Kia has disclosed further information about their upcoming third-generation Picanto ahead of its showcasing at the Geneva Motor Show in early March. The car seen here is in its European spec but there shouldn’t be any major changes made when the new Picanto premieres Down Under.
Obviously, the city car’s styling is quite a bit different over the outgoing model, bringing Kia’s most up to date corporate face and its ‘tiger nose’ grille and having its wheelbase extended by 15mm for a 25mm shorter front overhang but a car that’s keeps the same overall length as the previous version at 3,595mm.
Teams from both Kia design centres in Germany and Korea collaborated on the project. They’ll also offer it in GT-Line spec, giving it a sportier outer character through numerous cosmetic upgrades.
Currently, the Picanto in showrooms today are powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol four-cylinder, but a more powerful and fuel efficient turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is earmarked for global availability, chucking out a decent 74kW and 172Nm. Though, it’s possible that Kia will still use the existing 1.2-litre unit in the third-gen in certain markets for certain variants, including Australia.
Particular attention was paid to improving the Picanto’s cabin and driving experience to give a more high quality feel than before. To keep noise and vibration levels to a minimum, sound deadening materials have been applied more liberally around the passenger cell.
New sound-absorbing panel beneath the dashboard, vibration-dampening engine cover, and reshaped air intake also help to keep the interior experience isolated. Even at a cruise, the all-new Picanto’s interior is claimed to be measured at 68 dB or as little as 39 dB at idle.
There’s a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment unit that, given the size of the Picanto, absolutely dwarfs the rest of the dashboard elements. It’s unknown whether it will be included in base versions of the car, but will certainly be useful with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Elsewhere, more soft-touch materials are used than previously and customers will be able to select different colour packs to customise the interior accents.
As standard there should be six airbags, stability control, and even autonomous emergency braking in most markets. If true, it’s will definitely go a long way to scoring full marks in safety tests and even leading the class in terms of safety. Also, high-strength steel is more widely used in its construction, leading to a more durable structure and a 23kg reduction in weight.
Kia is also keen on pointing out the new car’s improved handling, being somehow more comfortable and agile. It uses the same MacPherson (front) and torsion beam (rear) setup as before, but has augmented that with brake-assisted torque vectoring to make it more eager to change direction at lower to medium speeds.
In terms of practicality, the Picanto’s boot has grown to 255-litres in capacity and up to 1,010-litres with the seats folded - no doubt thanks the more efficient packaging enabled by that extended wheelbase.
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