Urban Reviews

The Renault Kadjar Intens looks like the perfect urban car on paper, but what's it really like to drive in the city?

One of the smallest and cheapest cars in Australia - is the Picanto all you really need in a city?

The Picanto GT-Line is the mid-grade in the small car’s Australian lineup, and will be joined later in 2020 by the top-spec GT.The GT-Line wears an aggressive bodykit and has projector headlights with LED DRLs. For the 2021 model year it also has a new bumper design front and rear, new 16-inch alloy wheels.On the inside it features a new 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as updated interior trims and soft-touch surfaces for the door trim and console box.The GT-Line carries the same engine as the base S, a 1.25-litre four-cylinder petrol producing 62kW/122Nm. Official/combined fuel consumption figures are 5.0L/100km for the five-speed manual and 5.8L/100km for the four-speed automatic. On our test of the GT-Line automatic, we saw a real-world figure of 7.5L/100km.The Picanto has a small 35-litre fuel tank, and is able to consume base-grade 91RON unleaded petrol.The Picanto is covered by Kia’s seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty promise. Servicing is required once every 12 months or 15,000km and is covered by a fixed price scheme. Prices over the seven years work out to a yearly average service cost of $389.42.

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.

The Suzuki Swift Sport has picked up a good wedge of new safety gear to add to its enduring appeal. It's not cheap, though, with Korean warm hatches swarming all around it, and one of them is much cheaper. Does its position as the last Japanese hot(ish) hatch win your heart or does value for money bring your head into the game?

Always standing proudly outside the automotive mainstream, Citroen is for those who prefer a healthy dose of personality with their practicality. Often that comes at a price, and the brand's latest city-sized C3 Aircross is no exception.

The Kia Seltos Sport+ is a small SUV with big aspirations. But can the Kia's newest SUV cut it in our long-term garage. We asked Andrew Chesterton to put it to the urban family (two adults, one very small corgi) test to find out.

Sometimes a new model arrives with one particular grade that seems to exceed the sum of its pricing as well as parts.Launched in late 2019 as the company's small SUV answer to the successful Mitsubishi ASX, the Seltos S is a lot like a Kia Cerato, but with more space, extra utility, higher seating and greater ground clearance - courtesy of the related Hyundai Kona DNA infused within.

Mazda is embarking on a spot of social climbing.After years of affordable, well-engineered and highly popular alternatives to Toyota, Japan's smallest big carmaker has set its sights higher.The Mazda3-based CX-30 is a manifestation of this mindset. The '0' denotes a raised SUV, aimed at singles, couples and small families seeking a practical compact wagon, yet with one eye on adventure.

The Suzuki S-Cross is a bit of a quiet achiever in the Suzuki range, packed as it is with cars that look like they compete with each other. But the S-Cross is a little bit different to the compact SUV crowd and delivers a surprisingly good drive.