Leaked images of the heavily updated Kia Picanto show boldly redesigned front and rear ends and a lightly restyled interior.
The new Picanto, one of the cheapest and smallest cars on sale today, is set to be revealed in the coming weeks and will adopt styling cues from Kia's new ‘Opposites United’ design language to bring it into line with newer models, including the Sportage, Sorento, EV6 and EV9.
The images, leaked by Autospy, show a prominent 'Tiger Nose' front grille, vertical LED headlights with EV9-inspired daytime-running lights and an LED rear light bar.
The boot release has been moved to just under the light bar, with a rear splitter shown on GT-Line models and restyled alloy designs. The car was also pictured in a pale green colour not before seen on the Picanto.
Inside, revisions are more subtle. The instrument cluster is now fully digital and the lane positioning looks to be illustrated by a new CGI rendering of the car. Updated graphics appear to feature on the central infotainment touchscreen, which has been largely carried over from the old car.
It is not yet known if the outgoing Picanto's powertrains will feature on the new car. However, with Kia accelerating toward its target of becoming an electric-only brand by 2035, its combustion-only cars could feature mild-hybrid technology. The current car is only available with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, which pushes out 66bhp in base form and 99bhp in turbocharged guise.
The new car is likely to be priced in line with rivals while reflecting a premium on the £13,415 starting price of the existing car, which is currently available to order from stock only. Its sibling car, the Hyundai i10, recently nudged past the £15,000 mark for the first time, leaving just four cars on sale below that price point in the UK: the Picanto, Dacia Sandero, Fiat Panda and Citroën C3.
In April 2023, Kia shifted 5339 Picantos in Europe, representing a 34% increase on April 2022 and highlighting the ongoing popularity of this supermini, which was launched 20 years ago. This round of updates will look to sustain its appeal for a few years until the model is replaced – either directly or indirectly – by an electrified equivalent.
