Test drive review - 2018 KIA Picanto

While I have mentioned this car very briefly in one of my previous posts, it was only yesterday that I finally have the opportunity to sample the actual car.

The KIA Picanto with optional Novus lower skirtings and leather seats.

The KIA Picanto nameplate has been around since 2005. Also known as the KIA Morning in some markets, the current generation is the 3rd generation of KIA's entry level mini city car. And like other KIA models of late, it is a very impressive offering that beats out it's competitors in the Malaysian market in more than just a few aspects.

Exterior

The 2018 Picanto retains it's cutesy small car proportions but now with an angrier face.

The KIA signature "tiger-nose" front grille is flanked by two halogen projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights. The headlamp sports a rather sophisticated design for this type of car, with LED DRLs and positioning lights surrounding the main projector housing. Moving down you'll find a large lower grille with a fake intake vent on each side, which also contains the front foglights.

The side profile is uncomplicated, with sharp creases in the right places and a pair of chrome handles to break the monotony.

Around the rear you'll find a pair of LED combi rear tail lights on both sides of the rear hatch, the reverse light on the lower left bumper and the rear foglight on the lower right corner. Simple but immediately distinct.

Interior

On the inside, the cabin space is more than adequate for four adults but would fit five if your rear passengers don't mind a bit of intimacy. The instrument panel is kinda bland but does it's job. The steering wheel is pleasant to the touch and hosts a slew of buttons for the onboard entertainment and the multi-function display in the instrument panel.

The knobs and switches in the center dashboard feels decent to touch and to operate. Everything is laid out logically and once you are used to it, easy to find without having to take your eyes off the road. The 7" touch screen headunit is Apple Carplay/Android Auto ready, and features a reverse camera, though I continue to be baffled by the need to use a reverse camera on such as small car.

The interior is still full of plastics with no soft touch materials anywhere, which is normal for cars of this segment in this price bracket. They are textured but feels kinda low rent. The worse offender must be the interior door card, which is entirely plastic and bland with no design features whatsoever. Even the Axia has fabric or leather inserts.

The boot when unexpanded comes in at 255 liters, just 5 liters smaller than it's Perodua counterpart.

All in all, it is ergonomic, mostly well-designed if still feel cheap to the touch.

Comfort

This is one of the aspects where the little KIA truly shines. The car is well insulated on the go; even when given the beans, the engine growls is not at all annoying, which is more than I can say for the Axia's 3-cylinder mill.

The ride is not too soft, but supple enough for most passengers. The seats themselves are cushy enough, and with 4 adults on board there is surprisingly still quite a lot of room to move about. Well...."a lot" being a relative term here, we are still talking about an A-segmenter.

To wit, if you put a blindfolded person in the front passenger seat and drove it along the highways, it would not be a stretch to say that he/she might think he/she is in a B-segment or even C-segment car.

Drivetrain

Under the hood is a naturally aspirated 1.2 liter 4 potter that puts out 84PS at 6,000 RPM and 122Nm of torque at 4,000 RPM. Not much, but more than enough to move the sub-1 tonne car along with decent pace. It's a shame though that Naza did not bring in the 1.0 turbo for the local market.

But the star here is the 4-speed automatic transmission (4AT). You may scoff at the idea of a 4AT in a 2018 car, but this example is a smooth operator and un-intrusive even when driven hard. The gear ratios are well mated to the engine and acceleration feels effortless thanks to the responsive shift logic. Could it be better with a few more cogs? sure, but as it is, the 4AT in the Picanto does the job beyond "just OK" for it's purposes.

Handling

The test drive route was a public roads with plenty of traffic, so I could not whack it like I would in the hills. But from what I could tell, the body control around corners is a league above the Perodua Axia. It feels reasonably planted and composed around the bends, and on a downhill straight where the Axia would feel nervous and twitchy at 100km/h, the little KIA tackled it with such composure that would make put some contenders from a segment above to shame.

Like a typical KIA, the steering feels numb and detached, but responsive enough if you want to have some fun with it. 

All in all, a surprisingly capable chassis for it's class, more so from a KIA.

Safety

The Picanto comes standard with 6 airbags, seatbelt reminder for all 5 seats, ISOFIX child seat anchors, electronic stability control with traction control, ABS, brake assist and hill-start assist.

A special note about the brakes which has little pedal free play and comes on very strong once it bites. While I would wish for a more linear pedal feel, most would appreciate such powerful anchors with minimal effort.

Verdict

While the sub-RM 40k bracket is still Perodua's domain, but once the Axia crosses that price line (the top spec Axia Advance comes in at circa RM42k), the RM48k Picanto becomes a more attractive proposition for just RM6k more. While some might argue for the same price you can also get a lower trim Myvi, but remember that to get all the bells and whistles, including the 6 airbags, you need to pay RM53k for the top trim. Nevertheless the Myvi is still a bigger car, so some folks may place more emphasis on this aspect.

But if your consideration is limited to the Axia line of products and you are looking to splurge on the Axia Advance, you could do worse than to give the Picanto a look.