New Kia Picanto brings progressive design for drivers to enjoy their freedom

Published | 04/07/2023

'Opposites United’ philosophy gives new Picanto a bold new look
Redesigned GT Line combines a stylish exterior with fun, advanced technology suited for younger and first-car owners
Picanto is the perfect vehicle for making lasting memories in an urban lifestyle
It comes with Kia’s industry-leading 7-Year, 150,000-kilometre warranty as standard.

July 4, 2023 – Fits in. Stands out. Picanto, Kia’s modern compact hatchback, has been enhanced with a new design, and advanced technologies. This enables Kia customers to experience a modern, purposeful ride in style and enjoy the freedom that movement brings.

“From urban commuters and working professionals, to young adults buying their first car, part of the Kia Picanto’s enduring success is its mass appeal,” says Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President Product & Marketing of Kia Europe. “In a time when societies are struggling with rising prices and debates about urban space and quality of life are growing louder, the new Picanto allows customers to enjoy the freedom that movement brings.”

The new Picanto comes with the choice between the baseline and the GT Line. The sporty GT Line embodies Kia’s brand aspirations and combines a stylish exterior with advanced technology, suiting it for younger, first-car customers and working professionals alike.

Picanto is one of Kia’s best-selling models in several regions worldwide and remains a particular favourite among European A-segment drivers who value short journeys and access to limited parking space. Within this framework, the new Picanto offers a great feature set. It comes with more standard features than ever before, and its driver assistance systems help make driving in busy European cities easier and more comfortable.

The new Picanto enables younger and new customers to connect with Kia and partner with the brand on their journey through life – without compromising on quality or convenience. It is a symbol of independence and a gateway to making memories. An expanding range of mobility options in European cities enable Picanto to be part of a broad mobility ecosystem, thanks to its ease of parking and manoeuvrability as well as its park-and-go mobility. With up to 1,010 litres of storage space (VDA), its boot can store a folding bicycle or e-scooter.

Kia is transforming into a sustainable mobility solutions provider, with plans to launch 15 BEV models by 2027. Low-cost and fuel-efficient vehicles like the enhanced Picanto help support this transition and pave the way to a sustainable mobility future.

Exterior design

Updated, ‘Opposites United’-inspired design

The enhanced Picanto is inspired by Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, which harnesses the creative tension generated by the divergent values of nature and modernity to deliver a harmonious whole. The result creates a bold and futuristic impression with a modern and sporty design.

The new light signature, along with the enhanced Picanto’s new front bumper, signature ‘tiger nose’, fender and bonnet gives the car a dramatic image. The optional LED headlights and Daytime Running Lights emphasise modernity and technology, as well as giving the new Picanto a wide, confident stance. A simple and stable rear design highlights the vertical connectivity between the new Picanto’s redesigned rear lights and rear bumper. Its strong and wide rear light signature utilises the volume and core of the new rear bumper and new tailgate to emphasise strength and width.

Picanto baseline comes with 14-inch wheels as standard, and the choice between new 14-inch alloy wheels, 15-inch alloy wheels and new 16-inch wheels is optional. The GT Line’s presence is strengthened with a confident front end that emphasis sporty elements. The tiger nose grille has been expanded to maximise the look of high performance. The GT Line also features new dedicated 16-inch diamond cut wheels, and a sporty GT Line rear diffuser.

A choice of nine vibrant paint finishes enables Picanto to stand out with a bold exterior image; four are new: Signal Red, Smoke Blue, Sporty Blue and Adventurous Green.

Interior design

Natured-inspired interior colour packs bring premium comfort

The enhanced Picanto’s cabin is available in various finishes. The baseline comes with black cloth seats. Optional finishes include Glossy Black, as well as a new range of stylish and sensual interior colour packs: Adventurous Green and Rich Brown. These styles are inspired by nature and enhance the customers’ ability to customise the cabin of their car with the premium comfort of artificial leather seats. The GT Line features the Glossy Black Pack as standard, with the Adventurous Green Pack as optional. The colour packs always feature customized artificial leather seats and door armrests, as well as coloured surrounds around the air vents and gear selector.

Artificial leather represents the first step in Kia’s strategy to make its vehicle colours, materials, and finishes more sustainable. Action1 is ‘leather free,’ meaning Kia plans to phase out the use of leather in its vehicles, starting with the EV9. Action 2 stands for ’10 must-have items,’ meaning 10 materials Kia has identified as being particularly sustainable that it intends to incorporate into its vehicles in the future, and Action 3 stands for ‘Bio Fabrication,’ representing the innovation of new bio-based materials.

Powertrains

A choice of two efficient engines

The new Picanto comes with the choice of two engines: customers can choose between a 1.0-litre or a 1.2-litre petrol engine. The 1.0-litre engine is a good choice for customers who value efficiency above all, while the 1.2-litre engine is better for customers who want more power, especially for driving at high speeds or uphill. Both options maximise efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. The naturally aspirated engines feature improved exhaust gas recirculation lines and optimised intake valve timing. In addition, each engine provides improved combustion chamber cooling thanks to new improvements made in this field.

Both engines drive the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission (5MT) or via Kia’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT), which is based around a five-speed manual transmission with clutch and gear shift actuators to automate their respective functions. The AMT offers the best of both worlds: it combines the fuel efficiency of a conventional manual transmission with the convenience of a hassle-free automatic transmission that makes urban traffic much more comfortable.

In conclusion, the combination of engine and transmission options fulfils the needs of European customers, no matter what their driving habits are.

Ride and handling

Fun and easy to manoeuvre in towns and cities

Picanto delivers on its trademark quick, enjoyable handling responses, aided by independent MacPherson strut suspension at the front and a torsion beam rear axle – without sacrificing its high ride stability. Moreover, its relatively long wheelbase contributes to a natural improvement in ride quality and stability on all types of roads.

A quick steering rack makes for immediate responses to driver inputs, meaning fewer turns of the wheel from lock-to-lock than many rivals (2.8 turns), making the Picanto easy to drive at low speeds and in the city. With the front wheels located close to the front of the vehicle, low weight ahead of the front axle is achieved, as well as more agile handling.

Picanto offers torque vectoring by braking – an additional function of the Electronic Stability Control system (ESC). By using this technology in an A-segment car, the Picanto retains a higher degree of handling and stability under cornering, while helping to reduce understeer during harder cornering.

Technology

8.0-inch touchscreen and digital display cluster now standard

The new Picanto comes with an 8.0-inch ‘floating’ touchscreen navigation system and a high-resolution 4.2-inch digital display in the driver's instrument cluster as standard. The vehicle’s 8.0-inch touchscreen navigation system features Bluetooth multi-connection, meaning users can pair up to two mobile devices at the same time – one for hands-free phone and media use, and the other for media use only. The system features both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

Kia Connect features include a range of on-board services including live traffic information, weather forecasts, points of interest (POIs), and details of potential on- and off-street parking. Depending on the country, users can remotely send route directions to their car before a journey, check the location of their vehicle, and access vehicle reports and diagnostic notifications.

Meanwhile, Online Voice Recognition lets users search for POIs, addresses or weather updates. A new ‘Online Navigation’ routing service uses cloud-based real-time and historical traffic data to predict time-efficient routes more accurately than ever before.

Users can also access the accompanying Kia Connect App, compatible with Android and Apple smartphones, which offers features such as Last Mile Navigation. This helps customers continue navigating to their destination after they have parked and left the car behind. It also helps Kia customers navigate in towns and cities where parking hubs are often some distance away from shops, cafés, and restaurants.

Lastly, the new Picanto comes fully equipped with new over-the-air functionality, which delivers additional comfort for customers and will also save them time, as the navigation and infotainment systems are automatically kept up to date wirelessly – no action required. This is just one example of how Kia is establishing the basis for an enhanced and seamless connected experience by providing its customers the most advanced technology.

Safety and peace of mind as standard

Wide range of new ADAS, safety and convenience technologies available

The new Picanto features Kia’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), and a range of active safety systems to enhance occupant safety, making it one of the safest cars in its class. Depending on specification, the Picanto’s new ADAS features include Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 1.5 (FCA) with vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian detection. This function includes Junction Turning: If a risk of collision arises while turning left at an intersection (or turning right in the UK), the function automatically assists with emergency braking.

Additionally, the Picanto is available with Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Warning and Leading Vehicle Departure Warning (DAW+), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA) and Lane Following Assist (LFA).

LFA uses the front-facing camera to monitor road markings, controlling the enhanced Picanto’s steering to keep the car in the centre of its lane. It also features Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) which alerts the driver and stops the vehicle if it detects another vehicle approaching from the left or right when reversing out of a parking space.

Moreover, the new Picanto is equipped with an Emergency Stop Signal (ESS), which automatically flashes the hazard warning lights to alert the car behind if the driver brakes suddenly. Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) holds the car on the brake to ensure the car moves away smoothly from a hill start.

In addition, the enhanced Picanto is also equipped with Kia’s Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and Straight-line Stability (SLS) systems as standard, helping drivers maintain control under braking and cornering. Finally, the enhanced Picanto is fitted with up to six airbags throughout the cabin. It also features ISOFIX child-seat tether and anchor points. Finally, it comes with Kia’s industry-leading 7-Year, 150,000-kilometre warranty as standard.