A 100-Horsepower Kia Picanto Is On The Way
Kia has confirmed a 99bhp turbocharged version of its dinky Picanto city car, and this is better news than you might think.
It’s slated to arrive in the last couple of months of this year. Weighing a little over a tonne in top-spec guise and blessed with a brilliant new chassis, the Picanto is a much better steer than you might expect, as we’ll explain in our review that goes live tomorrow.
Even with the 83bhp four-pot it’s good fun, so adding a meaty chunk more torque as well as more power, combined with three-pot character, means it’s going to be a winner. With prices for the turbo car guesstimated to start at below £14,000, it’s also going to be pretty affordable as new cars go.
The small warm hatchback market is going through a bit of a lull, with no real options on the table right now with the exception of the Renault Twingo GT. Kia’s move to a more sporting stance, along with a decent power-to-weight ratio and the right engine setup, are likely to shift the turbocharged Picanto to near the top of many teenage wish-lists.
The engine in question is a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre charmer already fitted to the Cee’d. It’s not as explosive or fruity-sounding as the equivalent in the Ford Fiesta, but it’s a good one. The Picanto will be at least 250kg lighter than the Cee’d, too, and that should see the 0-62mph sprint dip well below 10 seconds.
The short body, 99bhp output and involving chassis puts us in mind of the old Fiat Panda 100hp, which was a complete blast to drive, regularly cocking a back wheel around bends and even hopping onto two wheels if you were really committed on a bumpy corner. Let’s hope the blown Picanto is just as much of a giggle.
Comments
Turbo is the steroids for cars…this is a grreat example of it.
I think he will have something to say about that
The only way they kia could sell a car is by adding horsepower to a very boring stock car.
But, but horspower in dull cars is fun
Isn’t that how most manufacturers do the whole performance hatchback thing?
I wonder what other companies do that to make their hot hatches 🤔
So a bit like Volkswagen.
Hell yea
Now keep it stock from outside and you’ve got an excellent sleeper
Yay, another car that I can’t get insured on. F**k my life.
So many red pieces…I bet that’s were the power comes from
lets hope that more car companies follows this recent trend, turbocharging everything
You can buy a used Supra for less than that..
Yes, but a used Supra is at least 15 years older. A lot of people would rather buy new than used for various reasons. For example, anyone driving a Sandero as their personal car could have bought a used S class instead, but they didn’t.
The new Swift has 115 Hp ..in its non “sport” form. And its nicer.
It’s also bigger and more expensive to both buy and insure. They’re aimed at slightly different areas of the market.