Kia Picanto review - MPG, running costs & CO2

The Kia Picanto has built up a reputation as a dependable, inexpensive mode of family transport, and since it doesn’t stray far from the original concept, the same is true of the latest model.

There isn’t any hybrid technology or an all-electric version like you’ll find in the MG3; instead the Picanto uses a couple of tried-and-tested small petrol engines.

Kia Picanto MPG & CO2

The 1.0-litre entry-level engine isn’t especially powerful so it doesn’t consume a huge amount of fuel – unless you're having to work hard to keep up with traffic. Kia claims up to 55.4mpg for the manual and 54.3mpg for the automatic, with CO2 emissions from 111g/km or 114g/km respectively, placing it in one of the higher Benefit-in-Kind brackets for company-car tax in the city car marketplace. This compares to 60.1mpg and 107g/km for the manual version of the Toyota Aygo X.

The new 1.2-litre engine trades some of the Picanto’s efficiency for extra performance, although it’s still a small engine, so up to 51.4mpg isn’t to be sniffed at. Go for the automatic and this drops slightly to 49.6mpg. CO2 emissions for the manual are 125g/km, while those for the automatic are around 129g/km.

After the first year's CO2-based road tax (generally included in the on-the-road price), all Kia Picantos cost the standard VED (road tax) rate a year to tax.

Insurance

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The Kia Picanto is yet to receive updated insurance groups for the facelifted version but these will probably not vary too much from before. As a result it’s likely to be relatively cheap for most buyers to insure, and there’s even a single version with group one insurance – although being the automatic, it wouldn’t be our first choice. Models with the 1.0-litre engine and manual gearbox start in insurance group three. GT-Line models range from group two to group 11. These should all make the Picanto cheap to insure, however, it’s always advisable to seek an insurance quote before buying a new car.

Servicing

Kia recommends that the Picanto is serviced every year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. Kia offers Kia Care-3 and Kia Care-3 Plus service plans that look after all your Picanto’s routine maintenance for the first three or five years. These packages can be arranged on any Kia up to 11 months old.

Warranty

Kia upstages many rivals with the generosity of its warranty package. It lasts for seven years or 100,000 miles, and can be transferred to a subsequent owner when you sell it. By comparison, Hyundai offers a five year warranty with no upper mileage limit, while Volkswagen provides a rather meagre three year/60,000 mile policy.