Substance and quality - A Picanto review

Dramatic Opposites United styling language has also brought more features, but an unchanged line-up of powertrains.

Representing the most dramatic redesign in its three generation history, Kia South Africa has finally disclosed price and spec details of the heavily updated Picano city car.

Shrunken Sportage

The internally named JA Picanto’s second update since its global reveal eight years ago, the current revision, applied last year, sees the debut of the brand’s Opposites United styling language first introduced on the Sportage three years ago.

Entailing the new look is a slimmer Tiger Nose grille, restyled headlight clusters with a thin L-shaped LED diode, a flatter bumper with a reshaped lower air intake, and on the range-topping EX Plus, new 15-inch alloy wheels.

Taking prominence at the rear is a wraparound LED light arrangement with the main clusters being connected by a full-width LED logo bar underneath the wiper.

A tweaked rear bumper completes the Picanto’s exterior, along with three new colour options; Smoke Blue Metallic, Adventurous Green Metallic and Sporty Blue Metallic.

Carried over hues are Clear White, Signal Red, Aurora Black Pearl, Sparkling Silver Metallic and Astro Grey Metallic.