Kia Picanto News

Kia has reiterated its focus on affordability in Australia, with the imminent K4 five-door hatchback to slot alongside the K4 sedan released earlier this year to help it fight off cut-price alternatives from China.Sourced from Mexico but designed for global markets including Europe, the Cerato hatch replacement may even start from under $30,000 (all prices are before on-road costs), matching the Hyundai i30 Sedan (from $29,000).But, even if the K4 Hatch goes slightly over that price, it would likely still undercut the best-selling Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport Hybrid (from $32,110), as well as the Mazda 3 Pure (from $31,310) and Hyundai i30 N-Line (from $36,000) hatchback equivalents.With the Picanto city car from $18,690 currently Australia’s cheapest new vehicle, as well as the Stonic S small crossover from $25,660, K4 Sedan from $30,590 and Seltos S from $30,750, the K4 Hatch should substantially boost Kia’s fortunes at the bottom end of the new-car market.Feeding into consumer preference for hatchbacks over sedans in the small car segment, the sharply-styled K4 five-door looks – and is – shorter, yet has a larger (and more practical) cargo area, at 530 litres versus the four-door’s 508L.Plus, as with many other models, the newcomer has undergone an Australian-road tuning program run by engineering specialist, Graeme Gambold, giving it a distinct advantage against many other small-car alternatives.According to Kia Australia product planning manager, Roland Rivero, Kia is committed to providing accessible small cars that Australian buyers want, especially as competitors abandon them for crossovers and SUVs.“Picanto not going anywhere anytime soon, and it remains our entry into the Kia brand. And we're pretty happy with what Picanto has done for us, and that's going to be around for a long, long time yet,” he told CarsGuide.“And as for K4 is not going anywhere either, and K4 is going to have a full life, and we've committed to the Mexican factory to do our respective share. So far so good.”While the sedan version has tripled the preceding Cerato hatch and sedan’s January to July sales this year compared to the same period last year with 3322 registrations, it will be the hatch that presents the most promising volume opportunity in Australia.“Obviously, we can't wait for the hatchback to come along,” Rivero admits. Because that's what the market appetite is for. What was the split that we had with Cerato hatch to sedan? I think it was, like, 65 per cent hatch, versus 35 per cent sedan… (Australia) is a hatch market.”Of course, it isn’t just benevolence driving Kia’s move to offer greater small-car choice, since it seeks to better-offset their smaller carbon footprint against the larger, thirstier and dirtier SUVs (as well as the Tasman ute), reducing the likelihood of coming New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) penalties.That’s why the K4 Hatch will switch to an Atkinson Cycle 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine – as found in the current Seltos as well as the related i30 Sedan 2.0P – that is more efficient and emits, according to Rivero, some 30 per cent fewer emissions than the regular, 112kW/192Nm version found in the K4 Sedan. The trade-off is a slight loss of power and torque, at 110kW and 180Nm respectively.Given the Hatch is poised to be the K4 volume seller, that should help Kia’s bottom line in more ways than one.

Sorry, Swifties. While we appreciate the cultural phenomenon that is singer/songwriter, artist and philanthropist Taylor Swift, this is not a paean to a great pop star, but, rather, a reference to the year that marked Japan’s stellar ascension as the biggest threat to the established carmakers of that time. Their fear was existential as well as actual.

Kia is frantically working on a pair of small electric vehicles (EVs) that could reshape the bottom end of the new-car market by bringing near-price parity with internal combustion engine alternatives. The big news is that both the EV2 small crossover expected to debut sometime next year and its EV1 city-car sibling due a little later on are under serious consideration for Australia. This is despite being readied for production out of Slovakia, due to EV tax concessions as well as vast economies of scale that should help contain prices if or when they land here.

Kia has announced modest price increases for some of its most popular cars, ranging from $100 to $200 depending on the model.For 2025, the Kia Picanto will remain Australia’s most affordable car, despite a $100 price rise lifting the model’s entry price to $18,390, before on-road costs.With an estimated national drive-away price of $21,340, that still puts the small hatch $2650 clear of Australia’s next cheapest vehicle, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, which is a small SUV.A further $100 rise across the range sees the top-spec GT-Line with an automatic transmission now headline the range at $21,790, before on-road costs, or $24,140, drive-away.The price adjustments are slightly more substantial for the Kia Stonic crossover, the brand’s second-most-affordable model in Australia.It now starts at $25,660, before on-road costs, for the entry-level S, $200 more than it did last year. Prices peak at $31,980 for the GT-Line.Kia has enacted the same price changes for the Seltos small SUV, which now starts at $30,050, before on-roads, for the S FWD, rising to $45,470 for the top-spec GT-Line AWD.Finally, the upper-mid-sized Sorento, Kia’s most popular model of the bunch, now starts at $53,500, before on-roads, for the petrol S 2WD. Prices for variants with an internal combustion engine now peak at $68,790 for the diesel GT-Line AWD.The price rise follows a seasonal $150 range-wide price rise for the segment-dominating Kia Carnival people mover in January.No model updates or additional spec inclusions have been made across the Kia range in return.

The car industry is based on constant model renewal. Cycles have been getting shorter and shorter, with the main industry settling on between six and eight years as the norm. 

The Kia Picanto has had a price bump for the 2025 model year to the tune of $400. The stubby city car remains Australia’s cheapest new vehicle, though, with the Suzuki Swift and MG3 both moving upmarket in their latest guises and the Suzuki Ignis still that little bit dearer. From 2025, the Kia Picanto range starts at $18,290, before on-road costs, for the Sport manual, rather that $17,890. At the pointy end, it's now $21,690 for the GT-Line automatic. Aside from Sport variants picking up height adjustment for the driver’s seat (a welcome addition), there are no changes to equipment levels. A Kia spokesperson clarified the price change is a purely economic adjustment. That means the Picanto range still gets a 1.3-litre petrol four-cylinder developing peak power and torque of 62kW and 122Nm, respectively. A five-speed manual is standard while a four-speed auto demands an extra $1000. The peppy turbo GT variant was sadly dropped with the Picanto’s latest visual and technology update.The MY25 Picanto Sport includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity through the 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen, little 14-inch alloy wheels, synthetic leather on the steering wheel and gear shift, cloth upholstery and power-folding exterior mirrors. Safety gear includes lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, safe-exit warning and auto emergency braking with forward collision warning. Pretty decent for Australia’s cheapest new car. GT-Line grades get sportier 16-inch alloy wheels paired with a body kit, flat bottom steering wheel, premium seats with grey accent, a USB-C charger and full LED exterior lighting. The revised MY25 Kia Picanto range is in dealers now. The Kia Picanto dominates its official ‘Micro’ car sales category with its 4412 sales year to date reflecting a 91.3 per cent share. The MG3 and Suzuki Swift, both technically ‘Light’ cars, are ahead with 9501 and 4603 sales this year, respectively. Prices listed are before on-road costs

How many new standard-unleaded petrol-powered vehicles – be it ‘normal’ or hybrid of any variety – remain in 2024? From cheapest to most expensive at the time of publishing, the list may surprise you! If we’ve left any 91 RONers out, please let us know in the comments section below.

Kia is planning to offer a cut-price electric successor to the Picanto, potentially called the EV1. 

There are a handful of new-car bargain gems out there, with a combination of design, packaging, engineering, performance, economy and quality that belie their affordable pricing. We name our top seven picks.

Kia Australia has confirmed pricing for its heavily updated third-generation Picanto city car, with cost-of-entry now higher than MG's light-car market-leading MG3 Auto hatch.Priced from $20,690 drive-away, the 1.2-litre, four-cylinder, entry-grade Picant