Kia Picanto 2024: test, price and technical data sheet of the city car

Unrae data, January-June 2024: Behind the Fiat Panda and 500 duo, in terms of registrations, are their cousins ​​Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto. The two Korean city cars are the rivals of the small Stellantis. With the redesign – deep, very deep – of the third series of the Kia Picanto, the Korean advance is now comprehensive, thanks to a product that is extremely practical to use, agile in the city, technological, but also fun and precise to drive. And as much as possible nowadays, economical. In short, at a historic moment in the market where other car manufacturers (see Citroën and Peugeot, to name a few) are eliminating A-segment cars from the market due to the known difficulty of achieving profit margins, Kia is investing in the Picanto, giving it agility and making it available with a rich and technological standard equipment.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it is manufactured, design

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We’ve already had a chance to talk about how the new Kia Picanto is made aesthetically. Brief review: Adopting the new stylistic approach United Opposites – In keeping with the EV9 design – and a fresh, new design. So much so that it’s not ideal to talk about a new generation, although that’s not the case in all respects. The rich GT line has some good features, such as the honeycomb grille and the light strip Coast to Coast Able to combine the two headlights and a special bumper design, with glossy black edges that alternate with the other body colors. All in a design scheme that plays on the squareness of the shapes, giving it a greater character and presence on the road. The rims are offered in 14 or 16 inches, with the side area decorated, on the GT line, with a glossy black element in the side edge area. Also highlighted is the square light signature at the rear, which almost echoes the front and the bumper that leads – again on the GT line – to a small extractor. However, the other decorations are also captivating at first glance.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it is manufactured and dimensions

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The Picanto remains Kia’s top-of-the-range car. The 2024 city car is 360 cm long, 160 cm wide and 149 cm high, with a wheelbase of 240 cm and a 255-litre boot that can be expanded to 1,010 litres by folding the second row of seats. There are some considerations: with a wheelbase of this type – very long for the class – there is minimal front and rear overhang and better handling and manoeuvrability, even when parked; the luggage compartment is also at the top of the class, with a strong vertical development due to the conditions.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it’s made from the inside

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With a wheelbase of 240 cm, space for four people is more than adequate, not as limited as in other A-Classes, while the fifth place has been sacrificed – obviously. On the other hand, there are comfortable, well-padded seats and a practical central armrest that hides a well for storing some things. The controls inside are practical and intuitive, whether for the climate control or the buttons on the steering wheel. The crown, with just the right thickness, has cuts at the bottom and three spokes on the GT line, with nice contrasting stitching and materials that highlight the grip in the grip area, at 9 and 15. In the 20th anniversary year, which celebrates 20 years of the Picanto, the steering wheel is a traditional type, without any aesthetic factor at the bottom, but it is still a pleasant tool to handle throughout the journey. The rear passengers can benefit – in addition to the Type-C socket with fast charging – from the practical pocket located on the back of the right front seat where they can store various types of things.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it’s made and the technology

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The digital instruments include a 4-inch instrument panel display, which contains all the essential driving information, and an 8-inch diagonal central infotainment display with integrated navigation. Is the digital cockpit really that small except in a digital form? Only the central display changes (from 4 inches 2) while on the sides there are fixed-view color TFT displays. The 4 inches 2 therefore remains a purely digital question, because the driver actually has a much larger area to monitor. The easy-to-navigate 8-inch touchscreen alternates with two wheels and a series of physical buttons to manage the car’s infotainment system. Two USB sockets – one Type A and one Type C – are located under the air conditioning area, near the induction panel for charging the smartphone. Both the aforementioned navigator and compatibility with Apple Car Play and Android Auto are standard, as is the rear camera from the Urban trim level, the starting camera.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it’s made and the technology

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The version tested is the 1.0 MPI with a five-speed manual gearbox, i.e. the “basic” version. It is also possible to have it with a naturally aspirated 1.2 four-cylinder engine with 79 hp of maximum power, and in a few months the three-cylinder LPG variant 1.0 will also be offered. In any case, the 2024 Picanto tested in Turin features a three-cylinder engine with 63 hp at 5,000 rpm and 98 Nm at 3,750 rpm. This makes it attractive even for beginners, as it falls within the current requirements of new drivers. The traction is obviously front-wheel drive. The performance is not exciting, but for a little liveliness there is the 1.2: the three-cylinder engine has a top speed of 145 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 14.6 seconds. The declared consumption is 19 km/l and CO2 emissions are 119 g/km.

Kia Picanto 2024: How it’s going

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On the flats, the Kia Picanto 1.0 has no problems if you don’t have high demands. If you live in the mountains (Kia plans to sell 10% of the total) it might be better to switch to the 79bhp 1.2, an engine that hasn’t been tested but is certainly more engaging and quick. The new Picanto is also a pleasure to drive thanks to a very smooth clutch, a fairly precise gearbox, a convincing steering grip combined with responsive steering that doesn’t feel heavy at all, and handling that is as much a city car as it is, even more so with a 9.4m turning radius. The experience was limited to the few kilometres covered starting from the centre of Turin. If you are looking for liveliness in acceleration, consumption increases especially in slow traffic, reaching around 14 km/l in continuous start and stop, and it is better in smooth traffic or outside cities where it approaches the 18 km/l recorded in the WLTC cycle which also takes into account real driving conditions (and thus combines the two different measures Wltp and Rde).

Kia Picanto 2024: Pros and Cons

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Here are the strengths and weaknesses of the new Kia Picanto that were found during the national presentation in Turin.

• Driveability: Smooth clutch, correct driving position and plenty of front row space
• On-board technology and ADAS: There’s everything you need, from navigation to a standard rear-view camera and even Apple Car Play and Android Auto compatibility.
• Design: Attractive in a slide as this side is placed at the back of the menu.

• Consumption: Consumption increases in urban and congested roads, and is good when driving in or outside urban areas.

Kia Picanto 2024 GT Line: Prices

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The rich GT Line model sits at the top of the Kia Picanto range. It features an LED front strip, 16-inch alloy wheels with a custom diamond texture, smart key with push button start, automatic climate control and aluminium pedals. It is the only engine available with a 1.0 with 63 hp and a 1.2 with 79 hp, both in manual and robotic automatic variants, always with 5 gears. Prices are respectively 19,750 euros for the 1.0 MPi, 20,750 euros for the 1.0 MPi Amt, 20,750 euros for the 1.2 MPi and 21,750 euros for the 1.2 MPi Amt.

Kia Picanto 2024: Other Trim Levels

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Going down a step, the model is only available with the 1.2 four-cylinder engine, priced at €19,750 with the manual gearbox and €20,750 with the automatic gearbox. It also features 16-inch wheels, automatic climate control and a smart key, which sets it apart from the Launch Edition (or 20th Anniversary Edition) with wireless smartphone charging and artificial leather seats. However, the Launch Edition is limited to the 1.0 three-cylinder engine: €17,950 for the manual gearbox, €18,950 for the automatic. Its characteristics compared to the Urban? Full LED headlights, exterior rearview mirrors with integrated LED turn signals, a spare wheel and 16-inch alloy wheels. Finally, at the base of the range is the Urban, available only with the 1.0 63 hp engine and priced from €16,500 (€1,000 more if you opt for the automatic gearbox). With it you already have excellent equipment: the Kia Dab navigation system with an 8-inch touchscreen, compatible with Apple Car Play and Android Auto; Rear-view camera with lane projection; 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster; 14-inch alloy wheels; cruise control with speed limiter and lane keeping assistant. All items are also present in the most equipped versions. All prices should be considered as environmental incentives and any discounts are excluded. By the way: the interesting launch offer is accompanied by an additional discount of 500 euros for owners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd series of the Kia Picanto.