Kia Australia believes the Picanto is “a very important product” in Australia and will launch a PE2 facelift next year
While companies including Mitsubishi and Nissan have ditched their micro hatchbacks, Kia will continue to sell its Picanto small car in Australia for the foreseeable future.
Kia Australia’s general manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, confirmed to Chasing Cars that the model is due to receive a facelift in 2023.
“Picanto will be with us for a long time yet,” he said. “It’s actually getting a facelift (PE2) next year.”
The Kia Picanto GT-Line that was launched in 2020
Rivero stressed the importance of the Picanto, not only as a sole model, but as a bridging vehicle to the rest of the Kia range.
“We hope that from a positive Picanto experience, customers then move on, depending on their life stage, to an SUV or a Cerato.
“We see Picanto as a very important product,” Rivero continued.
We are running a Picanto GT for a few months here at Chasing Cars
Which Picanto variants can I buy today?
The Kia Picanto competes in size and price with MG’s MG3 small car, both of which start from under $20,000 before on-road costs.
The Picanto is currently available in three variants: S, GT-Line and GT. The S starts from $15,990 before on-road costs, while the GT-Line begins at $17,440 and the flagship GT at $20,490.
Facelifted Kia Picanto could look sharper and have more tech than before
Two powertrains are available for the Picanto – a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine produces 62kW/122Nm, while a smaller displacement 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine sits in the GT flagship model and produces 74kW/172Nm.
Kia Picanto 2023: prices in Australia
All prices listed are before on-road costs.
- S manual: $15,990
- S auto: $17,590
- GT-Line manual: $17,440
- GT-Line auto: $19,040
- GT manual: $20,490
Keyword: Kia Picanto 2023: second facelift coming for one of Australia’s most affordable small cars