A 100-Horsepower Kia Picanto Is On The Way

Kia has confirmed a 99bhp turbocharged version of its dinky Picanto city car, and this is better news than you might think.

It’s slated to arrive in the last couple of months of this year. Weighing a little over a tonne in top-spec guise and blessed with a brilliant new chassis, the Picanto is a much better steer than you might expect, as we’ll explain in our review that goes live tomorrow.

Even with the 83bhp four-pot it’s good fun, so adding a meaty chunk more torque as well as more power, combined with three-pot character, means it’s going to be a winner. With prices for the turbo car guesstimated to start at below £14,000, it’s also going to be pretty affordable as new cars go.

The small warm hatchback market is going through a bit of a lull, with no real options on the table right now with the exception of the Renault Twingo GT. Kia’s move to a more sporting stance, along with a decent power-to-weight ratio and the right engine setup, are likely to shift the turbocharged Picanto to near the top of many teenage wish-lists.

The engine in question is a three-cylinder, 1.0-litre charmer already fitted to the Cee’d. It’s not as explosive or fruity-sounding as the equivalent in the Ford Fiesta, but it’s a good one. The Picanto will be at least 250kg lighter than the Cee’d, too, and that should see the 0-62mph sprint dip well below 10 seconds.

The short body, 99bhp output and involving chassis puts us in mind of the old Fiat Panda 100hp, which was a complete blast to drive, regularly cocking a back wheel around bends and even hopping onto two wheels if you were really committed on a bumpy corner. Let’s hope the blown Picanto is just as much of a giggle.