SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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2008 Kia Picanto EX a/t

Cute and cheeky

Pics by author
First posted: July 14, 2008

 

“They don’t make them like that anymore” and that's probably just as well because an 1100 cc automatic, with air-conditioning, produced “back then” would scarcely have had the energy to drag itself out of the showroom. Fortunately, things have changed.

Kia’s Picanto range of manual-shift 1100s has endeared itself to a market ranging from first-time buyers in their 20s to empty nesters looking for transport that’s cheap and practical, while offering most of the comforts one expects these days.  This is our first evaluation of the automatic version.

Facelifted for 2008, the Picanto has been refreshed, both inside and out, with new head- and tail light treatments, new bonnet and fenders and a reworked interior with new upholstery, a new instrument cluster and revised secondary controls to make it even more pleasant to drive. All this has been achieved without sacrificing any of the cuteness and cheeky appearance its target audience has come to love.

For those looking for the convenience of automatic transmission in a light city car, this Kia will satisfy most of the people most of the time.  It pulls willingly, keeping up with normal traffic and will even get you into trouble with the boys and girls in khaki if you let it, because illegal city speeds come up quite quickly and comfortably.

Where the Picanto automatic falls down slightly is in tackling hills. Its manual sister requires at worst a change down to fourth in order to keep climbing strongly, but one can feel just a hint of “who, me?” when the auto is faced with the same challenge. Luckily, very little extra accelerator pressure is required to kick down to a lower ratio.  

Out on the freeway, the Picanto feels solid and stable, accelerating up to the national limit without drama and cruising at about 3 300 rpm in top (fourth) gear once there. On gentle inclines, an overdrive lock-out switch on the side of the chunky gear knob can be used to keep the gearbox locked in third, with an increase in rpm to about 4 000 at the same speed. A warning message shows up clearly on the instrument panel when the lockout is in use.

We reckon that this is a great little car for zipping to work or varsity and going shopping, but would leave regular trips between the Midlands and Midrand to something bigger.

On the inside, where it counts, one finds good quality cloth upholstery, nice carpeting, a radio/CD player with iPod connectivity, an air conditioner that doesn’t rob the engine of power and all the storage facilities one could reasonably want. There is even a drawer under the front passenger seat.  

The EX-model tested also boasts two airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, ABS with EBD, electric windows front and rear, power steering and keyless entry via a transponder device that has to be used in order to get the car started.

Luggage space is adequate for a car of this size, taking a trolley-full of groceries with a little creative packing. Being a hatchback, the rear seat backs can be tumbled down to make more room if needed. Rear seat legroom is also best described as “adequate” for the long-legged, but then this is a small car after all.

Anyone looking for a modern, easy-to-drive city car in the spirit of the original Mini, that won’t cost a fortune at the pumps, will find this little Kia hard to beat.

Test car from Kia SA press fleet

The numbers:
Engine: 1086 cc, four-cylinder, 12 valve SOHC
Gears: 4 speed automatic (3 plus O/D)
Power: 48 kW @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 99 Nm @ 2800 rpm
Fuel consumption Index: 7,1 l/100 km
0-100 km/h: 14,9 secs
Top speed: 153 km/h
CO2 gm/km: 165
Price at time of writing: R115 995
Warranty: 5 years/100 000 km and 3 years roadside assistance
Service intervals: 15 000 km or 12 months
A 2 year/45 000 km Service Plan was available at R3089 - 40

We drove the manual version in May 2008

Gunther's was well-known for its excellent sausages

Taken at PetersGate herb farm, also on the Midlands Meander

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
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