If you’re on a budget of, let’s say under AED 50,000, and are on the lookout for a well-built, decently equipped and cheerful little hatchback, the Kia Picanto is right up your alley. First introduced in the mid-2000s and based on a modified platform of the erstwhile Hyundai Getz hatchback, the first-generation Kia Picanto was mostly sold in certain Asian and European markets. However, sales really took off when the Korean marque unveiled the second-gen Picanto in 2011, and it was now built upon the Hyundai i10’s platform. Finally, in 2016 and after a few facelifts, it was time for the brand to reveal the all-new third iteration of the brand’s most successful A-segment car till date.
The third-gen Kia Picanto quickly gained popularity in many of the world’s new and emerging markets, including the Middle East. The new Picanto not only sported a more mature yet eye-catching exterior design, but also brought along a profusion of improvements in overall refinement and quality, too. Among the multitude of styling upgrades, some of the most noticeable have to be the funky headlamps, Kia’s signature 'tiger-nose' grille, more aggressive front bumper accompanied by a better sculpted rear one, short front & rear overhangs, trendy 15-inch alloy wheels, flared wheel arches, and C-shaped LED tail lamps.
Measuring in at 3.595 meters in length, 1.595 meters in width, 1.495 in height, and with a wheelbase of 2.400 meters and a boot capacity of 255 liters, the Kia Picanto is clearly a small vehicle. Step inside the cabin of the Picanto, and its rather restrictive proportions reflect in its overall interior space as well. Of course, one can easily seat four adults in here sans any issues, though it will likely be a tight squeeze if you plan on carrying three in the back. However, the design of the new Kia Picanto’s interior looks modern and is fairly well crafted. And considering its price, there still are some decent quality materials in this cabin, though you’ll have to put up with the cheap bits as well.
Behind that stubby nose of the new Picanto, sits its 1.2-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, which employs dual overhead cams and a multi-point fuel injection system for maximum efficiency. The result is 84hp at 6,000 rpm and a peak torque figure of 122Nm at 4,000 rpm. In the UAE, all variants of the front-wheel drive Picanto use a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox as standard. Tipping the scales at just under a ton, the Kia Picanto doesn’t have much weight to lug around, which should result in excellent fuel economy and brisk performance. However, the matter of fact is that this tiny four-popper doesn’t have much juice and the antiquated 4-speed gearbox isn’t the best in the market. Despite all that, the Picanto can achieve around 6.0 L/100 km on a combined cycle, while the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h takes somewhere around 14 seconds to accomplish. Meanwhile, the top speed of this Kia hatchback is in the neighborhood of 160 km/h.
The 2019 Kia Picanto is available in two trim levels in the UAE; there’s the Base car that starts at AED 43,000 and the Top version which costs AED 49,900. The fully-loaded Picanto does get some nice features like projector halogen headlamps with LED DRLs, two-tone alloy wheels, front & rear fog lamps, keyless entry, leather seat upholstery, power-operated door mirrors, leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel, automatic climate control, and a 7-inch touchscreen multimedia head unit with Bluetooth, MP3, AUX and USB connectivity. Its safety gadgets include dual front airbags, anti-lock braking system, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, ISOFIX child-seat anchor points, and a tire pressure monitoring system.
