Kia Picanto News

Craig Duff previews the next bunch of car debuts.

Micro cars may be on the nose in Australia but no one seems to have told the makers.

Buying on a budget will be the big winners of a small-car price war that's just around the corner.

Kia has finally decided to bring its little Picanto to Australia.

The new year will bring two important new arrivals for Kia customers.

A so-called micro car, Kia Picanto would come to us with a probable price tag of $11,990 to $12,990 plus on-road costs. It would compete with the likes of the Holden Barina Spark, Mitsubishi Mirage and Suzuki Alto (soon to be replaced by a new model called Suzuki Celerio).Picanto has been around for four years on many other markets, but Kia's chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, likes the look of the recently face-lifted model and is seriously considering it for Australia. On the other hand, he tells us he may wait until the all-new Picanto is launched in the first half of 2016. So the plans are still fluid.This is the sort of pretty little car that would sell on its shape aloneKia styling has improved out of sight in the last few years and the latest Picanto carries the signature 'Schreyer' grille, named for the German stylist who penned it. This is the sort of pretty little car that would sell on its shape alone. A range of bright colours would suit it nicely, hopefully Kia would see it that way and put a bit of life back into the Australian street scene that's looking decidedly drab and grey (literally) at the moment.Overseas Picantos are powered by either a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine or a 1.2-litre four-cylinder. If/when the Picanto comes downunder it's likely both powerplants would be on offer.Transmission choices are five-speed manual and four-speed automatic, but there has to be a good chance these would be raised to six-speed units when the 2016 Picanto is launched.Kia Picanto is also sold overseas as a three-door door hatch, at an even lower price than the five-door, but Australian buyers have shown a distinct lack of interest in passenger cars without back doors in recent years. So it's likely only the five-door will make it here.When the big boys battle the buyers are the winnersIt's known that Hyundai Australia has been considering its micro car, the i10 hatch, for some time. Hyundai controls Kia these days and the Picanto and i10 share quite a few out of sight components.It would be interesting to see the two very ambitious Korean companies at it hammer and tongs. As is always the way when the big boys battle the buyers are the winners. Keep an eye out for a possible stoush between these micro models.

Kids aren’t usually a factor in Car of the Year judging.  But child friendliness rates highly with women buying cars – and with women judging cars.The countdown has been kicked off to decide the Women’s World Car of the Year, and the kid factor is one the judges pay a lot of attention to.“Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men – and that means women need to take that into account, both when buying and as judges of cars,” WCOTY president Sandy Myhre said from New Zealand.“Any woman who has grappled constantly with child seats and belts and children considers those things when looking at buying a car.  Men might too but the fact is, women drive children in cars more than men.“Women would not consider that aspect in a Porsche 911 more than a bloke. The point is, it can be considered in these awards - and that is one of the points of difference in these awards.”Myhre points out that significant research into buying habits show that in addition to buying for themselves, women have a major influence in household purchase decisions for big ticket items.Ford Australia, for example, says their research shows that women are behind the majority of purchases of the Territory SUV – either as single women buying one, or in influencing the joint decision with their partner. “A report from Mattingly & Associates in Australia concluded, in part, that businesses that didn't understand this influence would be hard-pressed to stay in business.  That report was aptly called 'When I've Made Up Our Minds',” Myhre says.However, the kid factor is just one of the criteria by which the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year will be judged.There are four categories in the Women's World Car of the Year – Family Car, Luxury Car, Sports Car and Economy Car. Points are allocated to each of ten criteria: driveability, engineering, comfort, child friendliness, style, interior, storage, dashboard efficiency, carbon footprint and colour range.The 20 judges from eleven countries have submitted their own personal short list and more than 300 cars were suggested. These individual choices were then whittled down to form a master list of 32 in terms of popularity. Judges will now allocate points for these cars from a criteria list.The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March. The supreme award trophy and category certificates will be presented to the car companies concerned at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 – the Paris Motor Show – in September. The supreme trophy will this year be made in The Netherlands. Category-winner certificates will be designed at Peartree Studios in Colerne, UK.The first winner of the Women's World Car of the Year was the Jaguar XF in 2010 and the trophy made in South Africa was presented at the Jaguar boutique showroom in Knightsbridge, London. In 2011 there was a dead-heat between the Citroen DS3 and the BMW 5 Series. The two trophies made in India were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011. 

The production version will be shown at the Geneva motor show in March. Designed under the direction of Kia's head stylist Peter Schreyer, the Picanto, the baby shares underpinnings with the Hyundai i10 - also being looked at by Hyundai Australia.

Showrooms are expected to next year be dotted with sub-light cars - the best example being the Suzuki Alto - as Australian cities increasingly succumb to traffic and parking congestion, consistently strong fuel prices and creeping car maintenance costs.Kia hinted this week that the Picanto - a sub-light category five-door - could take on the recently launched Holden Barina Spark in this segment and lay the ground rules for future like-sized imports.The current Picanto is targeted at European buyers but the 2011 model is predicted to have wider appeal, says Kia product manager Ji-Hoon Han.Kia Australia is keen. It says while the current Picanto is off the radar, it is playing a wait-and-see game with the next car. "The new model could change the dynamics of placing the car into the Australian market," says Kia Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth. “We are certainly looking at it and how it will fit here, both in terms of its features and pricing."Kia next June launches its all-new Picanto and Rio, with debuts expected at the New York and Geneva motor shows.The possible introduction of the Picanto into the small end of Australia's car range indicates that the new Rio may stretch out in size and features.Kia - at the launch of its mid-size surprise sedan, the Optima, in Dubai last week - states it is easing out of the budget segment and aiming upmarket as its products mature."The Sportage and Optima are the latest examples of our maturing and high quality range," says Mr Han. "We are now positioning ourselves as a maker of cars with value, rather than cars that meet certain price levels."The next Rio has to be good. It will arrive as a five-door hatch and then three-door and sedan to take its fight into the light-car brigade that includes the Hyundai Getz (and i20), Mazda2, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Micra and Toyota Yaris.The new Rio will sport a 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre engine choice - well above the 1-litre to 1.2-litre powerplants of the sub-lights such as the Picanto.