Driving the small Kia Picanto five-door hatchback – refreshed at the start of the year – now in just two models, The Picanto Sport and GT-Line. I tested the GT- line manual with carryover 1.25-litre four-cylinder engine- with just 62 kW of power and 122Nm of torque, now $1,800 dearer at $22,490 drive-away. What shines are new styling elements echoing those of Kia’s new award winning EV9 electric SUV, a comprehensive new suite of active safety elements headed by blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, the addition of alloy wheels, 14- inch on the Sport, 16-inch on the GT-line and new digital instrumentation replacing the previous model’s analogue gauges. Overall, some really nice detailing in the cabin with excellent synthetic leather seats. The ride and handling purvey a feeling of a larger car with a good degree of polish, which frankly is a hallmark of Kia Australia’s local tuning regime while fit and finish and attention to detail for an entry level car is first class. However, I’d like a little more engine torque to make the drive experience more rewarding with less reliance on gear changing to get the most out of the Picanto’s performance. Economy, I averaged 5.9L/100km with around town motoring.

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