Kia's Baby Picanto Receives an Update

Across the Atlantic, in Spain, Kia is preparing to take the covers off its faceliftedcity car, the Picanto. This is a truly small vehicle, the smallest vehicle Kia has ever built, and one that is significantly smaller than the Rio subcompact. The Picanto is located in the class below subcompacts, a category of vehicles we currently don't have here. It's significantly larger than the Smart fortwo, but smaller than a MINI, if that gives any indication of its dimensions. While Kia and Hyundai share platforms and development on vehicles, the Picanto was developed by Kia, and there's no Hyundai equivalent.

In a market hungry for small, affordable cars, Kia has had great success with the Picanto. In less than three years Kia managed to attract a quarter million European buyers into their smallest car, in a segment in which it had no previous experience. Currently, the Picanto competes with cars like the Toyota Aygo, the Daewoo-designed, Korean-built Chevrolet Matizand the segment's veteran, the Ford Ka.

So, what's new with the Picanto? Besides the doors and the roof, every other body panel on the car is brand new, and styled with European flair. Overall, the new bumpers add 1.6 inches to the overall length of the car, most likely done to help it perform better in the EuroNCAP pedestrian crash tests.

In terms of its design, the biggest change is to the grille. The previous car's grille was oddly shaped and its most common point of criticism. The new grille looks like a scaled down version of what's fitted to our Rondo mini-minivan, or the European c'eed. The little Picanto also gets “rounded theme” headlamps, a standard rear spoiler, and turn signals that have been integrated into the side-view mirrors. Picanto buyers also get the choice of nine different bright and cheerful colors.

So far, Kia hasn't released any information about the Picanto's powertrain, but as it's their smallest vehicle expect a engine lineup with tiny displacements. Currently, the Picanto is available with a choice of three different engines, a 1.0-liter inline-three, a 1.1-liter inline-three, and a small three-cylinder turbodiesel. The larger gasoline engine makes just 65 horsepower, while the top of the line diesel makes 75 horsepower thanks to a variable geometry turbocharger. By comparison, Kia's 110-horsepower Rio must seem like a rocketship!

Nevertheless, these city cars are designed for running to and fro in urban areas, so more power really isn't needed. Though we haven't seen the interior, Kia says that it's been upgraded with higher quality materials, and that the stereo system is also more powerful.

Unless Kia changes its mind, it's extremely unlikely that we'll ever see the Picanto in North America, which is a shame given its attractive design, roomy cabin and extremely efficient engines.