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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X-factor: 2021 Kia Picanto 1.2 m/t X-Line

Nimbly dodging potholes

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: April 17, 2021

The numbers
Price: R237 995
Engine: 1248 cc DOHC 16-valve inline four-cylinder
Power: 61 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 122 Nm at 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13.7 seconds
Maximum speed: 170 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.8 l/100 km
Tank: 35 litres
Luggage: 255 – 1010 litres
Turning circle: 9.4 metres
Ground clearance: 151 mm
Standard tyre size, this model: 185/55R15
Spare: Spacesaver
Towing capacity: Not rated
Warranty and roadside assistance: 5 years, unlimited km
Service plan: 2 years/30 000 km

When Kia added faux skid plates, black side cladding and wheel arch trims, and then redesigned the front and rear bumpers on its little Picanto, they could have called the new model a “Crossover.” Like everyone else would. But that would have been cheesy. Kia does not do cheesy.

They called it X-Line instead and it replaces the Smart derivatives locally. Transmission choices are five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.

Power is courtesy of the legacy 1248 cc Kappa ll motor although some markets switched to the newer 1197 cc engine that Hyundai uses in i10s and i20s.

Overseas buyers also got a five-speed AMT (automated manual transmission) in place of the bewhiskered four-speed auto, irrespective of engine, but AMTs don’t necessarily work better than conventional automatics. Sometimes it’s safer to just leave things as they are.

Kit befitting X-Line’s position as top model includes bi-functional projector headlights; LED DRLs and tail lamps; illuminated driver-side vanity mirror; a storage box in the console; rear parking distance control to go with the camera that’s standard on all but 1.0 Start models; aluminium pedals; mud flaps; 4.2” SuperVision cluster; extra tweeters; leather steering wheel and gear knob, and cloth/leather combination upholstery.

Two airbags; heated electric mirrors; eight-inch multimedia audio with CarPlay and Android Auto; ABS brakes and ISOFix with top tethers are standard across the range.

Because it looks like it could be mistaken for an SUV, despite its fairly limited ground clearance, I tried it along the dirt road past the veggie farms. But first: This road isn’t “bad” in the sense that one would have to pick one’s way gingerly between hazards. It actually looks pretty decent but its attributes include washboard ripples, semi-buried stones and the occasional small pothole.

All these can work together to set up a kind of jiggling, dancing, instability that threatens to shake your fillings out and has dislodged the composure of some well-regarded pickups and SUVs I've tested. As a consequence, the local ORR Ford Ranger works and 4x4 accessories shop does some nice business in special-purpose, Aussie-made, shock absorbers and suspension kit. Because those pickup- and SUV owners aren’t confessing.


Back to the present: This X-Line Picanto took the road in its stride. The suspension could be heard working but the car tracked straight and true, without skittishness and no vibration on the steering wheel.

In its natural urban habitat Picanto takes advantage of its tight turning circle and minicar length to slip into spots where no modern MINI can fit. Those attributes are useful for nimbly dodging city potholes too.

But there are drawbacks. The boot is rather small and squeezing five basketball players into its seating accommodations is a no-no, although averagely sized occupants should be OK. I also found that the driver’s footrest and three small pedals caused a cramped environment for size-13 trainers.

You cannot, unfortunately, have everything; not even in a Picanto that’s not quite a Crossover.

Test unit from Kia South Africa press fleet

We drove this car's predecessor in 2017

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?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.