A new survey of motoring costs by the respected ADAC (Automobile Club von Deutschland) has shown that the Kia Picanto is Europe´s “most economical car”.

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Using the ADAC´s database of 5,500 new cars and information collected from some of the club´s 15 million members, the survey concluded that the total annual ownership costs for a Picanto 1.1 LX five-door hatchback was €4,537 or 30.2 cents per kilometre – making it the economic champion of Europe in its class.


For the survey, published on 15 July 2005, the total annual ownership costs were calculated over a four year period, covering 15,000 kilometres each year, and include purchase price, depreciation, residual value, scheduled servicing and maintenance, fuel, tyres, brakes, insurance, taxes and VAT.


As well as beating the 10 closest rivals (shown in the table below) the Picanto performed better than well established models from several major European manufacturers including Renault (Twingo 1.2, 32.0 cents), Ford (Ka 1.3. 32.1), Opel (Agila 1.0, 32.4), Volkswagen (Lupo 3L TDI, 33.6) and Smart (Roadster 0.7 , 38.8).

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