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in the US they wouldn't get very far if they did... it has a manual trans..
Small & Simple - Kia Picanto
- Thread starter Bailes1992
- Start date
JTK
$100 Site Donor 2025
There's not much of a choice in my area. Nissan dealers don't stock new Versas. Mitsubishi dealers are far and few between if you want a Mirage. With prices where they are today, if these were $17-20K new, there would be a market I would think.
They did in europe... all have immobilisers
Thought I'd post this as I'm sure you US peoples don't get these across the water.
My car has been taken away by the insurance for some very minor repairs after someone slammed their door into mine last Friday. In the meantime, I've been given my guaranteed courtesy car which I paid a little extra for when I took out my insurance, although part of me wishes they kept it.
I have around 200 miles to do in this tomorrow and I'm not looking forward to it.
So, the car is around the same size as a Mitsubishi Mirage which you do get over there. It has a 1 litre 3 cylinder chain driven port injected petrol engine driving the front wheels through a 5 speed manual box.
This car is the ultralight sports edition with no A/C, windy windows in the back and manually operated mirrors. The on the road price over here for one of these, should you wish to torture yourself is £15,595 or $19,971.74 US. Although you can spend up to £20k for one if you want an extra 200cc of engine capacity, an automatic gearbox and some extra toys to play with.
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I've done around 20 miles in it today, mainly dropping the kids off and taking the dogs out for a walk. Steering is a bit light, but it's direct and sharp. The turning circle is excellent and on country roads up to 60mph it's quite okay.
I'll provide an update tomorrow or Friday after I've done 4 hours on UK motorways in it with no cruise control and no power.
So, Picanto is officially a synonym for "Penalty Box."
It presents in photos as punishing. Must be one of those "You think you hate it now, just wait until you drive it" kind of vehicles.
Good news! I’ve just told my Wife I’m using her MG ZS (which I also dislike, but not as much as the Kia) for my 200 mile round trip tomorrow. She’s not pleased 
This is one of those little cars that people think everyone else should be driving.
wemay
Site Donor 2023
Love those, OP. Congrats.
Two? Rio and Mirage? Units languishing on the lot near me are optioned to the hilt and upwards of $19-20K. No value there whatsoever.
At $15k out the door for a base MT 5 car, I might look at one but have found the li'l Mitsu to be very City Japanese-y feminine and fragile. Same with the Kia Rio. This is where the Yaris and Fit were a much better driver - but cut from the lineup. The so-so Spark has been doused also.
Maybe many have learned over the years to spend 2k more to move to a more capable and comfortable compact. Or take Grandma's used Hyundai Sonata or Grampy's Lincoln MKZ since they are not driving any more
Cant find any Rio's for sale. Just read those have been disco'd ! Wow.
This is more probable than some grand conspiracy from the automakers.
If at least these little cars had a great fuel efficiency advantage, but they don’t over the bigger offerings like Civic and Corolla. So the only advantage is their size, hence they are so popular in EU cities where parking space is at a premium.
So the Picanto goes tomorrow and I can't help but feel that maybe I was a bit harsh on it.
First thing that's really noticeable is the lightness and the benefits as a result. It really does make you wonder about all the sacrifices we make driving much heavier machines.
The 1.0 3 cylinder engine with just 66hp really is enough. It's responsive and really sprightly even at low RPM. It makes a good noise too! It sounds more V6 than it does 3 pot; and hides the typical 3 pot NVH way better than most, if not all the previous 3 pot cars I've driven. Even cruising on the motorway at 70mph the engine is almost unheard, but occasionally on inclines if you wish to accelerate you're dropping into 3rd or 4th, but it kind of makes up for it with it's rather additive howl.
The fuel economy is outstanding. I left Bristol on Tuesday evening, I got stuck in stop/start traffic in Bristol city centre, then I cruised at 70mph down the motorway until I got to Newport where I spent another 10miles and around half an hour in start/stop traffic. Frustration grew and when I got out of the traffic in Newport I spent the remaining 30 or so miles on the motorway in 4th gear with my right foot on the bulkhead (of course, never going above our 70mph speed limit officer). Once parked at home, I couldn't help but notice the trip MPG sitting at a rather unbelievable 57.6mpg despite the traffic and despite the rather speedy second half of the trip. If I drove my diesel Duster like that then I'd probably be looking at low 40's to the gallon, maybe even into the high 30's.
Also, thanks again to it's lack of weight it stopped well and turned well too. Certainly handles better than any SUV I've driven.
Build quality is reasonable, it's better than Dacia. But these things aren't particularly bargain cheap. I would love to test drive a higher level trim to see if the extra weight does effect things noticeably.
And I can't help but wonder, will we all look back in 10-20 years and wonder what on earth we were all doing being so wasteful driving around in such big, tall and heavy vehicles? They just aren't needed.
First thing that's really noticeable is the lightness and the benefits as a result. It really does make you wonder about all the sacrifices we make driving much heavier machines.
The 1.0 3 cylinder engine with just 66hp really is enough. It's responsive and really sprightly even at low RPM. It makes a good noise too! It sounds more V6 than it does 3 pot; and hides the typical 3 pot NVH way better than most, if not all the previous 3 pot cars I've driven. Even cruising on the motorway at 70mph the engine is almost unheard, but occasionally on inclines if you wish to accelerate you're dropping into 3rd or 4th, but it kind of makes up for it with it's rather additive howl.
The fuel economy is outstanding. I left Bristol on Tuesday evening, I got stuck in stop/start traffic in Bristol city centre, then I cruised at 70mph down the motorway until I got to Newport where I spent another 10miles and around half an hour in start/stop traffic. Frustration grew and when I got out of the traffic in Newport I spent the remaining 30 or so miles on the motorway in 4th gear with my right foot on the bulkhead (of course, never going above our 70mph speed limit officer). Once parked at home, I couldn't help but notice the trip MPG sitting at a rather unbelievable 57.6mpg despite the traffic and despite the rather speedy second half of the trip. If I drove my diesel Duster like that then I'd probably be looking at low 40's to the gallon, maybe even into the high 30's.
Also, thanks again to it's lack of weight it stopped well and turned well too. Certainly handles better than any SUV I've driven.
Build quality is reasonable, it's better than Dacia. But these things aren't particularly bargain cheap. I would love to test drive a higher level trim to see if the extra weight does effect things noticeably.
And I can't help but wonder, will we all look back in 10-20 years and wonder what on earth we were all doing being so wasteful driving around in such big, tall and heavy vehicles? They just aren't needed.
Americans probably won’t. Vehicles and the “status” they project are too embedded in the culture. Excessiveness isn’t a flaw, it’s a virtue.
Hate to break it to you but it’s not just Americans. The trend in Europe is also to go with an SUV if you have any money and want to show off status.
I go there almost every year, and can see the shift. Even their small cars are getting bigger.
Or maybe, and here is a crazy thought, people simply prefer more powerful and comfortable vehicles if they can afford them.
I haven’t been there in almost two decades so yeah my experience is outdated. Are they going full on rolling coal yet?
That's been and gone about 15 years ago but our diesel engines were much smaller and in passenger cars.
My thoughts here are, what if we could have had another 10-20 years of ICE if we all drove smaller cars. Surely that would be worth it?
For some reason people see size as comfort and luxury when it couldn't be further from the truth.
Yeah, I don’t know. I think personal choice is a good thing, however it doesn’t come without the potential for detriment.
With a manual transmission?
I don’t think you’ve driven larger vehicles all that much to say such a thing regarding comfort at least, because luxury can mean a lot of different things to different people.
A larger vehicle behaves a lot different on the road than a small vehicle. It will generally be quieter and more stable on the road. That alone improves the comfort.
Then there is of course more room and more room means bigger and more comfortable seats. When you upgrade an airline ticket from economy, what is it that you get? A bigger seat and more room
I don’t think you’ve driven larger vehicles all that much to say such a thing regarding comfort at least, because luxury can mean a lot of different things to different people.
A larger vehicle behaves a lot different on the road than a small vehicle. It will generally be quieter and more stable on the road. That alone improves the comfort.
Then there is of course more room and more room means bigger and more comfortable seats. When you upgrade an airline ticket from economy, what is it that you get? A bigger seat and more room
I owned a 2020 BMW 520d Touring for 12 months. How much bigger do you want to get?
Ok, so which subcompact rivals or exceeds the comfort of this BMW then?
