Kia Revises Picanto

(Monday 24 January 2011)

The next-generation Kia Picanto will be officially revealed to the world at the Geneva Show on March 1 and go on sale in the UK shortly afterwards. A restyled and re-engineered version of the current car, the new Picanto is significantly longer and will have more room for passengers and luggage. It's also being sold for the first time in both three- and five-door body styles, though the three-door won't arrive in the UK until the autumn.

There are four new engines, three of them being basically the same one-litre unit running on petrol, biofuel or a mixture of the two. The other is an 84bhp 1.2 petrol. Kia's ISG stop/start system will be available on some UK models, and CO2 emissions will dip as low as 95g/km, below the exemption level for Vehicle Excise Duty.

Other features of the new Picanto include LED daytime running lights, a smart key, push-button start and either six or seven airbags, depending on model. Pricing has yet to be confirmed.

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