’ll be using your Picanto in busy stop-and-go traffic a lot. The Picanto is of course quite noisy, especially at motorway speed, but the 1.0-litre engine in particular forms part of its character. It growls a bit, in that characteristic three-cylinder style. The start-stop system is a bit uncouth though, sending a judder through the cabin like Harold Bishop’s flustered jowls.
Lease deals
These deals are based on terms of 8,000 miles, for a 36 month lease with a 6 months initial payment.
Standard equipment
Expect the following equipment on your Kia Picanto Hatchback. This may vary between trim levels.
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