The Kia Picanto – Kia’s smallest car – gets a three-door body, for the first time in its history, mainly to meet the demands of the European market which tends to like 3-door A-segment cars just as much as their more practical 5-door siblings.
According to Kia, the market for A-segment cars (Picanto-sized city cars) will be about 2.4 million units in 2014, and 3.3 million by 2015. And about a third of this demand will be for 3-door A-segment cars, so without this 3-door Picanto, Kia will have no car to offer to this 1 million odd buyers. In the UK, the split between 5-door and 3-door are even closer 55 to 45 between the 5 and 3 door.
Kia did not simply remove 2 doors and replace them with fixed sheet metal. The main grille opening is larger than that on the five-door and is available with silver or red trim surrounds. The front bumper has been re-profiled to make the car appear wider and lower. There are also new doors, rear panels and glass aft of the A-pillar. The rear bumper has a faux diffuser design as well.
There are two petrol engine options – a 1.0 litre and a 1.25 litre from the Kappa family, making 68hp/95Nm and 84hp/121Nm respectively. Look after the jump for a small gallery of the Picanto 3-door.
[zenphotopress number=999 album=2529]
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uuu i like.bila mahu bawak masuk Malaysia ni?enough la old Picanto
Just came back from Vietnam. The Vietnam already has New Picanto that called New Morning in Vietnam. What interesting is the percentage of Korean and Japanese is balanced in Vietnam instead of Malaysia which think Korean cars is a rubbish car.
Everyone know that previous Korean car have suffer bad impression due to expensive spare part, unreliable due to numbers of mechanical problem, high fuel comsumption and poor resale value.
if they want to survive here, give a 7 years warranty with unlimited milleage like what they did in Europe!
Vietnamese seems to love Korean car.. Even their buses and lorries are Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo!
Another bullcraps simply tembak, Vietnamese buses and lorries not only limited to Korean like Hyundai, but Chinese also dominate like FAW.
Bullshit! Ho Chi Minh City is the world capital of motorbikes (Vietnamese called it as “Honda” or in Vietnamese as “xe máy”). Either car or motorbikes, Japs brand still rule the road in this right hand traffic road. Private car very few, fairly to say 100% bought by cash since private banks interest charges is up to 22%.
Guys… you all just offending this Expat from Viet Nam… he knows vietnam better than us…
so, be careful… hoho
Chào Bu?i Sáng/Good Morning
c?m ?n – thank you
t?t – good!
Kia Soul tooo …!
Boring….why all the korean cars using the same engine???1.0 o 1.25 kappa engine for fuel efficiency….tat kappa engine really tat save? like the advertisment after 2 hours drive still hv half a tank of petrol….n the wife said i’ realllly neeed to goooo….boring!
a lot better than ‘lagi best’ lah……………………..
Not sure, but if someone can really prove it to me i’d buy one, good for city drive mah :)
what for need to prove to you? go find out yourself….the whole world is already enjoying the better new gen korean cars which not only look much nicer but are also better equipped, low maintenance,better fc and better quality than the lousy overpriced jap junks.
LOL Hyundai and Kia is abang-adik, not surprising they even sharing the same platform!
Kia is owned by Hyundai since 1998, I believe probably you haven’t born yet.
Why need to develope and build different engines for the engine with same cc?
Just take a look on the Toyota Vios 1.5cc engine, how many car share with it?
And take a look on the proton 1.6cc engine, how many car share with it?
There is no 1.5cc car. ( 1.5 litre or 1,500 cc-cubic centimetre.)
look like a copy of golf GTI. anyway if can’t afford GTI, this one also can lah.
Toyota IQ?
OMG. The looks may not be there but the features are incredible for such a car. Ignition start – stop button. ESP. Head lamp leveler. Steering wheel buttons. Possibly 4 airbags (2 front, 2 side).
The pic seems to show leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, plus red leather on seats.
Man, I’m sold !
Where do I sign the dotted line ? :-)
Not to forget ‘auto climate control’….. Sweet…. =D
The rims look identical to my Alfa 159’s…
Exterior so so but interior looks nice, one of the best in class.
Satria challenger??
make it rm40k with kappa 1.25 engine please.
Saw a start button there. Nice.
Boring……
den go n buy the so called lagi best!!!
ask yourself….can you honestly say this is more boring than the current picanto?
So your lagi best is lagi boring than this one.
Ha ha ha ha :-) No comment ! ha ha ha !
New Picanto already launch in Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand. They latter 2 even have Kia Soul in their home market.
NAZA, WTH are you doing? Rather than bringing cheaper model to boost your sales but you bring expensive Sportage, Optima and Sorento to complete with Toyota and Honda?
entry level car conquered by ‘lagi best’ due to the misconception that it is a Toyota. Only after the Korea cars can pose a direct threat to the flagship models of the japs, they will bring in more models. in another words, they build branding first. when sonata sales can fight camry, then they know their brand os accepted here and will bring in more models….
Err, Golf GTI wannabe with that grille and rims??
head lamp looks like new myvi…but overall is nice design
if it is, then perodua copied kia, and not the other way around.
exactly…this was designed n launched wayyyy b4 perutdua’s sama tetapi”lagi mahal”.
the headlamp look better on this picanto than the new myvi.
if you were compare the new picanto to the previous generation, the difference is truly astounding. Kia has certainly come a long way.
However if you were compare the new myvi to the previous generation, you would think that it was just a facelift!
One of the economical cars that really looks cute is the prefacelift previous generation Picanto.
the interior is seriously a good improvement and looks like it cost 10k more than the dugong vios!!!
Hi, I want to ask for opinion.
I’m planning to buy used Picanto (CBU unit) as 2nd car. is it ok? price around rm18k (2005).
I dont care about resale value. safety wise, i think its better than other car at the same price bracket.
My missus has the naza version and so my opinion will be based on it.
Basically, if it’s just to move around the city, then you’re fine and without problems. Small, agile and nimble best describes it. FC is good in city traffic. Big side mirrors allow you to view much.
An occasional foray out of town is ok.
But when driven above 90, the very things that make it good in the city reveals its ugly side. It starts drinking. Why? It’s odd shape bangs as oppose to slice through the air…
The long and short of it… my missus gave up on it simple because she had to do a lot of expressway driving. If not for that, Pistachio (as she christian it) would still be in our driveway… :)
I’m driving a 2011 Picanto… Basically it’s the same as the previous version.. only some facelift. overall… the car is okay.. nothing much to impress… fuel consumption is really good.. this car is far much better than viva in terms of the stability and safety..
thanks for feedback. i guess there won’t be much different between naza & cbu unit.
how about maintenance?
yes it has odd shape. somehow i kinda like it..same thing when I look on savvy and kenari.
Comment on maintenance:
Well my sis owns the CBU version. Maintenance wise, it’s very HIGH (if you send to the authorized Naza service centres because they charged exhorbitantly high prices aka they suck your money like blood and the high $$$ you pay to them does not reflect to the quality of their services you get for your car aka your car will not be fixed properly). I’m not sure, maybe they are some authorized centres which are good but my family went through a few changes of Naza branches and still get the same treatment.
Currently, we send the car to our trusted mechanic who had experience in fixing Kimchi cars at an affordable price. So advice on maintenance:
1) Go to your trusted mechanic who has experience in fixing Korean cars (only for very MAJOR problems)
p/s: The major problem we experienced was the A/T gearbox problem and the mechanic & forum said that this is a common problem for previous gen Pica. Plz check on that on the car you’re abt to purchase.
2) Of course for basic maintenance like oil changing, filter, etc, any mechanic should be able to get the job done.
3) If you insist on Naza authorized, try to find a good branch with good service. I’ve heard there’s a few but nvr tried them before.
Like what King has mentioned, the tyre sized are odd and since the demand for the change of this kinda size of tyres are not as high demand as the MyVi’s, they will be more expensive. But its ride & handling is way better than P2’s models anytime.
Comment on the 3-door Pica:
Really looks cool, at least got some minor differences to differentiate it with the 5-door model. But i doubt that the 5-door model that we are getting in M’sia (if we’re getting) will come with the LED Daytime Running Lights as the ones launched in Indonesia and Philippines don’t have those.
Nasai,
If your sis stays in Subang, I would recommend NS Auto in USJ19.
It’s run by a lady manager. Very accommodating and certainly customer oriented…
i think buying a car at only RM18k, there is definitely no concern at all about depreciation.
i mean a new toyota camry 2.4 loses more than RM18k value in 1 year!!!
the old picanto’s (auto) so called weakness is its FC. RM 50 of fuel (around 26 litres only and already the tank is full) gets you around 300-330km of mileage only mix city plus a little highway. it only seems bad bcos the fuel tank is small and also bcos its such a small car so you would expect much better figures. but bear in mind its kerb weight of 940kg ( same as old myvi 1.3a) is around 150kg more than a viva auto and only 50kg lighter than the old vios.
some ppl do not switch on the O/D gear hence they get very bad mileage in highways.and contrary to popular belief, the picanto’s 1.1 engine is actually quite responsive and powerful for its spec.
maintenance and spare parts are pretty affordable. comparable to a saga/persona or myvi. only the odd size tyres are expensive to replace. you can refer to the 7 yr maintenance cost in naza’s website for the facelifted picanto.
Cool, your comment sounds very complete and as though you have owned one before (Honestly, have you owned the previous gen Picanto before?)
I agree on what you said abt the fuel tanks size. The fuel tank is small (according to the brochure it states 35L) and the fuel finishes quite fast thus it looks as if it drinks fuel like a fish drinks h2o but the reason to this is because of the small sized fuel tank.
Btw, about the Overdrive mode you mentioned, is it switch on or switch off? From my understanding, if the ‘O/D OFF’ indicator does NOT appear on the meter, means it is not activated but when you switch it on and the ‘O/D OFF’ indicator DOES appear on the meter, the 3rd gear is activated. Correct me if I’m wrong cuz I was confused at one time and thought the other way round because the overdrive on the meter panel appears as ‘O/D OFF’.
yeah, i used my brothers picanto for 1 year before….the previous gen.
a very good and reliable city car.
O/D off on the display means u are only using 3 gears. No display means u are using 4 gears. you can feel and see the drop in RPM the moment you use O/D.
Utter rubbish.
care to explain?
I think it looks like a fabulous little city runabout!
the kappa is quite a decent little engine. A little noisy (i think the i10 lacks proper NVH insulation) but for the price ranges that these are going into, one can hardly complain. At this level, the only other option are used cars and Indian exports.
However, if one can afford more, a Polo may be a better car.
He is scrap metal collector, so everything in metal form is rubbish to him! So better answer him “care not to explain?”, rather than ask him care to explain?
Great car and Nice designs!
The Picantos/Mornings been recalled!! No stories yet on this Paul?
This is not even consider as a car at all. Ugly meh…
Kia dunno how to design car anymore.
I would take Viva lorh anytime than this ugly Kia car.
Another boring freak comparison with butt-less jaguh kampong no. 2.
Are u blind?Nope, i don’t think u are blind coz even a blind can tell u which car is better when he/she sit in these cars.Let me think a proper word to describe u.Ah! i found one.Foolish.
Source : Yonghap News South Korea
Seoul 15-08-2011
South Korean second largest auto manufacturer KIA Motor Corp which affiliated with Hyundai Motor Co, recalled 935 units of KIA Morning/Picanto compact car produced between April 19 till July 29 2011, due to faulty fuel meter,
The fuel flow meter inside the fuel tank may malfunction when it touches the wall of the fuel tank and say there is still fuel left when the tank is, in fact empty, and thus leading to a sudden stoppage of the car.
BERNAMA NEWS
Source : Yonhap News South Korea
Seoul 15-08-2011
South Korean second largest auto manufacturer KIA Motor Corp which affiliated with Hyundai Motor Co, recalled 935 units of KIA Morning/Picanto compact car produced between April 19 till July 29 2011, due to faulty fuel meter,
The fuel flow meter inside the fuel tank may malfunction when it touches the wall of the fuel tank and say there is still fuel left when the tank is, in fact empty, and thus leading to a sudden stoppage of the car.
BERNAMA NEWS
Aiyoyo , Mr Jolo, when Honda and Toyota recall their cars, you never comment on this or paste those news on their article( which there are tons out there and much more compare to Kia/Hyundai). Thumb down to you :((
Nazakia, faster bring in this car, faster. I want one. Manual 3-door k….
Ohh Naza Kia… When do you guys want to bring new OPTIMA, SOUL, FORTE HATCHBACK, PICANTO, RIO to Malaysia market??? I need to see more Korean car in Malaysia… and when you bring the car here, i suggest let the KIA badge on the car and never change it to NAZA…
Siapa kata korean car high maintaince? Saya sudah dua buah kereta kia. Tiada masalah. Sparepart murah. Saya ada spectra dan yang baru forte. Kedua dua good car compare dgn city. Dan vios. Recommand kpd semua. Best driving experiences
Spectra ?
Dont go there dude.
Resale value for 2007 = RM16K.
My superior have to import from Singapore a brand new set of engine due to engine kong.
And fuel consumption are ridicilously high.
Tipu lu ni bro :-)