New Kia Picanto revealed with new look and more tech

The new Kia Picanto is revealed with bold new looks and more tech as Kia keeps faith with the City Car sector.

As we said when the new Hyundai i10 was revealed back in April, Hyundai is looking to cash in on the City Car sector for as long as it can as other City Cars and Supeminis are dropped by major car makers, expecting to pick up young drivers and downsizers with a £15k car in a world where even family hatches are now pushing on £40k.

Now it’s the turn of Kia, Hyundai’s sister company, to make the same move with a new – well, titivated – Kia Picanto complete with bold new styling and more grown-up tech.

Despite the new Picanto being just a facelift of the current model, Kia has managed to give it a bold new look with a face inspired by the EV9 – and tail lights thus inspired too – creating a Picanto which looks more purposeful and ‘Square’, despite its dimension remaining pretty much unchanged, with the old red highlights turned to black for a more upmarket vibe.

The interior is much the same as before, with an 8″ infotainment and 4.2″ digital cluster, complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and OTA updates, and plenty of safety stuff like Forward Collision, Lane Keep and more.

There looks to be just a choice of baseline and GT-Line trim for the UK, with entry-level models getting 14″ wheels and 15″ and 16″ optional and GT-Line models 16″ alloys and sporty rear diffuser with a choice of nine paint jobs.

Engine choices are the current Picanto’s 1.0-litre with 66bhp, or a new 1.2-litre offering for those who’d prefer to have a bit more zippiness, both with either manual or auto options.

No prices yet for the new Kia Picanto, but it’s likely to start from around £14,995.