Used Kia Picanto Hatchback 2011-2017 review

The launch of the second-generation Kia Picanto city car in 2011 was all-singing, all-dancing, but in reality Kia had had its thunder somewhat stolen by the mechanically identical Hyundai i10, which had already been on sale for three years.

Still, if you’re going to base your city car on another model, you could do a lot worse than using the i10 as a starting point, and the Picanto carried over many of that car's advantages.

For a start, the Picanto is surprisingly spacious for passengers considering its dinky exterior dimensions. Two adults or three children can fit in the back without too much cause for complaint, with access obviously easier in the five-door version than it is in the cheaper three-door.

It’s a shame, though, that the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach as well as height, and you also lose out on boot space compared with rivals: anything other than a small amount of shopping or a couple of soft bags will be a problem.

The Picanto's petrol-only engine range consists of a 1.0-litre three-cylinder or a 1.2-litre four-cylinder. With just 68bhp, the former is rather pedestrian in terms of performance, but the 84bhp 1.2 feels quite lively – assuming you go for the manual rather than the four-speed automatic gearbox. Overly light pedals can make it easy to stall the Picanto, but it's otherwise simple to drive thanks to its light steering, good visibility and small size. In the city, this can make it quite good fun to drive, and getting into parking spaces is a piece of cake.

However, out on the open road the Picanto starts to feel a little out of its depth, with no feel through the steering and a fidgety ride. Add in a lot of wind and tyre noise on the motorway and it’s hard not to conclude that newer rivals such as the Seat Mii, Skoda Citigo and Volkswagen Up are better all-rounders.

Kia, however, fights back with an excellent warranty. It covers the car for up to seven years or 100,000 miles, so many used Picantos will still fall under the manufacturer-backed scheme, which will be music to the ears of any used car buyer. However, as with all of these longer warranties, it’s worth checking that it covers as much as you’d expect in its later years – we’ve heard of some owners entering disputes with manufacturers after claims were not honoured as they were considered to be wear and tear.

The Picanto did undergo a series of mild model revisions, including a facelift in 2015, but in reality the changes were so slight that you’d barely notice. Of more importance is its performance in Euro NCAP safety tests which, although solid, still places it behind the five-star Mii, Citigo and Up.

Prices for this generation of Kia Picanto start at £3000, for which you’ll get a 2011 car with the more popular 1.0-litre engine and between 60,000 and 100,000 miles on the clock.

Picantos with the 1.2-litre engine cost from just under £4000, while £5000-£6000 will get you a very low-mileage car with plenty of warranty left to run.

Be aware, however, that air conditioning wasn’t a standard feature on the Picanto in its most basic 1 spec. If you want this desirable feature, you’ll need a minimum of a 1 Air model.

You’d expect a city car to be cheap to run, and the Picanto doesn’t disappoint in that regard. The 1.0-litre engine returned 67.3mpg in official EU fuel tests, and in the real world will easily manage between 45 and 50mpg. As a bonus, a sub-100g/km CO2 output also means it qualifies for exemption from road tax, meaning as long as you buy one that was registered before April 2017, there’s no annual charge to pay.

The 1.2-litre petrol model managed 60mpg in EU fuel tests in its standard guise, or 65.7mpg if you find an Ecodynamics version, which comes with a stop-start system to save fuel when the car is stationary. The latter is also exempt from road tax if registered after April 2017, while for the former you’re required to pay £20 per year.

As with the 1.0-litre, you can expect 45-50mpg from the 1.2-litre Picanto in normal driving – unless you opt for a car with the automatic gearbox, which causes official economy to dip to 53.3mpg and will get you about 35mpg in normal use. Note too that the increased CO2 emissions of the automatic Picanto will result in an annual road tax bill of £110.

Servicing costs won’t break the bank, with main dealer prices starting at £119 and service intervals set every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

At launch in 2011 Kia offered three trims levels, handily named 1, 2 and 3. The basic model missed out on air-conditioning, but Kia soon addressed this by offering a the Air with the system fitted in addition to a CD player, height adjustable driver’s seat and six airbags.

To this, 2 trim added Bluetooth phone connectivity, electric rear windows and alloy wheels in place of the 1’s steel rims. Top-spec 3 versions of the Picanto upgraded the standard four-speaker stereo to a six-speaker system as well as adding climate control and automatic headlights.

The 2 and 3 trims were later replaced with Halo and Equinox respectively, and a top-spec 4 model was added with heated seats.

In addition, Kia offered a rolling range of ‘Picanto Originals’ models, which were basically special editions with styling upgrades and extra equipment such as climate control and rear parking sensors bundled in. The various names for these included City, White, Quantum and Chilli.

Sat-nav was only offered on the Picanto from 2015, and the range was upgraded again in 2016 with SE and Sport models replacing Halo and Equinox, and 1 Air becoming the entry-level version.

Our favourite Kia Picanto: 1.2 2, Halo or SE

It’s hard to ignore the Hyundai i10 as a rival, which, having been around for a couple more years than the Picanto is also available for less and virtually identical in most other respects.

Alternatively, the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo are marginally more expensive to buy, but offer a larger boot and a much more mature driving experience.

For something cheaper than the Picanto it’s worth considering the Citroën C1, Peugeot 107 or Toyota Aygo, but bear in mind that these have even less luggage space than the Kia.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here