Car Star of the month: Kia Picanto

When you are looking to buy a new car, reliability of your prospective purchase is one of the major factors that will likely enter your head. Of course, reliability is specific to each individual car and as such you are likely to hear contrary remarks made about the same make and model; one motorist’s experience might be of a non-stop nightmare while another might tell you his car is the best thing since the invention of the wheel.

Small car, solidly built

That’s why when consumer publication, Which Car? studies the reliability of new cars, it doesn’t do it by half. In fact in June it released the results of a study of 26,000 new cars bought in the UK, to get a true and full picture of reliability performance. What you won’t expect from this survey is that it was a budget supermini which came top.

While an expensive, luxury 4×4 languished at the very bottom of the league a small yet unstoppable Kia Picanto came top. Yes that’s right, the Kia Picanto, beating, well everyone, including rival popular supermini rivals such as the Fiesta, Yaris, and Corsa. In total the Picanto scored an impressive reliability score of 98.1 per cent. The little supermini topped the list for reliability amongst cars up to three years old and was one of the top five in the four to eight years old category as well.

First introduced in 2004, the Picanto supermini is Kia’s oldest car in its range and remains its best seller, despite a growing line-up which now includes the Soul, Venga, Cee’d and Sportage.

Refreshed in 2008, the Picanto continued to attract the buyers. While clearly a budget car, at a starting price of £7195 and providing a choice of just four grades and two petrol engines, the little car attracts buyers looking for a little in-town run-around, a second car or a very first car, and these roles it is perfectly suited to.

With only a 1 litre or a 1.1 litre petrol engine to choose from, performance car this isn’t and as such the figures are far from exciting; the 1 litre option achieves 0-62 mph in 16.4 seconds, while the 64 max torque is delivered at 2900 revs. Yawn indeed, but what did you expect? Handling wise, its got adequate grip if a little too much bodyroll yet there is definitely worse out there in this sector. It’s hard over uneven surfaces and wind noise is a little on the ear bleeding side on the motorway, but on the plus side its nimble around town, got good fuel economy and is a breeze to park.

Kia’s smallest model generally finds appeal in its cheap and cheerful nature and its surprisingly generous and practical interior. The Korean carmaker only offers the car in five-door guise, after realising that the market for three door cars was shrinking (it fell from more than 80 per cent in 2002 to less than 57 per cent in 2008).

Front headroom is an impressive 1003mm, while even passengers in the rear are well served with 966mm. Leg and shoulder room are equally good for its class, with front legroom standing at 1041mm ( and 872mm rear), while shoulder room is 1290mm in the front and 1292mm behind. The generous passenger space is complemented with a reasonable boot capacity of 157 litres with the rear seats upright.

Standard kit isn’t bad either, with even the 1.0-litre entry level Picanto coming with front electric windows, power steering, tinted glass, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, two airbags, variable intermittent front wipers, 60:40 split rear seats and integrated CD audio with MP3 player. Thirteen-inch steel wheels are fitted and there are body-coloured bumpers, mirrors, door handles and internally-adjustable door mirrors.

Mid-grade Picanto 2 versions add a height-adjustable driver’s seat, leather trim on the steering wheel and gearlever knob, tilt adjustment of the steering column, 14-inch steel wheels, full cloth colour trim, remote central locking and an alarm.

Finally the top grade Picanto 3 gains electrically-operated and -heated door mirrors with integral side repeaters, an iPod connection socket, 15-inch alloy wheels, front foglights, alloy pedals and chrome-ringed instruments. There are also black bezel headlamps, chrome exterior door handles, rear electric windows, a rear spoiler, sporty side sills, air conditioning and chrome interior trim to complete a more upmarket look.

Deal to be done

As sales of the Picanto have dipped in recent years from there 2005 high, there should be some great deals out there among the used stock while dealers should be negotiable on the price of new models.

While stylistically the Picanto is far from the prettiest supermini, Kia made some great interior changes in the 2008 revamp. Now with all-black dash and door trims, the car looks much more up market than the original cheap-looking plastics. The instruments are now also backlit in orange, echoing the style introduced for the cee’d family.

Kia also currently offers a smart looking black and white limited edition called Domino on the Picanto model too. Picanto Domino is available with a 1.1-litre petrol engine, with either a manual or automatic transmission; and is available in white or optional black metallic. Body-coloured bumpers, mirrors and door handles can be offset with an optional contrasting black or white ‘domino effect’ stripe.  Based on the Picanto 2 trim, the Picanto Domino is priced from £7,995 representing a saving of £400.

As autumn progresses we become aware that winter is fast approaching. The coldest and darkest months of the year are not just hard on us; they are hard on our cars too. As such the reliability of your vehicle becomes ever more of paramount importance. We all know that horrid feeling; outside in the freezing cold as you will the gods to start your car. While technological simplicity may play some part in explaining the success of the diminutive Picanto in the survey results, it also plays testament to the car’s solid manufacture backed by the carmaker’s reassuring seven year warranty.

Best of all, at a base model price of £7195, the Picanto significantly undercuts many of its rivals, notably the Hyundai i10 (starting from £7795), the Fiat Panda (from £7665), Ford Ka (£7995) and Peugeot 107 (£8495), no of which come with Kia’s industry leading seven year warranty or the ‘most reliable car’ status and that’s why the Kia Picanto is this month’s Car Star.

Author: Faye Sunderland, October 6th, 2010
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