There I was, driving along in the little Kia Picanto LX — weighing in at all of 1100cc and R72 995 — and my cell phone rang. If I liked, I was told, I could drop off the little Kia and pick up a Mercedes- Benz C230K Sports Coupé for the rest of the week. So what did I do? I turned the offer down. Not because I didn’t look forward to experiencing the Mercedes, but because I was enjoying driving the sort of car that many South Africans can actually consider buying. So the Merc was booked for a few weeks later, and I tootled on in what I think could be the best value available on four wheels.
From the outside the Picanto resembles a slightly shrunken Hyundai Getz, which means it should be a popular choice for young South African females — have you noticed how many of them seem to have fallen for the Hyundai? For some, the lack of power steering might pose a problem, but I stuck my wife and a couple of her friends behind the wheel, and none seemed to find the effort of changing direction too much of a burden.
Although the Picanto is blessed — some would say cursed — with an engine displacing just 1 086cc, it gallops along rather well when you keep the revs up. I don’t know just how many RPM you need, because the car doesn’t have a rev counter, but it’s easy enough to drive by the seat of your pants. The four cylinder 12 valve unit puts out just 49 kW, but with only 920-odd kg. plus the weight of the passengers, it does well on the road. Top speed is around 160 km/hr, and the car can cruise at a comfortable 140 on the speedo — that’s probably a genuine 130 or so, and not enough to allow any traffic department to start planning an upgrade of their Christmas party.
The Picanto also doesn’t have a temperature gauge. Instead it has a thermometer symbol that lights up in blue when the engine’s cold, hot when it’s overheating, and stays off when it’s just right.
Accommodation is good for such a little car. The boot is tiny, but the rear seats can be folded forward to provide more luggage room when there’s nobody in the back.
The Picanto is well-finished for its price, and not too badly specced either. It comes with rear foglamps, a rear window heater, height-adjustable headlights, remote central locking, a driver’s airbag, an alarm/immobiliser and a liquid sealant and compressor in place of the missing spare wheel, which can be bought separately.
The Kia Picanto sells for just R72 995 ( R79 995 with aircon), including a three year/100 000 km warranty and three years roadside assistance. We rate it as an absolute bargain.