Due to the wheelbase increase, the Picanto offers more space than before, and one of the most spacious interiors among its rivals. There’s plenty of space in the front for two adults and it’s only the narrow body that will make it feel more cramped (but that’s the case for any city car).
In the back, there’s enough room for two adults to sit comfortably on longer journeys, although fitting a fifth passenger in on the odd occasion will be a bit of a squeeze.
During our six month long-term assessment, our tester discovered that the Kia Picanto was more practical than he first assumed: ‘There’s not much on the market that is smaller in dimensions but inside it doesn’t feel cramped or claustrophobic. My children gave it the big thumbs up for legroom, that’s despite me having to push my seat back to the last stop to accommodate my height. They did complain about the ride though, more than the passengers in the front seats. The rear seats are positioned directly above the rear axle and transmit every bump in the road.
‘Despite having a bigger car within the family I still like to take the Kia on the weekly trip to the supermarket. Mainly because the boot is much bigger than you’d imagine and it’s so easy to park. I can almost get the families shopping in the boot with perhaps the odd bag sitting on the rear seat.
‘To flatten the rear seats was just one small pull on a lever on top of the seat. The seats were tensioned to fall flat so there was no awkward wrestling seats into place. Similarly the front passenger seat was spring loaded like a three-door car front seat and it plopped into place immediately. Those two small tugs is the least amount of effort I’ve had to employ to flatten car seats. Full marks to Kia there.’
There’s no three-door option in the Picanto, so access to the rear is easy via wide-opening rear doors which will be a boon for parents needing to fit child seats in the rear.
There’s a split-level boot floor to take advantage of too, and if it’s in the highest position and you need to fold the rear seats down, you’ll be presented with a flat load area once the seats are folded. Space is a generous 1,010 litres when you do this.
Plenty of storage throughout
Kia has lavished storage spaces on the new Picanto. The door bins are of a decent size and will fit a water bottle and some odds and ends, while the compartment below the air-con controls is big and split into two thanks to a little shelf in the middle. For the first time in a city car (according to Kia) there’s a small sliding armrest between the front seats with enough storage inside for a small bottle or a pair of sunglasses.
Safety
Safety good with optional kit
Autonomous emergency braking available
Stiffer structure should be beneficial
The Picanto’s lighter, stronger structure was only enough for it to score a three-star rating in the 2017 Euro NCAP crash tests, only rising to four stars for versions fitted with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB). There are six airbags as standard with an optional knee airbag available, too – as well as several active safety systems.
There’s VSM (Vehicle Stability Management) with ESC (Electronic Stability Control) which keeps the car in check by braking when cornering a bit too vigorously, while AEB is also standard on 3 specification and above. Tyre pressure monitoring also keeps an eye on your tyres for you, and will ping up a warning on the dashboard if they drop below what they should be.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Kia Picanto Hatchback.
ABS
Alarm
Body coloured bumpers
Driver`s airbag
Folding rear seats
Isofix child seat anchor points
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Remote locking
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Traction control
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
3x3 point rear seat belts
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric mirrors
Electric sunroof
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Sat Nav
Steel wheels
1 equipment
1 standard equipment
Cloth seat trim
Steel wheels
1 optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Audio remote
Front electric windows
2 equipment
2 standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Rear electric windows
2 optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
3 equipment
3 standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Sat Nav
3 optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
GT-line equipment
GT-line standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Rear electric windows
GT-line optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Parking sensors
GT-line S equipment
GT-line S standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Cruise control
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Sat Nav
GT-line S optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Electric sunroof
Shadow equipment
Shadow standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Shadow optional equipment
None available
Titanium Edition equipment
Titanium Edition standard equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Titanium Edition optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
Leather seat trim
Wave equipment
Wave standard equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Metallic Paint
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Wave optional equipment
Cloth seat trim
X-Line equipment
X-Line standard equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
X-Line optional equipment
Leather seat trim
Zest equipment
Zest standard equipment
Air conditioning
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Electric mirrors
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Leather seat trim
Parking sensors
Rear electric windows
Zest optional equipment
3x3 point rear seat belts
Cloth seat trim
Euro NCAP Rating – 3 stars
The Kia Picanto Hatchback was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017 and was awarded a 3 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.