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By Jonathan Crouch

Kia's Picanto has earned a reputation as a no frills city scoot but this improved version of the third generation model feels a far better finished item. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 57

This heavily improved version of the third generation Kia Picanto is a little citycar that's still big in importance for its Korean maker. This facelifted model is more stylish and up to date inside, yet still frugal and practical. In this form, it'll continue to redefine the way many people think about this smallest category of car.

Backgroundword count: 279

Here's how we used to understand small car categorisation and the difference between Fiesta-sized superminis and their smaller, cheaper citycar counterparts. You paid extra for a supermini because it was slightly bigger, because it was better finished and more stylish and because it had more refined engines that made possible longer journeys. So where does that kind of thinking leave us with a product like this, the improved version of the third generation Kia Picanto? This design has been on sale in various forms since 2017 and competes with the kinds of models we'd see as citycars, yet boasts the kind of interior space a supposedly bigger Peugeot 208 or Vauxhall Corsa had until quite recently. It's very nicely built and acceptably stylish. And yes, it's quite at home attempting longer journeys. Here is the citycar, all grown-up. Where that leaves today's supermini sector is something we don't have to worry about here. Suffice it to say that most of what you'd pay up to £20,000 or more for in that class of car is delivered by this Kia. Other urban runabouts that have previously advanced that argument have either been expensive and/or three-door only, like say a Fiat 500, or have felt too cheap and noisy to really justify themselves as only-car transport, like a Suzuki Ignis or, perhaps, a Hyundai i10. We mention the Hyundai because that essentially is what this Picanto is underneath. Kia has used the underpinnings from this best-selling design, then refined them, improved the build quality and now added a sharp new suit of clothes on top. On paper, a pretty effective route to creating a class-leading contender. Let's see if it's worked.

Driving Experienceword count: 307

Kia hasn't added its latest mild hybrid tech into the Picanto's engine range, but it has introduced its latest 'Smartstream' technology to improve efficiency. There's now a choice of two engines, a 1.0-litre 66bhp three cylinder unit or a 1.2-litre four cylinder powerplant. Either way, there's the transmission choice of either a five-speed manual gearbox; or Kia's Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) gearbox. The AMT set-up is based around a five-speed manual transmission with clutch and gear shift actuators to automate clutch operation and gear shifts. Basically, there's the ease-of-use of an automatic transmission, without sacrificing the fuel efficiency of a conventional manual gearbox. On the move, pretty much everything is as before. Refinement continues to be well controlled for a citycar - indeed Kia says the Picanto offers the quietest cabin of any A-segment model, both at idle and at a steady cruise. The handling's stable too, though obviously, this isn't the kind of car you'd choose for dynamic enjoyment. The Picanto's dinky dimensions also enable the pitch centre of the car to be placed further towards the rear, helping to naturally reduce 'nose dive' under braking without firming up the suspension and potentially compromising ride comfort. 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. This Picanto also offers torque vectoring by braking - an additional function of the Electronic Stability Control system. 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.

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