The Kia Picanto is an A-segment 5-door hatchback that’s quite popular in a number of markets for its great overall package, high quality and reasonable asking price. In the South Korean market, where it is known as the Kia Morning, the car just received a major facelift, incorporating a revised design and tonnes of new features.
No word on when this new facelift model will roll out globally, but given domestic sales seem to be the only place Kia can place safe bets right now, it might be some time before this model comes to Malaysia. Let’s take a look at the facelifted Picanto in greater detail.
Engine and Gearbox
In South Korea, they’re sticking to just one powertrain option for now. A 1.0-litre MPI petrol engine and a 4-speed automatic gearbox. This engine puts out 76PS @ 6200rpm and 95Nm of torque @ 3750rpm. Enough to get the little hatch about in the city.
Trim Options
The Kia Picanto seems to have at least two load outs in most aspects. For lighting, the lower end sees halogen reflectors with LEDs making up the upper tier. The LED headlights also seem to bring other trim improvements to the front fascia, including more intricate designs, daytime running lights, use of chrome and glossy black plastic.
Inside, we see three different trim levels. One finished in flat greys, another in a mix of black and the last in black with Honey Bee yellow accents. We’re not sure if every body colour will receive a corresponding version like this or just the Honey Bee coloured car.
For Displays and Interfaces, we see a new 8″ colour and touch enabled infotainment unit, a 4.2″ Multi-Info Display on the instrument cluster and the same Automatic climate control unit carried forward. More basic versions of these three elements are available.
Exterior Colours
Clear White Sparkling Silver Shiny Red Titanium Silver Aurora Black Pearl Milky Beige Honey Bee
Lighting
LED Headlights Halogen Headlights LED Taillights Halogen Taillights LED Foglights Halogen Foglights
Interior Trim
Grey with matte accents Black with glossy & chrome accents Black with orange accents (possibly exclusive to Honey Bee exterior colour)
Displays & Interfaces
8″ Touch & Colour Display infotainment Standard Infotainment Auto Climate Control Manual Climate Control 4.2″ colour MID, chrome accents Standard cluster
Rim choices
14″ Steel with Hub Cap 14″ Alloy 16 Alloy, Dual Tone
Safety & Driver Assistance
Safety is another big appeal of the Picanto. Despite its small size, Kia have always put quite a bit of emphasis here. In this facelift, we see a bunch of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), but no Active Cruise Control. The Picanto gets 7 airbags, including one for the driver’s knees.
Forward Collision Alert Blind Spot Assistance Lane Keeping Assist Rear Cross Traffic Alert Driver Attention Warning 7 Airbags Driver’s Knee Airbag Tyre Pressure Monitoring System Torque Vectoring by Braking (TVBB)
Optional Accessories
This is probably a South Korean exclusive, but the Picanto there gets these optional accessories under the TUON name.
Black roof, spoiler, antenna Black side mirror caps Black door handles LED number plate lights LED boot light LED interior lights Wireless Charger
