KIA PICANTO
Autocar UK|September 11, 2024
As rivals fall by the wayside, Kia's popular city car gets a makeover
KIA PICANTO

The supermini before you will, we suspect, turn out to be the slowest car this magazine tests all year, notwithstanding the subject of Matt Prior's Christmas road test. Then again, based on previous candidates, that machine could well possess not a chassis but a hull.

But forget about performance, because the 3.6m-long Kia Picanto is still one of the more unusual and interesting cars we'll test in 2024 more unusual as a type of car than even plug-in hybrid supercars, which now outnumber truly small hatchbacks. It will be news to nobody that city cars are an endangered species. Low margins, the cost of advanced safety features and a shift in market demands have all played a part in the thinning out of their ranks, yet diminutive, highly affordable, economical cars still have a role to play - and rather a noble one, if you ask us. That's what this £15k Kia offers: easily accessible, trusty motoring. And perhaps a little fun? Let's find out.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

PROS Usefully narrow; weighs less than 900kg on our scales

CONS The turbo 1.0-litre unit has been retired; chassis carried over

This Picanto looks fresh, what with its hammerhead-style headlights, which ape those of the monolithic new EV9 SUV, Kia's largest model. However, underneath the tweaked exterior sits the same platform that arrived in 2018. The JA generation of Picanto is thus fundamentally unchanged, with MacPherson struts ahead of a torsion beam. This means it remains remarkably narrow, easily slipping through gaps that even a Volkswagen Up would need to slow for.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 11, 2024 من Autocar UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 11, 2024 من Autocar UK.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من AUTOCAR UK مشاهدة الكل
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024