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20 Wednesday <strong>October</strong> <strong>24</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Motoring<br />
Local<br />
News<br />
Now<br />
SELWYN TIMES<br />
Fire rages, homes at risk<br />
Ease the fuel bill with cheeky Kia Picanto<br />
• By Ross Kiddie<br />
WHERE IS it all going to end?<br />
The price of fuel is heading<br />
towards $3 a litre, and there’s no<br />
sign of the cost dropping at any<br />
point.<br />
However, the manufacturers of<br />
small, economical cars must be<br />
happy, when fuel prices surge new<br />
car buyers see efficiency as a key<br />
buying ingredient.<br />
The latest fuel miser to come<br />
my way is Kia’s cheeky Picanto,<br />
a small hatchback with a 1<strong>24</strong>8cc<br />
four-cylinder engine that has<br />
been developed so that filling up<br />
doesn’t need to take place often<br />
and when there is a need to topup<br />
there are no nasty surprises<br />
when it is translated into dollar<br />
amounts.<br />
Everything about the Picanto is<br />
designed for efficiency. Sure, there<br />
was some indication that the newgeneration<br />
model would land with<br />
a tiny turbocharged 1-litre engine,<br />
but the reality is that the 1.2-litre<br />
unit is far from greedy.<br />
If you take note of the fuel<br />
claim figures, the Picanto stacks<br />
up well.<br />
Kia claims a .8l/100km(49mpg)<br />
combined cycle average. My time<br />
with the test car was constantly<br />
listing around a 7.2l/100km<br />
(39mpg) figure, which was a<br />
little distant, but the point is that<br />
KIA PICANTO X-LINE: Quasi sport utility vehicle.<br />
under evaluation conditions I’m<br />
never going to match the manufacturer’s<br />
claims, in ideal conditions<br />
I’m sure that Kia’s claim is<br />
achievable. At 100km/h on the<br />
highway an instantaneous figure<br />
of 4l/100km (70mpg) is on offer,<br />
the engine turning over quite<br />
busy at 2900pm at that speed.<br />
As mentioned, under the bonnet<br />
sits a small capacity engine of<br />
just 1.2-litre. It is a twin-camshaft<br />
type with power outputs of 62kW<br />
and 122Nm. It’s no powerhouse,<br />
but then it doesn’t need to be, the<br />
baby Picanto has a role to serve,<br />
and it does that well given its<br />
design parameters; all that aside,<br />
a standstill to 100km/h time of<br />
around 12sec is possible.<br />
Drive is channelled through a<br />
four-speed automatic transmission,<br />
although if you really want<br />
to go there, a five-speed manual<br />
is available on special order.<br />
However, automatics are what<br />
Kiwi buyers are interested in, and<br />
the driveline in the Picanto is<br />
engineered for smoothness and<br />
ease of operation.<br />
It is also a relaxing car to drive,<br />
and one which appeals with its<br />
simplicity. In terms of engineering,<br />
the Picanto has all the ingredients<br />
to serve its purpose.<br />
The Picanto comes in several<br />
specifications, the entry-level<br />
LX manual gearbox model lists<br />
• Price – Kia Picanto,<br />
$21,490<br />
• Dimensions – Length,<br />
3670mm; width, 1625mm;<br />
height, 1500mm<br />
• Configuration – Fourcylinder,<br />
front-wheeldrive,<br />
1<strong>24</strong>8cc, 62kW,<br />
122Nm, four-speed<br />
automatic.<br />
• Performance –<br />
0-100km/h, 12sec<br />
• Fuel usage – 5.8l/100km<br />
at $18,490 (LX auto $18,990).<br />
Other specifications include a GT<br />
($21,490) and, in the test car’s case,<br />
X-Line which is the same price as<br />
the GT. The X-Line version is has<br />
quasi-sport utility vehicle styling.<br />
It has a bold body kit which<br />
really looks the part, but with front<br />
wheel-drive only, it certainly can’t<br />
be considered an off-roader.<br />
However, Kia have raised the<br />
X-Line slightly, it has 15mm more<br />
ground clearance than its stablemates.<br />
That’s handy for when<br />
tackling the odd urban jungle<br />
hurdle, and it certainly makes<br />
entry and egress that much easier,<br />
especially for those who aren’t as<br />
agile as they once were.<br />
For its price, the X-Line has<br />
a high level of fitment for both<br />
convenience and safety, the latter<br />
earning it a five-star Australasian<br />
New Car Assessment Program<br />
rating. Interior specification<br />
includes most of the essentials<br />
we have come to expect from<br />
the modern car, and many of the<br />
functions are available through a<br />
large central touch screen.<br />
Sitting on a simplistic front<br />
strut/rear torsion beam suspension,<br />
the spring and damper rates<br />
have been selected for the twisty<br />
nature of New Zealand roads,<br />
and they also work well on the<br />
earthquake-damaged surfaces<br />
around the city.<br />
The Picanto X-Line is also a<br />
head-turner, the body kit adds an<br />
aggressive edge, it also has a smart,<br />
fashionable, yet functional interior<br />
that takes in the effort Kia is going<br />
to with its designs these days.<br />
At under $20k, there are many<br />
good reasons why the Picanto<br />
should be considered as a small<br />
car purchase. Kia is making moves<br />
at a critical time, it and its partner<br />
Hyundai are full steam ahead on<br />
electric and hybrid production.<br />
However, the Picanto is there for<br />
those who want traditional petrol<br />
power, and the timing is perfect<br />
for the new model; the only way to<br />
beat rising fuel prices is to use less,<br />
and that’s where trendy cars like<br />
the Picanto come in.<br />
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