The baby of the Kia range in South Africa, the Picanto, has been a great success over the few years that it has been available. A number of refreshes and upgrades along the way have kept it as one of the best sellers in the category.

Late in 2020, the range was refreshed and the X-Line was added to the range. The frontal styling is a lot more angular and edgy and body cladding added to create a quasi off-road look to the car. LED headlights and daytime running lights add to the package.

The entry level models in the range are powered by a 1L 3 cylinder engine with upper models endowed with a 1.2L 4 cylinder providing 61kW and 122Nm to the front wheels through a five speed manual gearbox. A 4 speed automatic is also available matched to both engines.

On the road, the 1.2 is very peppy and quickly shows that it is more powerful than many other entry level cars that offer between 50-55kW. The 1L version is very similar to the competition at 49kW.

Driving is smooth and responsive with the slick manual gearbox and precise handling providing a touch of fun when out cruising. Fuel economy is superb, an open road cruise showed 5.2L/100km and our overall consumption for the test was 6.4l/100km.

Looking at the X-Line specifically, this adds a number of luxury and trim items like the 8 inch touchscreen that includes mirror connectivity and a reverse camera, 2 tone artificial leather trim for the seats and 15 inch alloy wheels added to the aggressive new front grill and body cladding.

The test model is currently priced at R237 995 including a 2 year/ 30 000km service plan. The Picanto range starts from R187 995.

#Kia
#KiaSouthAfrica
#KiaMotorsSouthAfrica
#KiaSA
#KiaPicanto
#Picanto
#BudgetHatchback
#LuxurySmallCar

свернуть