What are Kia Picanto's like?

jase1

LM9 wrote: »

I had a 56 reg Picanto 1 litre petrol for about 4 years. Had absolutely no problems with it mechanically and it was very cheap to run.

But, it was under powered.

As said previously this was an old-school Hyundai engine (I believe it was the same 12-valve, 4-cylinder "Alpha" engine series that went into the old Accents dating back to the 1990s, which itself was a variant of an old Mitsubishi engine).

This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Those old engines were solid -- pretty much unburstable in fact. But they were long-in-the-tooth even when introduced in the Picanto in 2004 -- and the old Picanto was a surprisingly heavy car for its size.

oh, the brakes were extremely harsh. And I mean extremely.

Yes, this was a problem with them. Very over-assisted. The slightest tap and the car's nose was on the ground. Ironically, the same criticism that VW owners actually wax lyrical about.

I haven't driven the newer Picanto. That said, I would expect it to be the usual Korean car -- easy to drive, not the best dynamically, lots of kit, mechanically strong but a rather flimsy interior. Rather like the older Japanese cars that they still owe a lot to under the skin.

Strider590

iolanthe07 wrote: »

I had a 56 reg Picanto 1 litre petrol for about 4 years.

But that would have been the old model. The model introduced in 2011 is completely different and very much improved. Tha Kappa engine has received a good review from motoring journalists, and is surprisingly advanced for its type, though now being superceded by the small turbo units that seem to be all the rage.

The problem with motoring journalists is they only drive new cars, I wonder what they'd say if they drove the same car after 5-10 years.

bigjl

jase1 wrote: »

As said previously this was an old-school Hyundai engine (I believe it was the same 12-valve, 4-cylinder "Alpha" engine series that went into the old Accents dating back to the 1990s, which itself was a variant of an old Mitsubishi engine).

This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Those old engines were solid -- pretty much unburstable in fact. But they were long-in-the-tooth even when introduced in the Picanto in 2004 -- and the old Picanto was a surprisingly heavy car for its size.

Yes, this was a problem with them. Very over-assisted. The slightest tap and the car's nose was on the ground. Ironically, the same criticism that VW owners actually wax lyrical about.

I haven't driven the newer Picanto. That said, I would expect it to be the usual Korean car -- easy to drive, not the best dynamically, lots of kit, mechanically strong but a rather flimsy interior. Rather like the older Japanese cars that they still owe a lot to under the skin.

Actually I have looked at a couple of new shape Picantos and they seem to be aging quite well, I was a bit concerned. That the painted bits would wear badly but not on the ones I have looked at.

Though to be honest that wouldn't put me off that much as you could have it refinished or cover it with some vinyl wrap if you were bothered.

barbiedoll

I've got a 13 reg Picanto (on lease through work) and so far, I've had no problems with it.

I use mine for driving around town with lots of short journeys and lots of time spent in heavy traffic. Mine is the 1L which doesn't have much oomph, I have to work it very hard to get any speed out of it, although once it gets going it's fine. And I am usually first away at the lights!

The brakes are very "snatchy" and when I had to get a new tyre recently, the mechanic told me that he stalled it several times as the clutch was "tricky", although obviously, I'm used to it now.

The paint finish is quite poor, I've got a black one and there are loads of small scratches around the door handle (not caused by me opening the door with my keys in my hand). The fuel consumption is not quite as good as the "official" figures suggest, but when are they ever? I'm driving around all day for most of the week and it costs me around £20 a week in petrol so it is economical.

The boot is small but the cabin space is quite good, I don't have any giants in my family but everyone says that it's quite comfortable in the back. It's very nippy though, and even I (a woman!) can park it almost anywhere.

If you want a small, cheap and reliable car, for ferrying the kids, doing the shopping and as a general runaround, then why not? Do go for the 1.25L engine though, the smaller one will soon exasperate you if you're in a hurry.

I do agree with the poster who bought a new one as the cost wasn't much more than a second-hand model. I was looking at used models the other day and I was surprised at how much a dealer was selling them for. If you can do without the optional extras (electric mirrors, fancy paintwork etc) then a basic model won't work out much more expensive.

peter_the_piper

OP, let us know how you got on if you went for the picanto.

Amy.B_3

We've recently had the Picasso in and found it a great drive, yeah the fuel consumption isn't near the claimed figures but its still pretty good!

Apart from that it's bang on value for the money. The Hyundai i10 is probably more flexible but if your on a budget, it's probably the best option.

iolanthe07

We've recently had the Picasso in and found it a great drive,

This thread is about the Kia Picanto, not the Citroen Picasso

LandyAndy

Amy.B wrote: »

We've recently had the Picasso in and found it a great drive, yeah the fuel consumption isn't near the claimed figures but its still pretty good!

Apart from that it's bang on value for the money. The Hyundai i10 is probably more flexible but if your on a budget, it's probably the best option.

iolanthe07 wrote: »

We've recently had the Picasso in and found it a great drive,

This thread is about the Kia Picanto, not the Citroen Picasso

I think Amy.B intended to write Picanto. Probably undone by autocorrect

Amy.B_3

LandyAndy wrote: »

I think Amy.B intended to write Picanto. Probably undone by autocorrect

Didn't even realise, stupid auto correct! Always get caught out out by it!! :rotfl:

And yeah I did mean Picanto