Kia Picanto
The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chile, Kia EuroStar in Taiwan, Kia New Morning in Vietnam and the Naza Suria or Naza Picanto in Malaysia. The Picanto is primarily manufactured at the Donghee joint-venture plant in Seosan, South Korea, though some countries locally assemble complete knock-down versions of the car.
The vehicle has been developed in compliance with the "light car" category in South Korea which offers tax incentives for vehicles with exterior dimensions below in length and in width.
Name origin
The name Picanto relates to the Spanish and Italian words picante/piccante, meaning "spicy".The Korean’s version name "Morning" may trace its origin from the "Morning Calm", as a reference to South Korea's tradition. Since 1886, when a book written by Percival Lowell obtained large success in the United States in narrating the history of Korea, the country started to be internationally referred as "the Land of Morning calm", and its ruling monarchy the Joseon, became known abroad as the "Morning Dynasty".
First generation (SA; 2003)
The first generation Picanto was revealed at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was based on a shortened platform of the Hyundai Getz and was long, with a five-door hatchback body style. The car was available with a choice of two petrol engines: a 1.0-litre, with and, or a 1.1-litre, with and, both with multi-point injection. In Europe, a 1.1-litre three-cylinder diesel engine was also available, with direct injection and a variable geometry turbocharger, the power reaching and a torque of. The petrol engines had a combined consumption of and respectively, while the diesel used. An automatic gearbox was optional for the petrol units. In some countries, it was sold with a 1.2-litre engine, also used on the newer Hyundai i10.To increase its appeal in the European market, the Picanto was equipped with such features as CD player with MP3 audio playback, air conditioning, front and patented rear electric windows, remote central locking, and electric mirrors. These features were advertised in a short-lived campaign starring Marcus Grönholm.
Safety
test results for a LHD, 5-door hatchback variant on a 2004 registration:2007 and 2009 facelift
The Picanto received a facelift in 2007. Among the minor changes were the light clusters, a new bumper and front grille. For the UK and Cyprus markets, the indicator stalk was switched to the opposite side. For the Italian market, a new bi-fuel LPG version debuted alongside the 1.0 L and 1.1 L engines. This model also saw a change in power steering configuration from hydraulic to electric.In 2009, the Picanto received some minor interior and exterior changes, including a new front fascia that incorporates the 'tiger nose' grille. This facelifted model would not be exported to Europe.
Second generation (TA; 2011)
The second generation Picanto made its debut at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Designed by Kia's European design team based in Frankfurt, Germany, under the direction of Peter Schreyer, the new model is longer in wheelbase and overall length than its predecessor. The Picanto is offered with a choice of two gasoline engines: a 1.0 liter three-cylinder or a 1.25 liter four-cylinder. The Europe-spec 1.25 liter engine features ecoDynamics, Kia's start-stop system. In addition, there is also a petrol/LPG version of the 1.0 liter engine available. The Brazil version is equipped with a flex fuel version of the 1.0 liter engine that uses both petrol and ethanol.The Picanto was available worldwide as a 5-door hatchback while the European market received the exclusive 3-door variant. The 3-door version is the same length as the 5-door model, but it sports new windows and doors, different bumpers and a front grille with silver or red trim. In South Korea, the Morning is offered in a Sport Pack, which consists of the 3-door's front and rear bumpers, as well as a digital speedometer.
In some countries, the Picanto name is accompanied by a modifier for marketing reasons. Examples include Picanto Ion for Colombia, Picanto R for Ecuador, Picanto Flex for Brazil, Picanto K1 for Thailand, and Picanto 1250 for New Zealand. In the Indonesian market, the 1.0 liter variant was named Morning 1.0 to distinguish it from the 1.2 liter Picanto; this variant was sold in 2015 only.
The second-generation facelifted Picanto for the Pakistani market was launched at Pakistan Auto Parts Show 2019. It is locally assembled at Lucky Motor Corporation's plant in Karachi. It is offered in two variants: one of the variants comes with 5-speed manual transmission while the other comes with 4-speed CVT. Both variants are equipped with the 1.0 liter Kappa II MPI I3 petrol engine. Production commenced in August 2019, with actual sales starting October 2019.
Picanto R-Cross
In November 2013, Kia Netherlands released a limited edition model called the Picanto R-Cross. Marketed to compete with the Volkswagen CrossUp, this model featured a black body kit that wrapped around the wheel wells and was fitted with 14" alloy wheels. Only 500 units of the R-Cross were produced.Marketing
As part of the marketing campaign for the Picanto, Kia produced a promotional video featuring the world's first nail art animation. Over 900 artificial nails and 1,200 bottles of nail polish were used in a span of 25 days to create images of the Picanto in motion.In the UK, the Picanto is the official sponsor of the ITV dating game show Take Me Out. Kia UK released a series of viral videos on their YouTube channel to promote both the car and the programme. Each video features actress Natasha Barrero, as she drives a black Picanto 3-door before being swooned over by different men.
A Lemon Grass Morning appears as the transforming robot Tobot D in the South Korean animated series Tobot.
Awards
The Picanto won the iF product design award in the "Transportation Design" category in 2011 and the Red Dot award in the "Automobiles, transportation, commercial and water vehicles" category in 2012. Top Gear magazine named the Picanto "Bargain Car of the Year" in 2011. The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers awarded the Picanto as "Best Small Car" in 2011. In South Africa, the Picanto took the Standard Bank People's Wheels Award for "Budget Buys - Affordability First" three years straight from 2011 to 2013. In 2016, J.D. Power and Associates awarded the Picanto on UK Vehicle Dependability Study in the City Car category.Facelift
;2013In 2013, the Morning in South Korea was updated to use the European three-door's front and rear bumpers with the headlights incorporating a new LED daytime running light system. The interior featured a revised instrument cluster with a digital speedometer. The silver trim was replaced with a gloss black trim. A touchscreen multimedia stereo system was offered as an option. The new model was equipped with seven airbags, a Cornering Brake Control system, a handbrake alarm, and height adjustable seat belts. Aside from the standard 1.0 liter gasoline engine, the Picanto was offered with a new "Eco-Plus" engine mated to a continuously variable transmission.
The international version of the Picanto remained unchanged aside from the new front bumper.
;2015
In 2015, the Picanto received redesigned front and rear bumpers with new fog lamps. In addition, the car was offered with a turbocharged version of its 1.0 liter Kappa II engine, which increased power output from 69 hp to 106 hp. The revised engine met Euro 6 standards. The Picanto was also offered with optional front disc brakes, an increase from the stock.
The facelifted Picanto debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show in March and went on sale across Europe by the end of the month.
Safety
Global NCAP
The African version of the Picanto with driver airbag and no ABS received 3 stars for adult occupants and 2 stars for infants from Global NCAP 1.0 in 2018.Latin NCAP
The Picanto in its most basic Latin American market configuration with no airbags, no ABS and no ESC received 0 stars for adult occupants and 1 star for toddlers from Latin NCAP 2.0 in 2016.ASEAN NCAP
test results for a RHD, 5-door hatchback variant on a 2013 registration :The airbag variant tested was the Malaysian model equipped with six airbags, Electronic stability control, and Isofix. The non-airbag variant tested was the Thai version, which is similarly equipped as the Philippine and Indonesian models.
Euro NCAP
test results for a LHD, 5-door hatchback variant on a 2011 registration:ANCAP
Australian NCAP test results for a RHD, 5-door hatchback variant on a 2016 registration:Third generation (JA; 2017)
The third-generation Picanto made its official global debut at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. The new Picanto was equipped with a choice of three engines: the outgoing model's 1.0-liter Kappa II three-cylinder engine in the multi-point injected and turbocharged direct-injected versions, and the 1.2-liter Kappa II four-cylinder engine. Both 1.0-liter engines were mated exclusively with a 5-speed manual transmission, while the 1.2-liter engine was also offered with an optional 4-speed automatic transmission. The car features all-new safety features such as Torque Vectoring Brake Based system, Straight Line Stability, Forward Collision Warning System and Autonomous Emergency Braking.GT-Line
For the Malaysian market, the third-generation Picanto was launched in January 2018. It was powered by the naturally-aspirated 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine and was initially available in only one trim level, with a 4-speed automatic transmission. In January 2019, the GT-Line variant was announced, featuring Autonomous Emergency Braking and many other new features. In May 2019, a base variant KX and a crossover variant designated X-Line were added.For the Indonesian market, the third-generation Picanto went on sale in October 2019. It was powered by the 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine and offered in GT-Line and EX trim levels with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. The Picanto was discontinued in Indonesia in 2022.