Review
Despite being one of the cheapest new cars on sale in Britain, the Picanto offers decent kit and a painless ownership experience - unlike most of its key rivals, it doesn't feel like you're being punished for trying to save money.
The baby Kia's styling is pleasing enough, with a cute radiator grille treatment at the front end combining with the conservative styling of the rest of the car. The interior does feel cheap (you could hardly expect it not to), but it feels tough and robust with a reasonably well designed dashboard. Front seat space is reasonable, although limited driving position adjustment means that taller drivers are likely to find their knee catching the dashboard. Rear seat space is tight for anyone larger than kids and the boot is tiny - although luggage space can be increased easily by collapsing the rear seat back.
On the road the Picanto performs reasonably well - light controls making it easy to drive and with handling up to the challenge of ziping around town. Beyond city limits performance is very limited, especially with the less powerful 1.0 litre engine - although the 1.1 litre option is markedly better at cruising.
But it's standard equipment that the Picanto does best. Even the most basic 1.0 S boasts ABS brakes, central locking and a CD playing stereo. And for not much more the 1.1 LX adds air conditioning, remote central locking and four electric windows. Group 2/3 insurance and 55 mpg-plus fuel economy mean that running costs are impressively low, too.