However, it’s up against well established brands as this sector of the market is packed with rivals - from the likes of the Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio and VW Polo. The car in Ice trim starts from a competitive price at only £6,995.
Exterior
The front of the 2008 Picanto has the Kia family look as the grille is the same that is on its big brother Cee’d, while the front headlight cluster gives the Picanto’s face a neat shape.
The 2008 version has received a new body coloured bumper while the rear taillights cluster has also been updated,
Interior
Drivers who are familiar with the old car will hardly recognise this new version. Kia has given the car an all black dash, while the steering wheel is a new design and the instrument dials light up in orange. The controls are made of better quality plastics and the interior looks far superior from its previous generation.
It is very easy to find a good driving position even though the steering wheel can only be adjusted for rake the seat compensates for this as it has a height adjustor.
Even though the Kia Picanto is classed as a city car, passengers will be surprised at the amount of legroom that there is in the rear – average sized adults can be seated in comfort.
The downside to this is that the luggage space in the boot is at a premium. When the rear seats are in place, and four adults are travelling in the car, the boot will only hold a couple of soft bags as capacity is only 157 litres when the seats are in place. With the rear seats folded flat this expands to 882 litres of luggage space.
There are plenty of cubby-holes in the Picanto to keep your loose change or small nik-naks in. Another helpful storage solution are the twin cup-holders which are within easy reach of the driver and front seat passenger. The door pockets are well-sized and are quite deep which adds to the stowage solutions.
On the Road
The 2008 Kia Picanto performs really well for a city car – when driving on motorways the four-cylinder 1.1 petrol engine is much quieter than the three-cylinder units, which are used by more illustrious rivals.
The skinny tyres make little road roar however, the large wing mirrors catch the wind and at speed the noise can become very intrusive. The Kia Picanto is best suited to travelling around town but there is a drawback, the car tends to skip and bounce over potholes and uneven surfaces and unfortunately there are plenty of second-rate roads in the UK.
The steering wheel gives little feedback as it has over assisted power steering, but this in turn does mean that the Kia Picanto is easy to manoeuvre into tight spaces, which makes city life a breeze.
The Korean car is Eco-friendly as the 1.1-litre engine only kicks out 126g/km of CO2 emissions, which puts it in Band B and should cost you £140 for a years road tax in the UK.
So what will it cost? The Kia Picanto Ice 1.1-litre petrol engine starts from £6,995 and comes with air-conditioning, electric windows and five doors as standard. The Kia Picanto is great city car and looks to be a viable option from the budget end of the market.
