The latest Kia Picanto has been jostling for position with the city car class leaders since it was launched in 2017, thanks to its wide appeal at a wallet-friendly price. It uses the same formula as all its leading rivals, with a grown-up driving experience, low running costs and a surprisingly spacious interior. One thing it was missing, until now, was a turbo engine at the top of the range. The turbocharged Volkswagen up! Here we’re taking a closer look at Kia’s new 1.0-litre T-GDi turbo petrol motor, which aims to combine efficiency with a bit more performance and flexibility. We’re testing the Picanto in GT-Line S trim, which is a bit more expensive than this High up! ’s price as tested, you’ll notice that they’re much closer overall. So which of these tiny turbo city cars is the better choice? Read on to find out. The latest Kia Picanto is more grown-up than ever, and this GT-Line S model sits at the top of the range with the new 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine. It’s £14,720 list price puts it at the expensive end of the city car market, but match its spec with options on the VW up!
The Kia matches the VW’s suspension layout, using MacPherson-strut front suspension and a torsion beam at the rear. Some components in the Picanto are shared with the Hyundai i10, just as the VW has its own sister cars (the SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo) to help with economies of scale and keep prices more affordable. In GT-Line S spec, the Picanto features 16-inch alloy wheels, sportier bumpers, tinted windows, LED daytime running lights and a chrome grille surround, which give it a sportier look than the up! On the inside there are artificial leather seats and sporty-looking pedals as well. The main difference between the two cars in the cabin is that the Kia features a seven-inch touchscreen display with satellite navigation, smartphone connectivity and connected services, while in the up! ’s simply a mount for your phone. Quality can’t match that of the VW, because some of the cost-saving materials present in both models are hidden away in the German car, but on show in the Picanto. Still, build quality is on par; these two products are prime examples of city cars that feel more grown-up than you might expect them to.
That maturity extends to the driving experience, too, because the Kia is quite refined, even though it can’t quite match the up! The engine is very quiet at idle, but wind and road noise are much more noticeable when you’re up to speed than in the VW. However, the difference gets smaller the faster you go, and on the motorway there’s not too much in it. Both competitors are good for a city car, but you’ll still need to turn up the volume on the audio system to drown out the outside world at speed. The Kia rides well most of the time, and it’s smooth enough around town, but it’s not as composed as the Volkswagen. Big potholes cause more of a stir in the Picanto’s cabin, for example. The steering isn’t quite as direct as in the up! ’t as slick, either. Still, it’s fun to use, with a light clutch and a neat, mechanical feel.
It means you can make the most of the engine, which is a real highlight. This new turbocharged motor is undoubtedly the best part about the driving experience; the extra power and torque ensure this version of the Picanto is brilliant fun. We recorded a 0-60mph time of 9.1 seconds at our test track - 0.9 seconds faster than its rival - and the Kia was also significantly quicker in our in-gear tests. It’s a little more powerful than the up! ’s a distinct difference between them; overtaking opportunities are more limited in the VW, for example, because you’ll have to find a longer section of road to get past slower traffic. The Picanto has the advantage when it comes to pure boot space, although it’s not by much. There are 255 litres with the rear seats in place, four more than the VW, but it’s also the more spacious choice with them folded. You get 1,010 litres in total, while the up! As with the up!
’s a large loading lip and the seats don’t fold down completely flat. Still, both cars have a moveable boot floor that can be raised to create a flatter surface. The trade-off for the extra boot space in the Picanto comes with rear legroom, because there’s much less space here than in the up! Headroom is good in both cars, although there’s a lot more space in the back of the Volkswagen. A seven-year warranty comes as standard with every Kia, and the brand did quite well in our Driver Power 2018 satisfaction survey, although its eighth-place finish was behind Volkswagen’s fifth out of 26 makers. The Picanto gained a four-star Euro NCAP crash rating under tougher requirements in 2017, but has better safety kit. For a start, there are six airbags to the VW’s four, and the Kia has autonomous braking fitted as standard (it’s a £380 option on the up!).
