Kia Picanto X-Line: Good value with a spring in its step

This writer always marvels at how much bull celebrities can spew forth when interviewed during lifestyle programmes on television, radio or in print.

Whether musicians, writers, clothes designers, athletes or actors, they often make their successes seem like a given. They carefully do not mentioning years of unrewarded struggle, rejected manuscripts, unsuccessful auditions and fruitless job interviews.

They also generally omit the fact that blind luck, and being at the right place at the right time, often heralded their big break. Fair enough, but here is the bit that I will never understand.

Always, always, the interviewer will ask: “What advice do you have for youngsters watching you right now, who wish to follow in your footsteps?”

Always, always, the celebrity answers: “Follow your dream, and just be yourself.” This is problematic – 99.99% of would-be actors whose dream it is to emulate Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise will end up as unemployed waiters.

As for just being yourself – what if you are a natural-born good-for-nothing, and all the jobs as thieving government cadres are already taken? Of course, if you come from an honest, hard-working, reliable background, you will never get to work high up in government, but you will make friends.

rear view

Which brings us to the new Kia Picanto X-Line, that we recently got to sample. The X-Line is the Kia Picanto range’s new flagship, and it is still very much itself.

We know that it has a hard-working, reliable background. Reason – my life partner owns a 2012 Picanto 1.2 EX, which has served our transportation needs in Ekurhuleni without complaint or problems the last six years. And, the new top of the line Picanto X-Line basically mirrors its much-travelled predecessor, which means that Kia decided not to change a winning recipe.

For a start, the X-Line is powered by the same four-cylinder, 1 248 cc petrol engine that has served the Picanto well over the years. It delivers 61 kW of power at 1 600 rpm and 122 Nm of torque at 4 000 rpm. Like with Picantos before, the power plant is married to a five-speed manual gearbox, hooked to the front wheels.

The differences that make the X-Line special are basically cosmetic, inside and out. Outside, it boasts a new grille, a more aggressive bumper design front and rear, plus LED lights front and rear.

The wheel arches are flared to accommodate 15-inch alloy wheels in 185/55 R15 tyres. Thankfully, the car boasts a full-sized spare wheel – always a huge thumbs-up with this writer.

Inside, the newcomer offers two-tone artificial leather seats, a leather covered multi-purpose steering wheel, plus an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Interior is unchanged from the ‘standard’ range-topping Picanto

They have changed the air vents and, on a personal note, moved the inside indicator lights to the top of the dashboard. This is a huge improvement from the old Picanto, where the indicator lights were hidden behind the steering wheel.

In the old car, this driver will often change lanes on the highway and not notice the indicator flashing for many kilometres, making new friends all the way.

The Picanto will seat four adults in comfort, though it works better when the rear occupants are small. Active safety is taken care of by ABS brakes with EBD, while front occupant airbags will help with passive safety. The Picanto X-Line should help you not to crash.

It is easy to drive, with the handling neutral and sure-footed. The steering is direct and gives ample feedback, which results in fun, since you get involved with the process while cornering. Acceleration is reasonably sprightly, and Kia claim a top speed of 170 km/h.

As an experiment, we tried to see how low the X-Line’s fuel consumption could be coaxed. After two days of coasting every downhill and only gingerly touching the throttle, we managed a figure of 4.8L/100 km. More normal driving patterns yielded an average figure of 6.2L/100 km.

The Kia Picanto was always a solid, easy to drive, economical little car. In its X-Line guise, it is appealing, which should ensure continued popularity. Remarkably, the Picanto X-line comes with a five-year, unlimited distance warranty, while a two-year/30 000km service plan is included with the purchase price of R237 995.