Kia Picanto Facelift Spied Hinting At Big Exterior Changes

The Kia Picanto is the brand's entry-level offering in Europe. Even a vehicle at the bottom of the range deserves upgrades, though. A new gallery of spy shots shows us that a refresh for the little hatchback is on the horizon.

This Picanto is in Sweden for cold-weather testing. Kia's engineering team really doesn't want the world to see the updates for the model because there's lots of covering on the body, including on the nose, doors, and tail.

Compared to the existing Picanto, this example has new headlights. Their shape is boxy, and bracket-shaped running lights outline them.

Along the flanks, this Picanto boasts a beltline that rises upward a bit more than the current vehicle at the back. Since the development team covers the rest of the doors, it's possible that there are other styling changes that we aren't able to see yet.

At the back, the Picanto seems to have a section for disguising the hatchback's shape. The raised area appears too bulbous to be a production component. The taillights have vertical LED portions that are part of the current design. The position of the sensors in the bumper is also different, which points to an updated panel in this area.

These photos don't show the interior. Given the extensive upgrades to the exterior, it's possible that Kia might plan on modernizing the cabin. For example, the Picanto shares underpinnings with the Hyundai i10. That model's recent updates include an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with available features like navigation and the wireless implementations of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It's not clear whether there would be any powertrain changes to the updated Picanto. Its Hyundai i10 sibling didn't receive any changes, though.

We expect the updated Picanto to debut in Europe before the end of the year. There's a rumor about Kia introducing an electric version of the Picanto, but there's no indication of it happening for this refresh.