2018 Picanto X-Line 1.25 83bhp 5-Speed Manual Review

Driven: Kia Picanto X-Line 1.25-litre manual

With the keys to the petite Picanto on stilts, we find out if this Korean entrée is merely enough to fulfill your crossover needs.

What’s the brand new Kia Picanto X-Line ABOUT?

We like slightly taller cars because they provide practical benefits, especially in navigating coarse British roads. Nonetheless it will get a bit excessive when you provide a crossover, with their tall ground clearance and big engines. Sure, all that’s handy when you’re going cross-country – but honestly, just how many CUV buyers actually bring their cars off-road?

What we wish is something that’s still efficient for cities, but can shrug off the odd little bit of gravel, dirt and potholes. Think something similar to the Fiat Panda 4×4, Suzuki Swift 4×4, and today, the Picanto X-Line.

You might know the Picanto as a little city car, however the X-Line adds a rugged cladding compared to that small city car. It’s now heftier, 75mm longer, 30mm wider, and 15mm taller. It’s difficult to pass the X-Line as a Picanto anymore, using its aggressive SUV-esque bumpers and skid plates. Rugged black plastic wraps around the complete car to provide you with a gritty, off-road ready look.

Most the rest remains similar, apart from the brash lime-green highlights dotted around leading fascia. Some may say these highlighter-inspired contrasts are garish, but I believe they add that little bit of flair and frivolousness that the automobile world often lacks.

Of course, to check the complete brutish show, we’ve 16″ alloys with 195/45 tyres, biggest you can find on a Picanto. Our Picanto X-Line is painted in ‘Titanium Silver’, a far more intriguing shade of grey that’s pleasant and inoffensive. It’s a colour that lets the green accents take the limelight.

Powering our Kia Picanto X-Line is a modest engine that may also be within normal Picantos, the naturally-aspirated 1.25-litre inline 4 which makes 83 bhp and generates 122 Nm of torque.

The engine drives a 5-speed manual transmission that spins leading wheels only. It gets from 0-60 mph in 11.6 seconds, onto a high speed of 107 mph. It’s a slow-paced car by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s based on the Panda 4×4.

Economy figures are competitive for the segment: 61.4 mpg and 106 g/km of CO2.

How Does it Drive?

The engine doesn’t really make much power, but there isn’t a whole lot of weight to go around. It pulls surprisingly hard engaging in the mid-range, plenty adequate for playing around the city. Actually, it is the ideal power for a grocery run. Which is where you could begin to understand the efficiency of a smaller engine.

Moreover, because this isn’t a 3-cylinder, and even the 2-cylinder within the Panda, it’s smoother. It’s more refined and quiet with impeccable idle quality, something you’ll come to understand at stop-start traffic.

The Picanto X-Line only has five gears to utilize, nevertheless, you won’t really be really missing out. The tiny engine makes the almost all of the first two close gears to truly get you up to pace, as the remaining gears keep it fuel efficient. I’m impressed by how hushed the engine reaches fifth gear even at motorway speeds. The shifter also offers a slick action, with a company and confident actuation.

Having said that, it’s likely that you wouldn’t want to bring the Picanto X-Line onto the motorways all too often since it’s nearly the most well-insulated car. Once you get yourself up to speed, wind rustles become audible and the low-profile tyres exhibit noticeable tyre roar.

The standard Picanto includes a great chassis; tight and dynamic for an automobile of its segment, and the Picanto X-Line shares that same chassis, with a revised suspension. Pleasingly, the increased suspension travel and height of the automobile don’t compromise the entire balance of the Picanto an excessive amount of.

It has a lot of grip to create do with, and the complete body just turns in so eagerly. The steering can be well-behaved, being accurate and responsive, while body roll is well tamed. Moreover, the increased travel helps the X-Line shrug off road imperfections perfectly. It copes with undulations well too, and regains composure quickly. Actually, I came across it to be a lot convenient than expected.

What is it truly like Inside?

Kia has devote a great deal of work packaging the brand new Picanto to provide more space inside, and it shows. Leading seats are comfortable, and it includes decent space for adults. You don’t have an excessive amount of in the form of wiggle room though, as your knees will knock in to the gear lever, especially in fifth gear.

The trunk seats do have problems with too little legroom. Tall blokes will especially think it is tricky to place their knees somewhere in a roundabout way behind leading seatbacks. Having said that, it’s sufficient for short journeys, and it’s worth noting that the Picanto offers among the larger interior spaces for a city car.

While Kia hasn’t gone mad with colours on the inside, it’s very uncluttered. The majority of the functions are built in to the 7.0″ infotainment touchscreen, and there are just a couple of climate control knobs on the guts console. It could not be lime-green snazzy, but it’s clean and pleasant to sit in.

Kia has put some nice touches in to the car, just like a flat-bottom tyre, metal accents, and contrast stitching to include that little more colour into an otherwise monotone interior. There are hard plastics found here, however the overall fit and finish is good.

The boot capacity is quite competitive because of its segment at 255-litres with the trunk seats up. Put the trunk seats down and you get 1,010 litres of storage.

THE KNOWLEDGE

I must say that I’m very impressed by the way the X-Line behaved on the highway. While it’s said to be a taller riding Picanto, it hasn’t lost its sporty touch. Even driven in the snow, it maintained excellent grip, without doubt because of torque vectoring.

Throughout, it’s been an entertaining drive, which is fairly a surprise, specifically for an elevated city car. I that can compare with how it looked too – modern and stylish.

Verdict

The Picanto X-Line can be an alternative for those searching for a more practical Picanto rather than the sport-infused GT-Line. While I believe it could be a tiny stretch calling it a crossover, it provides sufficient crossover elements to become a very appealing choice.

It feels convenient to ride in compared to the GT-Line, which many will see to become a good trade-off. The engine provides a lot of fizz for a city runabout, and the automobile reacts positively towards driver inputs. It’s a bit basic when it comes to tech, but plenty enough for the purchase price.

If you want the Picanto’s look, it’s very hard to fail with the Picanto X-Line. Because of its competitors, you might be looking at the Vauxhall Viva Rocks, Fiat Panda 4×4, and Suzuki Ignis SZ-T. I believe that, for the purchase price, the Picanto X-Line would take my profit the end.