Kia Picanto: A Joyful Ride Away from SUVs in 2024
- The Kia Picanto offers a refreshing driving experience after a market saturated with larger SUVs and hybrids.
- Available as a five-door model, it features four main trim levels, with a focus on affordability and fun-to-drive characteristics.
- Despite a starting price of £16,000, its appeal lies in its compact size and practicality in urban environments.
The Kia Picanto, launched in its latest iteration in 2017, brings back the joy of driving a compact city car amid a marketplace dominated by larger SUVs and crossover vehicles. Many consumers have moved towards these more substantial models due to their perceived benefits in space and versatility. However, navigating increasingly crowded city streets has underscored a growing need for smaller, more agile vehicles, where the Picanto excels. The review found the Picanto offers a light-hearted driving experience with its responsive three-cylinder engine and compact dimensions. Designed for urban environments, the Picanto is available in various trim levels, appealing to a range of buyers. The base model comes well-equipped, ensuring practicality for city dwellers. While competitors like the Hyundai i10 and Toyota Aygo X provide similar offerings, the Picanto stands out for optimizing its modest interior space despite its compact size. Enthusiasts particularly appreciated the seven-second 0-60 mph acceleration, notwithstanding the noise at higher speeds. However, the market for city cars is dwindling, overshadowed by the trend towards electrification and the complexities of smaller electric models due to range limitations. Thus, its starting price reflects market realities, positioned at £16,000. Despite the challenges facing small car segments, the Picanto remains a unique and entertaining choice, vital for maintaining the existence of city cars in the auto industry.