Review: Kia Picanto

New style, a new engine and new, improved handling for Kia’s popular city car

Considering the strength of the opposition – Hyundai’s i10 and Volkswagen’s Up, to name two of the best – the old Kia Picanto did pretty well with its natural attributes of quirky looks, strong prices and long warranty.

The new 2017 Picanto is making a more serious attempt to dislodge those class champions. In terms of its physical size, there’s no difference between the old and new Picantos, but plenty has changed.

Styling is new inside and out, with more interior space, more soundproofing and a new infotainment system. Moving the front and rear wheels farther apart has also allowed Kia to enhance both ride and handling while speeding up the steering.

Under the bonnet, a new 98bhp turbocharged three-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine has joined the non-turbo three-cylinder 1.0 and four-cylinder 1.2 petrols from the old model. All the engines have a five-speed manual gearbox. You can spec a four-speed auto for the 1.2.

How does it all stack up on the road? Sadly, we weren’t able to try out the new turbo engine as it doesn’t go live until later in 2017. Of the un-turboed engines, the 83bhp 1.2 is smoother, more responsive to the throttle response and decently pacey if you lean on it, albeit accompanied by a fair amount of mechanical noise.

It’s a better option than the 66bhp 1.0, unless you do all your motoring in town, as the smaller unit has to be caned if it’s not to lose momentum on hillier roads. As you’d expect, the 1.0 has better fuel economy and CO2 emissions figures, but the flatness of its power delivery is disappointing.

Refreshingly, switching between 15 and 16in wheels didn’t seem to compromise the handling or comfort, barring the introduction of a little extra jiggliness on rutted roads with the 16s. The new model’s stiffer anti-roll bars, more rigid body and quicker steering do combine well to create a more agile feel compared to the old model. It’s not quite up there with a VW Up for driving pleasure, but the new steering has a good weight and precision to it and mid-corner grip is good.

The new car is also impressively refined. City cars can’t compete with bigger and more luxurious cars, but the Picanto’s extra sound deadening keeps it impressively free of tyre, engine or wind noise even at higher speeds.

There’s no three-door version of the new Picanto, only a five-door. Front seat space has benefited from lifting the dash, and the new central armrest works with a manually adjustable driver's seat and steering wheel to deliver an excellent driving position. Back space is also better than the old car’s, but it’s easily beaten in this area by the Hyundai i10.

You’ll find better news in the new Picanto's boot. Its 255 litre space has a wide opening and a height-adjustable boot floor. That, plus 60:40 split-folding rear seats, makes it a more practical cargo-carrier than either the Up or the i10.

New personalisation options include a choice of five interior colour packs, along with cloth or artificial leather trims. Again, the overall effect is more upmarket relative to the old Picanto, but it’s still not on a par with the VW Up.

It fares better on infotainment. Kia is offering a new 7.0in colour touchscreen with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but it would unusual for this to be incorporated into every trim level. It’s a responsive system with clear high-res graphics and intuitive menus.

No UK specs or prices have been announced yet, but we expect Kia to follow its usual '1','2','3' and 'GT Line' spec structure, with a like-for-like increase of about £500 over equivalent old model specs.

The changes Kia has brought in on its new Picanto have created a smooth riding, sweet driving city car that’s also a relaxing companion on bigger roads. The top grade infotainment system is class-equalling, and we would be surprised if safety features like autonomous emergency city braking aren't included.

There’s room for improvement on engines, interior quality and rear space, but taken as a whole the Picanto has become a recommendable car.

Kia Picanto 1.2 GT Line

Engine size 1.2 petrol
Price £10,500 (est)
Power 83bhp
Torque 90lb ft
0-62mph 12.0sec
Top speed 107mph
Gov't economy (official combined) 61.4mpg
CO2/BIK band 106g/km/18%
Insurance group 9
Airbags 6
Doors 5
Seats 4/5

Tony Middlehurst​ is a writer for WhatCar.