2022 Kia Picanto GT review: Long-term introduction

Australia’s Micro and Light Car segments are interesting ones. They have never been more competitive or featured more compelling offerings in segments that Australians float into and out of, depending on their needs.

First car, second car, downsizing, lack of space in an urban housing situation – Aussies come into and out of these segments, not necessarily wanting to. That doesn’t mean though, that there aren’t some high quality cars in the two segments that deserve some attention.

The 2022 Kia Picanto is one of our favourites, which is why we’ve added one to the Drive garage. With pricing starting form $18,490 drive-away (for the Picanto S), the three-model range tops out with our GT – starting from $22,490 drive-away.

That circa 20 grand starting point has plenty to offer, then. The Fiat 500 sneaks in, and the now farewelled Mitsubishi Mirage used to as well. With Mirage gone though, Picanto really does rule the roost.

Step up from Micro to Light, and you add stablemate Kia Rio, Skoda Fabia and Suzuki Baleno. Suzuki Swift – another Aussie favourite – creeps just over the Picanto GT price point, with a $24,490 drive-away starting price.

So, there’s some strong competition there to contend with, all offering day-to-day practicality, value and fuel efficiency in varying degrees. Furthermore, in clogged urban areas, you cannot argue the practicality of these small hatches, which fit into any parking spot, down any city alley, or into any ridiculously designed underground carpark with consummate ease.

I mentioned the second car use case above, and the Picanto really makes a solid case in that sense.

If you’re a two-car family, you can do all your urban running in something ridiculously easy to park and have a second vehicle that does something completely different. We’ll take a look though as well, at how the Picanto works for a one-car household, too.

The reason we like the Picanto as much as we do, is that it fits squarely into that tiny car ethos. Engine under 1.5 litres, manual transmission, clever cabin ergonomics and diminutive exterior size. It really is the quintessential tiny car.

On the subject of size, Picanto measures 3595mm long, 1595mm wide, and 1485mm high. Its wheelbase of just 2400mm still allows 255L of luggage space with the second row up and 1010L with those seats folded.

Sharp styling and compact dimensions aside, the focal point of the Picanto’s appeal is it’s 74kW/172Nm 1.0-litre, three-cylinder engine. We love triples here at Drive, and we especially love a punchy little three-pot that likes to rev. Picanto tips the scales just over the magical tonne, with a tare weight of just 1012kg.

The ADR fuel claim is a ridiculously frugal 5.2L/100km. We expect to use a little bit more than that though, given the engine’s propensity to rev.

We’ll spend plenty of time in town in the Kia Picanto, but we’ll also head out on a longer road trip. Pointing a car like this onto a highway is very much outside its comfort zone and likely to test it beyond what critics would think its capable of. We’ll find that out for you.

We’ll also look closely at cabin practicality and storage. If you only buy one car and it happens to be in this Micro segment, you need to eke as much use out of the space on offer as you can. We’ll find out just how practical the Kia Picanto can be.

As we always write in our long-term reviews, make sure you ask anything you’d like to know in the comments section below, and we’ll endeavour to answer your questions as directly as we can.