Just look at this little Picanto GT. it may be small, but it has a muscular build and an aggressive stance to it. The headlights are large and pronounced, the signature Tiger Nose grille gets contrasting red accents — also found on the front intake housings, side skirts and across the lower part of the rear bumper — and the 16-inch wheels simply look the part.
This, boys and girls, is the Kia Picanto GT line; a sporty and uprated version of the cute Picanto EX.
I mean, how could you not want to drive it?
The base Kia Picanto EX was already a supremely decent car with excellent ride quality, class-leading safety features and spot-on pricing.
But the Picanto GT Line brought things up a notch, especially in terms of styling and safety features.
First displayed at the 2018 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show
(KLIMS18) last year, the Picanto GT Line was made available to the Malaysian market early this year.
At RM57,888, it is a RM10,000 premium over the standard Picanto 1.2 EX and for that, you get a front bumper with a larger lower apron and integrated fog lights, deeper side skirts, aggressive rear diffuser with twin exhaust exits and larger wheels (the base Picanto rides on 14-inch wheels).
Then on the inside, there are leather-wrapped flat-bottomed steering wheel, two tone leather seats, supervision instrument cluster, automatic air-conditioning, an illuminated vanity mirror, cruise control and tyre pressure monitoring system.
And the main equipment here is the addition of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) on top of the standard items, such as six airbags, anti-lock braking system with electronic braking distribution, brake assist, stability control, hill-start assist and ISOFIX.
I know, the kit is proper D-segment car stuff.
The rest of the features are standard and similarly found on the base Picanto EX, which include automatic projector headlights with lED daytime running lights, lED tail lights, keyless entry, push-button start, six speakers and a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
The Picanto GT Line is powered by the familiar 1.2-litre Kappa II, a naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine that churns out 84hp and 122Nm of torque.
Transmission is a four-speed automatic, with drive sent to the front wheels.
What’s interesting about the Kia Picanto is that it is, at the moment, the most prominent rival (or alternative) to the B-segment hatchbacks rivalry, which are the Proton Iriz and Perodua Myvi.
Though the Kia Picanto is actually an A-sized car and dimensionally comparable to the Perodua Axia, the pricing puts it into the B-segment bracket.
So, with B-segment pricing but sizing of an A-segment car, just why would you buy the Kia Picanto?
THE DRIVE
Well, size is perhaps the only thing the Picanto is down compared to the Iriz and Myvi, but the Kia is definitely decked in many other terms like styling, ride quality, build quality, safety and fuel economy.
To me, the Picanto GT Line appears like nothing else on the road, which makes it rather unique.
It turned heads most of the time when I drove it and I like the fact that the red highlights around the car’s exterior were not too loud.
If you take a closer look at the car’s, front fog lights, wheels and tail lights, these parts really look premium, as if they were taken from a bigger car.
The premium feel is echoed in the cabin, where you will find a nice steering wheel with perforated leather on its sides, beautifully contoured dashboard and proper touchscreen head unit.
Of course, most of the surfaces are hard plastics, so compromises have to be made as these materials help the car to stay light. Overall, though, it is a lovely place to be in.
Everything felt tight, tactile and well-built, typical of a new-generation Kia.
As mentioned, the base Picanto was a fine car to drive with solid ride quality. This GT Line though, with its 16-inch wheels and lower profile tyres, simply transform the drive altogether.
At low speed, the car is very nimble, had a fairly light steering and is a joy to drive. It made grocery runs an occasion, and you would always find a reason to take it for a spin.
At higher speeds, the Picanto GT Line remains planted, while the steering weighted up to give it a nice stable feel.
In fact, the handling of the Picanto was arguably more agile and more stable than the bigger Myvi, and on par with the king of this aspect, the Iriz.
With its superb handling for what it is, the Picanto can put a smile to your face on any road, be it straights or bends, and has more than enough mechanical grip for most drivers.
There was no change in suspension or absorbers, the kind of joy in driving was only achieved by the wheels and tyres combo, on top of the rigid Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) chassis construction.
As far as the passengers are concerned, the Kia Picanto is comfortable and quiet, too.
At the national speed limit, the refinement is even better than the Iriz.
But you will be aware of the speed as the engine rev is relatively high, more than 3,000rpm at 110kph cruise.
This is because the car’s transmission is limited to four speeds. But other than that, it works flawlessly.
The engine supplied enough grunt for the car and was not too noisy.
In terms of practicality, we have to admit that the Picanto is not a big car.
Even so, the space in the cabin was well-utilised.
There is a reasonable amount of legroom for rear passengers, as long as the front passengers are not professional basketball players.
VERDICT
So, why would you choose the smaller and more expensive Kia Picanto GT Line over the Perodua Myvi and Proton Iriz?
The Kia Picanto is a very youthful car, from the way it looks and to the whole packaging.
It can be an ideal city car, easy to operate and fuel-efficient.
The Myvi might have a more comprehensive driver assistance package and the Iriz is now updated with voice command infotainment system, but the Picanto still gets autonomous emergency braking, six airbags and a seamless head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
If you are the kind of person who would not mind paying more to be different and stand out from the crowd, then the Picanto GT Line is the one for you.
As for me, I would adore the car even more if it’s offered with a manual transmission option or six-speed auto, but that would make it too premium here, wouldn’t it?