For the first time ever, Kia is offering its cute little Picanto city car in 3-door form.

The idea behind this 3-door model is to introduce a bit of sportiness to the range, for those who don’t need the convenience the family-focused five-door offers. This is like the perfect city runabout for students, young couple or anyone on a tight budget, as it starts at just £7,795. This car gives cars like Toyota Aygo or Citroen C1 plenty of reasons to be worried.

There are a few subtle differences between the 3 and 5-door Picanto. The 3-door, being sportier, comes with a larger front grille, silver or red trim surrounds, revised bumpers for a wider, lower look, black-bezelled foglamps, and sporty rear bumper with exposed twin chromed exhaust outlets.

The 3-door also comes with new trim levels. The entry-level model – badged Picanto 1 or, with air conditioning, Picanto 1 Air – comes with all-black upholstery.  Above that, the models are called Halo and Equinox rather than 2 and 3. Halo has premium black and grey interior trim, while Equinox is finished in premium ‘Chilli’ red.

The car is offered with two engines. The three-cylinder 1.0-litre unit develops 68bhp and 95Nm of torque, which does 67.3mpg with CO₂ emissions as low as 99g/km, and the 1.25-litre four-cylinder in three guises, all developing 84bhp and 121Nm of torque. In standard form it averages 60.1mpg. With a four-speed automatic transmission fuel consumption is an impressive 53.3mpg. Finally, there is the EcoDynamics version with fuel consumption at 65.7mpg.

Pricing:

ABI Insurance Group Ratings are to be confirmed.

Trims and equipments:

Standard features on all versions include a trip computer, height-adjustable seat, a tilt-adjustable steering column and Motor Driven Power Steering. In-car entertainment is provided by a RDS radio and CD player with MP3 compatibility. Picanto 1, 1 Air, and Halo have four speakers and Picanto Equinox has six. Picanto Halo and Picanto Equinox also have USB and AUX ports, an iPod cable and steering wheel-mounted audio controls.  On the outside body-coloured mirrors and bumpers and twin chromed exhaust outlets are all standard.

The Picanto 1 Air is for those customers who want air conditioning, and the fantastic value of the 1 specification, but without upgrading to the even more highly specified Halo or Equinox versions.

Whilst the Halo and Equinox versions have differing equipment levels they share certain items such as Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, automatic lights, LED front daytime running lights and LED rear lights, body-coloured side sill mouldings and a red front grille surround.

The Halo version adds to this with unique 14” alloys, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, reverse parking sensors, alloy pedals and a Supervision Cluster – Kia’s comprehensive electronic instrument binnacle.  Inside the black and grey upholstery is complemented with a high gloss white centre fascia and steering wheel arm, on the outside the Halo is finished in Lunar Glow metallic paint.

The Equinox spec changes the interior to premium red ‘Chilli’ upholstery with a contrasting high gloss black fascia and gearknob.  Distinctive 15” telephone-dial style alloy wheels lend a more sporting look to the exterior which is finished in Galaxy Black metallic paint.  Automatic air conditioning and a smart key with a start/stop button are on top of the shared level of specification.

All versions have electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) to apportion stopping effort to the wheels with most traction, and emergency brake assist system (BAS), ensuring maximum stopping power regardless of the pressure applied to the pedal by the driver.