With the increase in e-commerce businesses and delivery services, Kia Motors South Africa has introduced a new variant of the Picanto as a cost-effective urban delivery vehicle. The new variant named Runner offers the same comfort, convenience and safety features but now features an even more functional load bay.
The Picanto Runner presents itself as a practical alternative to traditional delivery vehicles but still offer the required space for a large number of packages. “When you consider the rise of e-commerce, small businesses and services-on-demand, especially under the ‘new normal’ brought about by the global Covid-19 pandemic, there is a clear need for a compact delivery vehicle that can deliver goods practically, quickly and at a more manageable cost,” Stephen Crosse, Sales Director, Kia Motors South Africa.
The Runner will offer the same styling, fuel efficiency, safety and comfort found on the Picanto START derivative it is based on, however, Kia has removed the rear seat bench resulting in a flat loading area and incorporated metal cargo dividers to keep both the driver and cargo safe during transit. This allows the Kia Runner to offer owners 820- litres of cargo space and a payload of up to 350kg. The rear windows also receive a laminate to keep cargo out of sight and safe. Runner owners can also add contra-vision or do a full wrap of the vehicle at a much lower
“The KIA Picanto Runner has been created to be a safe and comfortable urban business partner, as such, we have paid equal attention to capability, efficiency, comfort and running costs,” continued Crosse.
The Runner offers driver and front passenger airbags, central locking ABS brakes and Data Dot as standard safety equipment while the driver and passenger further benefits from steering wheel controls, air-conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity, an AUX / USB connection and Radio/MP3/RDS system.
The Picanto Runner retains the 1.0-litre in-line three-cylinder, 12-valve DOHC petrol engine and comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission. This combination results in 49 kW and 95 N.m of torque while returning close to the claimed fuel consumption of 5L/100km of the Picanto START variant.
Warranty
The Picanto Runner comes standard with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a two-year/30 000 km service plan. In addition, the Runner is also covered by Kia’s Corporate Fleet Care Package which includes access to the Kia 1-hour Express Service offering, courtesy vehicle rental and Premium Roadside Assistance, which includes minor mechanical assistance, emergency fuel delivery, flat tyre assistance, battery jump-start and towing, to name only a few.
Pricing
KIA Picanto Runner – R198 995
