Kia Picanto lives up to promise of being a frugal little city slicker

The fuel consumption figures that car manufacturers claim is very seldomly achieved in real life. In other words, they are usually too good to be true.

The system used to determine a car’s fuel consumption is outdated. It may look good on paper, but once the car is subject to a good mix bumper to bumper traffic and some spirited acceleration with the air-conditioner at full blast over extended periods, it started going pear-shaped.

It is therefore that we like to add two to whatever number of litres per 100km a carmaker gives us a rule a thumb for a more accurate indication.

But ever so often, the maths is mathing when it comes to fuel consumption. A prime example being The Citizen Motoring‘s long-term Kia Picanto EX.

Kia Picanto very frugal

The Korean manufacturer claims that this little city slicker should only sip five litres per 100km. We are happy to report that we have achieved a number of 5.2L/100km over the course of almost 1 000km since we took delivery last month.

And better yet, we have not really made a concerted effort to save fuel. Our Picanto has just been put through normal daily paces which includes lots of city traffic through school runs and going to the office. We firmly belief that if we really try and drive it economically, it can easily dip below the five.

The Kia Picanto EX is powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 62kW of power and 122Nm of torque. The twist is sent to the front wheels via – in our long termer’s case – five-speed manual box.

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Easy to drive

In terms of the drive, the Kia Picanto is an absolute doddle to pilot. The clutch is light, gears are easy to change and steering direct. A wheelbase measuring only 2 400mm makes the hatchback very easy to manoeuvre.

In terms of creature comforts, there isn’t really anything that we are missing. The wireless Apple CarPlay works a charm along with the eight-inch infotainment screens which includes actually turning knobs in addition to the steering wheel-mounted controls.

One thing that irks us in test cars, space-saver spare wheels, also turns out to be not all that bad. A puncture suffered to the rear right wheel due to driving over an unseen spring-happy spike-thorn had this scribe searching for the spare and equipment located underneath the 255-litre boot to set up a little F1 pit stop in his carport.

Changing flat wheel child’s play

Weighing in at only 962kg, the Kia Picanto is very easy to lift up with the provided scissor jack. The 14-inch alloy wheel clad in 175/65 R14 rubberware is so light that my 10-year-old daughter could lift it from the axle after the wheelnuts were removed. The space-saver spare fitted to a steel rims is even lighter. Girl power again did the trick before we were off to have the puncture fixed.

The ease of the wheel change – compared to let’s say the heavy wheel on a bakkie – is a huge plus. If a tween girl can handle its weight, then a grown woman should too. Heaven forbid she gets stuck on the side of the road with a flat. Every new Kia Picanto comes with road-side assistance, but we know that this country can be a dangerous place.