With the aging MG3 likely to disappear and the future of the Suzuki Ignis up in the air, Kia is poised to take the high ground by offering Australia’s lowest-priced new car with the upcoming Picanto.
Now slated for a third-quarter launch, the 2024 Picanto will be an extensive refresh of the existing model that’s now more than six years old, but with changes that will keep the popular city car competitive.
The most obvious differences will be up front, with a bold new nose cone that connects the compact five-door hatchback with more contemporary Kias like the upcoming EV9 electric car.
Read more about the Kia Picanto
Spy shots reveal a variation on the brand’s ‘star map’ LED headlight themes, as seen on last year’s Seltos SUV guise, while a white grid surround to emphasize width and stance. A revised taillight treatment and reprofiled bumpers are also expected.
Check out the latest version of the smaller Korean-market Ray city car, which is actually related to the Picanto, as a possible visual reference.
Inside, new instrumentation and an updated multimedia system are likely to headline the major changes, which will likely also include fresh colors and trims, as well as a move to higher-quality materials to help keep buyers interested.
The 2024 Picanto is also in line for a safety update and should get more advanced driver assistance technology, such as available blind spot alerts and perhaps even an adaptive cruise control option. Note that unlike the MG3 and Ignis, important technology like autonomous emergency braking systems have been standard on Kia’s smallest car for quite some time.
And what’s under the hood?
Kia is likely to stick with a version of the existing 62kW/122Nm 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, as they account for the lion’s share of sales of Picanto.
It remains to be seen what this means for the manual-only GT with its fantastic 74kW/172Nm three-pot turbo 1.0-litre.
Given the age of the current JA model, which launched here in early 2017 and was revised with a minor facelift in 2021, making the 2024 facelift the third change in seven years, the price of the next Picanto is likely to be contained, despite the obvious specification. improvements described above. Much of its development costs have already been repaid.
While Kia Motors Australia director of product planning Roland Rivero declined to discuss future product, he did reiterate the importance of the Picanto line in this country, especially as low-cost rivals look set to exit the segment less than $20,000.
“It’s still going to be here for a long time,” he said Car guide this week.
“We are not afraid as a brand, even though we are driving the market. We are not worried about having a product like Picanto in our range. Frankly, we don’t see any negatives. We’ve fought hard to bring Picanto to market and we’re not looking forward to saying goodbye.”
Finally, with the next-generation Rio only left-hand drive and out of Mexico for global consumption, the Picanto needs to step up and fill the void in the B-segment supermini market.
According to Rivero, it’s perfectly positioned for consumers as the first of many Kias as they move through life.
“They buy the low price and the seven-year warranty and then move on to something bigger and better like a Sportage,” he said. “The Picanto is a journey for people to stay with the brand.”
Launched in Europe in 2003, the original Picanto didn’t sell here, but it really cemented Kia’s position as a maker of progressive yet affordable cars for the masses.
The second-generation TA series debuted in 2011 elsewhere, but only arrived in Australia at the end of its model cycle in 2016, to make way for the current model just a year later.
In 2022, Kia shifted nearly 5,200 units in Australia, down 21 percent from the previous year’s efforts due to stock shortages (but on par with the Mazda2) and some 11,000 units behind the best-selling MG3. The Ignis, which is classified as a light SUV, managed to find nearly 1900 buyers.
With Kia staying true to its roots with a modern, affordable city car, while leading the way globally with amazing all-electric game changers like the seven-seater EV6 and EV9 that hit the mark in $100,000, it’s obvious the brand wants to be. all things to all people.
