Mobility

Small, inexpensive city cars haven't completely disappeared from the European automotive landscape. One of them is the Kia Picanto. A nice little Korean car, tried out as a cure for realism.

It's a wonderful job to be a motoring journalist, where you can travel the roads of Europe at the wheel of cars, each more luxurious and powerful than the last. But sometimes, it's time to get back to basics: cars that are accessible to all. A cure is in order. The Kia Picanto fits the bill perfectly. And there's no question of going backwards or denigrating it, because it's not necessarily easier to be small and efficient than technological and flashy. So, full of curiosity, I took the keys to the city car in its coolest GT Line for a week of testing on every type of road in Belgium.

Techno

Right from the start, the 8-inch central touchscreen is a real eye-catcher. Kia has clearly understood that the city car market includes many young drivers. This may be the first new car they can afford. So it's not just the styling that's important, but also the interior, with a world in tune with the times. The Korean has navigation, but it's also compatible with Android Auto and Apple Car Play, with the right USB-C plug. The handset behind the steering wheel is just as digital. There are controls on the steering wheel and a row of physical buttons, notably for the climate control, always more ergonomic than 1,000 menus on a screen. And that's for another part of the target clientele: grandparents ????

Good leverage

As soon as you start driving, you'll notice one small reproach. The cruise control lacks relevance when you can't see the recorded speed. I looked, but couldn't find a way of displaying the activated limit on the dashboard. As a result, it's not practical. Except perhaps on a long motorway journey. The real old-fashioned handbrake between the seats, increasingly replaced by an automated electric device, has the flavour of yesteryear. Apart from the fact that it could enable you to make sharp turns on snow-covered roads with winter tires, this old-fashioned device is above all economical. Relevant! The same goes for the 5-speed manual gearbox. That said, Kia hasn't forgotten its customers looking for a car that's easy to drive. So the Picanto can also be fitted with an automatic gearbox, even with the 62hp entry-level engine.

A breath of fresh air

It's a 1.2 l 4-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine delivering 79 bhp and 113 Nm. Not exactly Fast & Furious. 0 to 100 kph takes around 13 seconds, with the right foot ready to pierce the floor at every gear change initiated by an energetic left foot. The absence of a turbo means you have to rev the engine to get the minimum punch. Overtaking requires good anticipation and gearbox handling, even if it means doing a 5-3 to avoid staying on the wrong side of the road for too long. In any case, as soon as you leave the 30 and 50 zones, you have to juggle with inertia to keep the momentum. And that's where we manage to keep fuel consumption within ecofriendly margins: 5.6 l/100 km.

Well

Overall, the car is very pleasant to drive. Particularly in town, it's docile and easy to handle, with good steering that's precise and appropriately assisted. Not very wide, it weaves its way through the urban jungle with ease. It turns around just as easily. In underground parking lots, you don't feel like you're shoe-horned in. The Picanto is fitted with the obligatory driving aids, and for a reasonable price, you can enhance the ADAS (as driving aids are known in the trade) with a package of options. On the other hand, a reversing camera is standard. Another plus for parking. Despite its 3.60m length, the Kia is officially a 5-door, 5-seater. At 4, it's viable, at 5 it's abused. The boot is in keeping with the size of the car: tiny. As a result, some of the weekly supermarket shopping has ended up in the back seat. Which folds down.

Nothing goes right

Today's anti-pollution standards and safety requirements for new cars don't solve the main problem for the average buyer in 2024: price. The Kia Picanto, nice as it is, requires a budget of at least €16,000 with 58hp, and almost €20,000 to make it flexible with the 79hp engine in our test. For the GT-Line, we even exceed €21,000 in Belgium and CHF25,000 in Switzerland. In France, it remains under €20,000 in its most beautiful guise. Still! At least there are few options, and the package including sunroof and all driving aids is priced at €900 in Belgium and France. The auto gearbox costs €1,000. Fortunately, tax is still payable. And Kia also offers a 7-year warranty on the Picanto. Phew! In the end, it's a car that will reconcile youngsters and grannies. Neither too technological, nor too slipper-like, the Picanto understands that driving is sometimes an essential need that must be simple yet comfortable and enjoyable.

(MH with Olivier Duquesne - Source : Kia - Picture : © Olivier Duquesne)