I have rented Picantos from Hertz at Gerona airport in Spain many times and even disregarding the low purchase price i cannot think of one reason why anyone would want to buy any of the offerings from other manufacturers in this segment.
They are good cars.
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Isn't this the car Jeremy Clarkson bought brand-new from a dealer and then parked opposite and set about it with a sledge hammer? Shows he must be a car-hater deep down!!!
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Isn't this the car Jeremy Clarkson bought brand-new from a dealer and then parked opposite and set about it with a sledge hammer? Shows he must be a car-hater deep down!!!
IIRC that was a Perudoa of some form
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>>My only moan woulb be the interior not quite there yet>>
I would disagree.. Interior build quality and plastic quality in relation to price is excellent IMO.
Much much better than the more expensive Fiesta which I think the plastic dash quality is abyssmal.
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> better buy than a fiesta
Comparing Picanto to Fiesta is a bit like comparing Escort to BMW series 3. They are not in the same class, price bracket, standard, trim levels or expected performance.
Kia Picanto is low budget alternative to miniature town car group - Ford Ka, VW Lupo/Fox, Toyota Aygo/Citroen C1, Seat Arosa. In ideal world, where cars in within the same class have same prices Kia Picanto would never rise enough be viable alternative to any of the European "kei" cars. It's not even a question of "being on the same page" - compared to any of the cars listed above Kia Picanto is not only in different book, on different shelf but in a different library, together with its asian rivals - Perodua Kelisa of Chevy Spark (better known as Daewoo Matiz). These are not the cars you pick for their looks, performance or abilities. These are the cars you pick purely for their price. These are the no thrills rides of the budget sector, white box goods, the "generic alternative replacements". It's the high flier in low expectations zone rather than bottom on the list of the good cars guide. Picanto is the kind of car others will always refer to as "not bad for Kia", whereas if it had Fiat or Skoda badge you would say "not too good for a Fiat (or Skoda)".
And it has to be said, put against Kelisa and Spark, the Picanto shines. And for the price you truelly can't do better.
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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> better buy than a fiesta Comparing Picanto to Fiesta is a bit like comparing Escort to BMW series 3. They are not in the same class, price bracket, standard, trim levels or expected performance.
This my point I actualy prefer the picanto to a Fiesta Do you think that the Fiesta interior is THAT MUCH beter than a Picanto...To be honest i think the interior of a fiesta i Carp
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Are you serious when you consider the Aygo/107 a better car than the Picanto?I cannot comment on the VW Fox or Seat Arosa as i have never driven either but i have driven the Aygo/107 and consider that car to be a rough/noisey poorly equipped nasty little shed that is not even keenly priced.
I can only guess that Toyota thought that it would be a good idea to get involved to sell a few engines,i cannot think of any other reason to get involved.
Picanto every day of the week.For around £5,000 its a no brainer.
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Comparing Picanto to Fiesta is a bit like comparing Escort toBMW series 3. They are not in the same class, price bracket, standard, trim levels or expected performance>>
utter cobblers..
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> Originally posted by T Lucas:
> Are you serious when you consider the Aygo/107 a better car than the Picanto?
Yes. Where Picanto's suspension is bouncy and crashy Aygo is soft and really well tweaked for town use. Aygo looks better inside and out, is safer (4 star NCAP), more refined, faster (noticeable 2.2 sec to 60 difference and higer max speed), more economical (61.4 mpg vs. Kia's 55.4 mpg) plus it has lower insurance group and emissions. Despite your statement Aygo is also more quiet (70dB vs 73dB of Picanto).
> Originally posted by T Lucas:
> For around £5,000 its a no brainer.
That's what I said at the bottom of my post. £5,000 can buy you a Chevy, Perodua or Kia. If it has to be new and you only have £5000 you can't do better than Picanto.
> Originally posted by mrmender:
> Do you think that the Fiesta interior is THAT MUCH beter than a Picanto...
Top interior of Picanto - tinyurl.co.uk/ky9y
Mid range int of Fiesta - tinyurl.co.uk/0u9x
You tell me which one looks better.
> Originally posted by Imagos:
> utter cobblers..
Could we have future replies in full sentences, otherwise oneliners like that just make you sound like, no offence, a suddenly awaken drunk at the back of the night bus. ;)
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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vOn,have you driven the Picanto and the Aygo/107 etc?For the life in me i cannot see how you say the Aygo is soft and refined and the Picanto is crashy and bouncy,the exact opposite in my experience.
Looks are obviously in the eye of the beholder,but there is a lot of painted metal in the 107,Aygo,C1,not so the Picanto,and the interior room in the Picanto is much bigger.
Even if they were the same price i still think the Picanto is far better.
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Is it true the Picanto doesn't come with a spare wheel, presumably because of the extremely small boot area? Other than that, I think they make an excellent buy for 4999.
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yep, no spare - got spray in gunk. As the order taker said when we bought it " it comes with rac, they can tow you in"
fine for some, a major hassle for others. On a picanto, prob not a problem (stereotyping the type of use)
we have an auto picanto and its fine. had one of the very first ones (i was waiting for it come out, was chasing the sales bloke! ) v solid and cheap to run.
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tinyurl.com/hj222
Have a look at the above. Looks like a bargain.
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tinyurl.com/hj222 Have a look at the above. Looks like a bargain.
That review says it has a 3 cyl engine, but they're 4's I think.
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Picanto's i've dealt with have spares!
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Plenty of 'posh'very expensive cars come without a spare and just a tin of gunk and a compresser.Good enough for MB,then its ok for Kia.I would be a bit fed up though if i had destroyed the tyre in the middle of the night though.
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> For the life in me i cannot see how you say the Aygo is soft and refined and the Picanto is crashy and bouncy
I know you won't take my word for it, so quick look at the reviews:
Parkers "The ride is wallowy on the motorway and especially so on undulating roads."
Autoexpress "While the ride quality is adequate at low speeds around town and soaks up small ripples on the motorway, point it towards choppy rural roads and the Kia bounces around.(...) In one instance, the CD player even jumps as a result."
4Car "Drawbacks: Kia badge, questionably styled grille, bouncy ride, poor NCAP crash test score"
> there is a lot of painted metal in the 107,Aygo,C1
I know, the lack of door cards. I wasn't too found of it either. But Aygos interior is more modern and fun, while while in Kia it's just fields of low grade grey plastic.
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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For 5 doors I would rather have a nearly new Fiesta, Clio or Yaris any day, if 3 doors/space not an issue then the Ka is so much fun to drive it is great value at £5k new.
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For 5 doors I would rather have a nearly new Fiesta, Clio or Yaris any day, if 3 doors/space not an issue then the Ka is so much fun to drive it is great value at £5k new.
I class nearly new as no older than 6 months.
A quick search suggests you have no chance of getting a 'nearly new' Fiesta, Clio or Yaris for 5 grand. For this omney you are talking 2-3 years old.
My father sold his 2 year old Fiesta with 70,000 miles on the clock for £3,500.
5 grand for virtually a brand new car in 2006 is fantastic value for money.
We currently have one car while my wife is on maternity leave. When she starts back at work we'll be looking to spend about 5 grand on a car for her to pootle to work and back and if we can find a new one for that money that's what we will have. With the comfort of a three year warranty in my eyes it's a no brainer.
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So i take it vOn that you have not driven these cars,i have and i dissagree with Parkers on ride,styling,well thats upto you,poor crash test score,not that bad,not that you would want to crash in any of them.
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Isobella
Enjoy your new car. You've spent well.
H
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IMO the OP has got a good deal - At that price it wins hands down against it's rivals in that sector. Even considered against a 2 year old Yaris or similar it seems a no-brainer.
On slight tangent, I'm puzzled by the fact that Kia offer a 999cc and 1086cc petrol engines where the performance difference so small (i.e. less than 10%, 44.8kW Vs 47.7kW)
Why not make the gap slightly larger?
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originally posted byT Lucas
> So i take it vOn that you have not driven these cars
I can see you set your mind on Kia being better than Toyota so hard nothing's and noone's going to make you think otherwise and, I'm not going to waste my time and argue, certainly not about a Picanto.
But how on earth did you draw the conclusion I haven't driven the cars we are talking about I will never know...
originally posted byT Lucas
> I'm puzzled by the fact that Kia offer a 999cc and 1086cc petrol engines where the performance difference so small.
> Why not make the gap slightly larger?
Traction I suppose. Kia Picanto is based on the same platform and chasis as Hyundai Getz (which kind of shows you what could have been achieved with material given) but Kia, for whatever reason, decided to make it shorter and narrower. Neither versions of Picanto are exactly fast, with 15 seconds and change to 60 being the fastest option, but narrow and tall car with relatively high centre of gravity need limited power in order to sustain fair grip or it would cock its wheels and loose traction on every sharp corner. Infamous Elk-test of Mercedes A-Class comes to mind...
Mind you, if it was made by Renault they would probably put a 150bhp engine in it, paint it in stripes and make cornering on two wheels its main advertised feature.
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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Kia Picanto is based on the same platform and chasis as Hyundai Getz
Are you quite sure? Big difference in size...
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> Are you quite sure? Big difference in size...
I'm sure. Hyundai also have twin model based on the same shortened Getz platform - almost identical in all dimensions including internal space and carries very similar pricetag but it's made in India rather than in Korea. It's called Atos Prime, or Amica in UK...
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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vOn,i actually think that Toyota cars are just about the best mass market cars you can buy,my own money will always favour Toyota,i currently own 2 Toyotas,but.......we will have to agree to disagree,and as much as i like Yaris,i would struggle to justify twice the price over a Picanto and the Aygo/107 would be a definite no no,even if they were the same price.
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> Are you quite sure? Big difference in size... I'm sure. Hyundai also have twin model based on the same shortened Getz platform - almost identical in all dimensions including internal space and carries very similar pricetag but it's made in India rather than in Korea. It's called Atos Prime, or Amica in UK...
v0n is right about the Picanto being a shortened chassis of the Getz. But totally wrong about the Amica/Atos Prime which is totally different and a very poor effort in almost every respect.
The Picanto is a fantastic car, as a remember it came first in several reviews in Autocar and is highly praised by most of the motoring press. I would have bought a LX version however as they can be bought for only £300 more than a GS.
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> v0n is right about the Picanto being a shortened chassis of the Getz. But totally wrong about
> the Amica/Atos Prime which is totally different
Poor effort as Amica might be please believe me - Hyundai Amica/Atos Prime/Santro/Xing/Zip Plus, Dodge Atos and Kia Picanto/Morning/Visto share the same underpinnings and chasis based on shortened Getz platform. Not difficult to check either.
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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Poor effort as Amica might be please believe me - Hyundai Amica/Atos Prime/Santro/Xing/Zip Plus, Dodge Atos and Kia Picanto/Morning/Visto share the same underpinnings and chasis based on shortened Getz platform.
v0n the Atoz and Amica were sold from 1998, that is 4 years before the getz even existed !
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> v0n the Atoz and Amica were sold from 1998
You are talking old Amica, based on even older Atoz (not Atos). The current Atos Prime/Amica was lauched in 2003, same year as Picanto.
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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New Amica and the old amica are the SAME car, with a little tiny face lift front and rear, it is not related to the Picanto at all.
To prove the point: www.autoexpress.co.uk/previews/66828/hyundai_amica...l
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Arguing about underpinnings of Hyundai Amica, there's 5 minutes of my life I will never get back. :)
Look, I honestly have no business in tricking you into thinking that few tiny cars from effectively same parent company (Hyundai owns Kia) use the same underpinnings (and engines for that matter) all over their stable.
But because I trust Autotrader's rewritten hear-say from german sister magazines less than I trust News Of The World finding Elvis on Ibiza, here are but a few links to equally low caliber sources that claim otherwise:
www.channel4.com/4car/road-tests/K/kia/picanto04-/...l (point 3 "Hyundai Twin")
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Picanto
www.wheels24.co.za/Wheels24/NewModels/0,,1369-1374...l
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[Nissan dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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