Kia Picanto 2021 review: S snapshot

The Kia Picanto S is the Korean brand’s smallest and most affordable car in Australia.

Wearing an MSRP of just $14,690 for the five-speed manual version, the Picanto is one of the most affordable new cars on the Australian market. A four-speed automatic can be had at a $1500 premium, at $16,290 before on-road costs.

Updated for the 2021 model year, the Picanto S now scores a set of new halogen headlights, new designs for its 14-inch steel wheel covers, a new 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and a full colour multi-function display in the dash cluster.

Standard fitment includes cloth seat trim, plastic wheel and shifter, auto lights, basic air conditioning, and cruise control.

All Picantos now get auto emergency braking as part of their safety suite (but no other advanced safety items), and it has six airbags, dual ISOFIX points, and three top-tether mounts. The Picanto carries a four-star ANCAP safety rating.

The base S remains powered by the same 1.25-litre four-cylinder petrol engine as previous iterations, producing 62kW/122Nm. Official fuel consumption figures for the combined cycle are 5.0L/100km for the manual and 5.8L/100km for the auto. Our week-long test of the five-speed manual produced a real-world figure of 6.4L/100km.

The Picanto has a 35-litre fuel tank and can consume base-grade 91RON fuel.

As always Kia offers its seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the Picanto range, and service pricing is fixed for the life of the warranty and averages out at a yearly cost of $389.42.

The automatic version of the S is our pick of the range, as it offers the best balance of equipment and price in the Pincanto range.