By Theodore Opara

IT was not surprising that Kia Picanto was crowned ‘Budget Car of the Year’ by The Nigerian Auto Awards. The Picanto beats other contenders to grab the award and the audience lauded the decision of the organisers. No doubt, the award was one of those that the audience felt was well deserved and Kia representatives in Nigeria, Dana Motors should be proud of it.

The Picanto has shown what a small car should be with its trendy design, comfortable interior and good road holding.

The Kia’s smallest car owes this award largely to its good design as there is hardly any car in its class that could boast of such outstanding design.

Don’t forget that it was the same person that designed the Audi T T that was responsible for Picanto design.

A critical look at the Picanto tell you that the car’s biggest attraction is the design. But you will not be disappointed when you step into the car. There is enough room to take the driver and his four passengers and luggage for a city ride. Also, Kia did not compromise in the finishing of the car as it used quality materials and trim in the car.

The seats are comfortable and sporty. Maybe the only budget materials in the car could be the horn and audio system though IPOD, Aux and USB connectivity make your stay in the car very interesting. You can plug in your mobile music storage device and enjoy your tunes while on the move.

Depending on one’s taste, one can settle for the Picanto with full option including multi-function steering wheels, automatic transmission, electric folding outside mirrors, bluethooth hand free, sunvisor illumination lamp etc.

Three engine lineup are available in the Picanto range including Kappa 1.2 MPI, Kappa 1.0 MPI, and Kappa 1.0 FFV engines, but Dana at inception introduced only the 1.0 MPI engine as the Nigerian specification. The engine delivers a maximum 69 PS at 6,200 rpm.

This highlight engine is fuel efficient with reduced vibration and noise. The engines are marched with either a five-speed manual or four speed automatic transmission. Each of the transmission work harmoniously with all engine and offer smooth, noiseless gear shifting.

Safety-wise, the Picanto is small but mighty. Kia has built in the latest class leading safety measures such as seatbelt pretensioners, hill start assist control (HAC), airbags, vehicle stability management (VSM) and electronic stability control (ESC) among others. But some of these features come as option that are available on demand.

Though a small car, the on board versatility of the Picanto is class-leading. For instance, the 60:40 split rear seat back is ideal when you need to carry unusual shaped items while still letting you carry three people. But when it comes to sizeable loads, you can fold down both rear seats and make use of the extra space.

Under the tailgate, there is 200 litres of luggage space too.  The fun in the Picanto is all round as there are many storage space to keep the car neat at all times. With all these features, the Kia Picanto sets standard as a small car. It is beyond a budget car or rightly put, a budget car with a difference.