Kia’s redesigned Picanto city car has been unveiled ahead of its public debut at the Geneva show in March. The new, entry level tiddler will go on sale across Europe from 1 April. It made its domestic debut, as the Morning, in January.
This is the third generation of the A-segment model.
Go deeper with GlobalData
It will be offered with three petrol engines, including the new one-litre turbocharged gasoline direct injection (T-GDI) power unit recently launched in the B-segment Rio. This is the first time this car has had a turbocharged petrol engine.
Michael Cole, chief operating officer of Kia Motors Europe, said: “The Picanto is one of Kia’s best-selling models around the world, and has a particularly strong fan base here in Europe. We are confident that the new Picanto will help us further build our profile and market share in this very competitive segment.”
Worldwide, more than 1.4m of the current generation have been sold since launch in 2011 with more than 300,000 of those sold in Europe. Despite the car approaching the end of its life cycle in showrooms, Kia sold more than 55,000 in Europe in 2016, up 3% year on year.
With the wheelbase extended to 2,400mm (up 15mm), the wheels have been pushed further out to the corners of the car for a 25mm shorter front overhang. Length is unchanged at 3,595mm.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataRear overhang is up 10mm to 520mm.
The choice of 11 paint colours includes six new shades. The Picanto is fitted with 14-inch steel wheels in its most basic form and four aluminium alloy wheel designs, ranging from 14-inch to 16-inch in diameter, are available further up.
New projection headlights with LED indicators and LED daytime running lights are standard and from Q3 2017, a shark-fin antenna on the roof will replace the existing aerial.
In common with top selling siblings like the Sportage, Kia will also offer the Picanto in a new GT-Line specification. This adds red, silver and black highlights in the grille, side intakes, along the side skirts and in the rear valance, as well as chrome-tipped twin exhausts.
A more modern, refined cabin with new materials and layout adds a greater sense of quality for occupants. The predominantly horizontal design adds greater visual width to the interior, highlighting the increased cabin dimensions.
The dashboard layout is now more centrally aligned, with a large seven-inch ‘floating’ touchscreen at the heart of the centre console and moving many of the car’s controls further up into the driver’s line of sight. A satin chrome-effect strip runs across the dashboard for a higher quality ambience, and large, vertical air vents at either end book-end the front passenger compartment.
Customisation is possible. While black and grey cloth seats are standard, buyers can also personalise with one of five optional colour packs, featuring contrast artificial leather upholstery and stitching.
The contrast colours of the seats can be paired with optional new colour pads on the door armrests, echoing the contrast scheme selected for the seats. The new GT-Line derivative will be equipped with a D-cut steering wheel and its interior will be available with the full range of colour packs.
As with Rio, Kia has axed the three-door versions for the third generation.
A new central armrest for front passengers can slide back and forth up to 55 mm – a claimed first in the class – and covers a small storage compartment designed to accommodate a one-litre water bottle or a sunglasses case. At the base of the centre console is an open double-shelf tray to store mobile devices and other small items, with retractable twin cupholders which can fold away to yield more storage space.
Beneath the sun visors in the front of the cabin, the vanity mirror also features bright new LED lights and a strip of mood lighting.
The boot has grown from 200 litres (VDA) to a maximum 255 litres – claimed to be the most of any car in the class – and also features a two-step boot floor, which can be raised or lowered by 145 mm to create additional space as required, as well as create an under-floor storage area. The 60:40 split-folding rear seats can be folded down completely flat with a one-touch lever, for maximum ease of use. This also boosts cargo capacity to 1,010 litres.
Comfort levels are also improved. Where the seats in many A-segment rivals provide one-piece back rests with integrated headrests, the new Picanto has fully-adjustable headrests, which move up and down and tilt forwards and backwards. The new seats have the same seat-base materials and construction found in larger Kia models (such as the new Optima). In the rear, the angle of the back rest is more reclined – from 25 to 27 degrees – and slightly more prominent side bolsters on the rear bench further improve comfort and support during faster cornering.
Designed to reduce the body roll angle under cornering by up to 1° and enable more immediate reactions to steering inputs, the Picanto’s anti-roll bars are 2% stiffer and mounted slightly lower at the front, and 5% stiffer and slightly higher at the rear.
The torsion beam rear axle has been reshaped and features newly-designed trailing arms, helping to reduce weight by 1.8 kg over the rear axle with no loss in component rigidity.
A new steering rack means the steering ratio has been quickened by 13 per cent over the outgoing Picanto, from 16.5:1 to 14.3:1.
The new Picanto is the first car in its class to offer buyers torque vectoring by braking – an additional function of the Electronic Stability Control system.
The one- and 1.25-litre naturally-aspirated multi-point injection (MPI) engines have been carried over from the outgoing Picanto, with a range of enhancements to improve efficiency and driveability. The one-litre turbo will be available from Q4 2017. All engines are paired with a five-speed manual transmission, Idle Stop & Go is available on some manual models, and the 1.25-litre MPI engine is also available with a four-speed automatic transmission.
New refinement measures include a new soundproofing panel beneath the dashboard and in the floor of the cabin, while expandable sound-absorbent foam has been applied to lower sections of the A- and B-pillars. Beneath the bonnet, a new sound-absorbent engine cover and reshaped air intake help to isolate engine noise from the cabin. The structure of the engine mounts has also been revised to counteract engine vibrations. Furthermore, the windscreen wipers have been lowered by 6 mm to reduce the level of wind ‘roar’ generated at the base of the windscreen
As a result of these upgrades, the new Picanto produces a claimed quietest-in-class 39 dB of noise at idle – 3 dB less than the current A-segment leader – and 68 dB at a steady cruise.
The seven-inch touchscreen at the centre of the dashboard houses a navigation system with 3D map, and is available with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for full smartphone integration. A rear-view parking camera with dynamic guidelines is also on offer. A wireless smartphone charger and USB port located at the base of the centre console are optional.
Six airbags (front, front side and curtain) are standard and a kneebag is optional. Active safety features include standard Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Optional are Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and an indirect Tyre Pressure Monitoring System is also available.
European versions will have Kia’s usual seven-year, 100,000 mile warranty.
