2021 Kia Picanto gets a refresh

Superminis never made a wave in our market despite having a decent number of good contenders. However, the segment is big when it comes to fleets, with Kia’s Picanto going up against the Chevy Spark, Mazda 2 and Peugeot 208. A facelift for the 2021 Kia Picanto has been rolled out in its home market.

The Picanto in South Korea is called the Morning, and with the facelift, Kia adds an Urban moniker to it. To live up to its new “urban-cool” stature, Kia floods the front fascia of the new Picanto with changes such as a new sportier bumper, fog lamp inserts and LED headlamps. The grill gets a nip and tuck as well. Similar changes at the rear, including the new LED tail lamps, bumper and the diffuser, refresh the design.

As usual, the infotainment system gets an update, with a bigger 8-inch display. This system allows the connection of two Bluetooth devices at the same time. A smaller 4.4-inch display sits inside the instrument cluster.

The new Kia Picanto will have no new business under the hood. In South Korea, it will continue with the naturally-aspirated 1.0-litre engine, producing 75 hp and 95 Nm. In our markets, the more powerful 1.2-litre engine with 83 hp and 122 Nm is likely to be retained with no changes.

The arrival of the new Kia Picanto will produce no new waves if it comes to the UAE and GCC. But at least you’ll have something nicer to rent when you need a cheap car temporarily.