Kia Picanto TA

Kia Picanto price confirmed: RM54,888 to RM59,888

In Cars, Kia, Local News / By Danny Tan / 31 October 2013 2:57 pm / 129 comments

We’ve given you a roadshow preview, the local specs and a test drive report of the new Kia Picanto, but there’s one piece left in the jigsaw – the price, which has finally been given the green light by the government.

It is now confirmed that the Kia Picanto starts from RM54,888 for the manual and RM59,888 for the automatic, both OTR with insurance. The final figures are a pleasant surprise and are below the estimated prices of below RM60k for the M/T to around RM64k for the A/T.

The spec list is long for a car of this size. Six airbags (dual front, side, curtain) and ESP are standard on this Euro NCAP four-star car. Also included are four disc brakes, ISOFIX anchor points for child seats, four-sensor rear parking assist, auto headlamps, projector headlamps with manual levelling, LED daytime running lights, electric folding side mirrors, trip computer and factory audio with AUX/USB.

The above is across the board. The A/T variant adds on 15-inch alloys (14 on M/T), chrome door handles, front fog lamps, Supervision cluster meter, two extra speakers (total six), steering controls and Bluetooth for the stereo, leather wrapped steering and keyless entry with push start button.

Other smaller additions on the A/T include a sunglasses box, illumination for the cup holders and a large driver’s vanity mirror with LED illumination.

The Picanto is powered by a 1.2 litre Kappa engine with 87 PS and 120 Nm of torque. The four-cylinder CVVT unit is paired to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic. The first 1,000 customers to book or register the Picanto by the end of November 2013 will be entitled to complimentary IM4U number plates.

Read our test drive report of the Picanto with full gallery here.

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Free IM4U number plates for first 1,000 Kia Picantos

In Cars, Kia, Local News / By Danny Tan / 21 October 2013 1:50 pm / 26 comments

The second-generation Kia Picanto is now in showrooms nationwide, available for booking at an estimated price of under RM60k for the manual and below RM64k for the automatic variant. The prices are not final as Naza Kia is waiting for approval by the government.

UPDATE: Pricing for the Picanto has been confirmed – RM54,888 for the M/T and RM59,888 for the A/T, OTR with insurance

Both five-speed manual and four-speed auto transmissions are paired to a 87 PS/120 Nm 1.25 litre Kappa engine with CVVT. Naza Kia says that the first 1,000 customers to “book or register” the new Picanto will be entitled to a complimentary IM4U number plate.

Introduced by the PM in March this year, the IM4U plate was rolled out in conjuction with the 1Malaysia For Youth movement, with the objective of it helping to raise funds to support the movement’s activities. The special series has the usual run of 9,999 numbers, but cannot be registered in tax-free islands Langkawi and Labuan, unlike with the G1M series commonly seen on mega-buck supercars.

Available in six colours, the new Picanto comes standard with six airbags, ESP and all-round disc brakes. The high-spec automatic variant features things like keyless entry with push start, Supervision meter plus Bluetooth and steering buttons for the factory audio. Warranty is for five years with unlimited mileage. Full local spec list and test drive report here.

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DRIVEN: Kia Picanto 1.2L Automatic and Manual

In Car Reviews, Cars, Kia / By Danny Tan / 18 October 2013 8:39 pm / 106 comments

With a tagline like ‘All in Small’, Naza Kia’s confidence that the new Kia Picanto comes with all that small car buyers want is apparent. With pricing starting from below RM60k for the manual to around RM64k for the automatic (estimated, final price yet to be rubber-stamped by the government), it’s not a bargain, but you do get plenty for the money.

UPDATE: Pricing for the Picanto has been confirmed – RM54,888 for the M/T and RM59,888 for the A/T, OTR with insurance

Some of the toys in the Picanto’s backpack aren’t even available as options in large executive sedans, so things like six airbags, ESP, disc brakes at each corner, Hill Start Assist, keyless entry/push start, LED DRLs and Bluetooth certainly stand out in a segment that includes the Mitsubishi Mirage, Suzuki Alto and sister Hyundai i10. Size aside, the Kia will also have to draw punters away from Malaysia’s best selling car, the Perodua Myvi.

Its case looks pretty solid on paper, so the only thing left to do is to drive it and find out if the second-generation Picanto TA really does have it all.
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Kia Picanto Malaysian specs previewed on website

In Cars, Kia, Koreans, Local News / By Paul Tan / 14 October 2013 8:04 pm / 112 comments

Malaysian Kia distributor Naza Kia has previewed the specifications and equipment for the new Kia Picanto TA on its website. Pre-booking is also now open via a form on the official website. Like big brother Rio, the Picanto will be delivered with Kia badges.

Two variants have been revealed – one with a five-speed manual and another with a four-speed automatic, both paired to the 1.25 litre Kappa engine producing 87 PS at 6,000 rpm and 120 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. Halogen projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights as well as LED tail lamps are standard. The steering wheel is height adjustable.

UPDATE: Pricing for the Picanto has been confirmed – RM54,888 for the M/T and RM59,888 for the A/T, OTR with insurance. Test drive report here.

The automatic version has more equipment. What it adds on to the manual are 15-inch alloys with 175/50 tyres (165/60 R14 for the manual), front fog lamps, chrome door handles, Supervision cluster meter panel, large LED illuminated vanity mirror, driver’s side sunglass case, six speakers (instead of four), Bluetooth, steering wheel audio control, leather wrapped steering wheel, keyless entry and push start, plus cup holder illumination.

The brilliant thing about the specs is that safety features are top notch – both the automatic and manual variants are equipped with six airbags, ESC stability control, ABS, and Hillstart Assist Control.

You will find a full Kia Picanto specs sheet in the gallery after the jump. No prices have been announced for now, but when we spoke to sales advisors at a Kia roadshow in Sunway Pyramid last month where the Picanto was being previewed, an estimated price range of below RM60k to around RM64k was mentioned.

So could we be looking at RM59k for the manual and RM64k for the automatic? It’s much more pricey compared to the other cars in its segment such as the Hyundai i10 and Suzuki Alto, but then again the specs are higher than usual as well. Like what you see and hear?

Look after the jump for a big gallery of pix and specs.

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Kia Picanto previewed in Malaysia, launch next month

In Cars, Kia, Local News / By Danny Tan / 23 September 2013 3:59 pm / 109 comments

The second-generation Kia Picanto is now in Malaysia, with an official launch scheduled for the first half of next month. The A-segment five-door hatch was previewed at Naza Kia’s roadshow in Sunway Pyramid over the weekend, and we were there for a closer look and to dig for some info from the sales personnel.

UPDATE: Pricing for the Picanto has been confirmed – RM54,888 for the M/T and RM59,888 for the A/T, OTR with insurance. Test drive report here.

According to a friendly SA, the car you see here is the exact local spec car, which is officially classified as a locally-assembled model. Like big brother Rio, the Picanto will be delivered with Kia badges. The TA Picanto is powered by a 1.25 litre Kappa engine, which has 87 hp/120 Nm in the current and next-gen Hyundai i10.

This four-cylinder CVVT engine is paired to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox – yes, Naza Kia will be offering a manual here as well, which is pretty surprising given the traditionally low take up rate for stick shift variants. We’re not complaining.

Perhaps more surprising is the standard safety kit list, which includes ABS, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and six airbags for BOTH the manual and the automatic, we were told, in addition to all-round disc brakes, which is uncommon in this segment.

As you can see from the cabin shots below (display car was locked), the Picanto will also come with steering wheel controls for the factory audio system. Phone buttons sit on the right steering spoke, hinting at the availability of Bluetooth pairing. We zoomed in and spotted manual air con and auto headlamps, too. LED DRLs and distinctive claw-style LED rear signature lighting add some pizzazz.

According to the SA, the estimated price range is from below RM60,000 to around RM64,000 for the auto. The cheaper manual is expected to lose out on some toys such as keyless entry with push start button. An ad of the new Picanto has appeared on our sister classifieds site oto.my, and you can view it here.

It all sounds pretty good for a small car, and the Picanto looks rather cute as well. What do you think?

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Kia Picanto – second-gen to debut in Malaysia in Q4

In Cars, Kia, Local News / By Anthony Lim / 13 August 2013 3:08 pm / 54 comments

Naza Kia is scheduled to launch the second-generation Kia Picanto – which made its debut in Geneva back in 2011 – sometime in the fourth quarter, according to a Bernama report.

“We can launch it the earliest in mid-October. We are still studying the prices, which are expected to be between RM55,000 and RM65,000,” company COO Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar told the news agency.

The report indicates that the five-door TA – spied on Malaysian roads a few months back – will arrive in its 1.25 litre Kappa form, and will be available in both automatic and manual transmission versions, with the company believing there is still a strong demand for manual variants, especially outside the Klang Valley.

Naza is targeting a sales volume of about 400 units per month of the Picanto – known as the Morning in its domestic market – for a start, the report adds.

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Spyshot: Kia Picanto TA on the Guthrie Corridor

In Cars, Kia, Spyshots / By Paul Tan / 23 June 2012 9:56 pm / 63 comments

This white latest generation Kia Picanto (model code TA) was snapped by reader Sean Ooi on the Guthrie Corridor Expressway this week. Notice the stickers on the rear? It looks like a showroom car from another country. This isn’t the only new unlaunched Kia that’s been sighted on test in Malaysia in the past few months – we saw the Kia Rio on the road too, back in March 2012.

I’m not completely sure if it’s Naza Kia testing the Picanto, as the Kia Rio we saw had its badges taped, but this one didn’t, which gives me the impression that whoever put it on the road doesn’t really care much about the impression the public gets from seeing it on the road.

A long time ago I would just assume that if a Kia Picanto is on the road with trade plates, it meant the distributor is putting some miles on the car to see if it suits the Malaysian road environment, but not any more. This is because we’ve previously seen the Toyota Passo Sette (the originator of the Perodua Alza) and the Nissan March being tested on the road before, but not by Perodua and Nissan respectively – instead we identified the trade plates as belonging to Proton, so I suppose they were conducting some benchmarks.

Does anyone recognise the B1400A trade plate? Does it belong to Naza Kia?

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First images of 2011 Kia Picanto – Geneva debut!

In Cars, International News, Kia, Koreans / By Paul Tan / 4 January 2011 1:49 pm / 25 comments

Kia have released the first photos of the next generation Kia Picanto – now larger and longer both in terms of length and wheelbase, though official figures have not been revealed. This is the first bodystyle of the new Picanto to be unveiled – a 5-door bodystyle, with a 3-door bodystyle in the works to be revealed later. It’s quite a cute design with a more upmarket feel than the one it replaced.

Four powertrains will be available with the new car in 1.0 litre to 1.2 litre displacements, consisting of petrol, LPG bi-fuel and flex fuel variants. The Picanto will make its world debut at the Geneva International Motor Show in March this year.

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