UK Drive: The Picanto X-Line brings rugged crossover looks to Kia’s supermini

What is it?

The Kia Picanto has been a popular choice for new drivers and pensioners for nearly 15 years now, and has risen to great success as the South Korean manufacturer has proven itself as a genuine mainstream car maker, with the latest model hitting showrooms in 2017.

Kia has now added a rugged-looking X-Line trim to the Picanto range to stretch its appeal further, and to take advantage of the booming crossover market. About half of the firm’s UK model line-up is made up of crossovers, and is now looking at launching crossover versions of its already existing cars.

The Picanto X-Line is Kia’s first attempt at a jacked-up city car, following in the wake of Dacia, Vauxhall and Fiat.

What’s new?

While the Picanto X-Line might just look like a higher up version of the Picanto, there’s a little more to it than that. It’s longer, wider and sits higher on the road than the standard Picanto does.

As well as the noticeable plastic trim around the wheel arches that give the X-Line its rugged flair, it also features a rich standard equipment list. You also get lashings of lime green on the interior and exterior, too, to help distinguish the Picanto X-Line from its city car siblings.

Standard features include a seven-inch infotainment display, faux leather upholstery, automatic headlights and autonomous emergency braking.

What’s under the bonnet?

The Picanto X-Line is only available with a 1.25-litre petrol engine, which produces 83bhp and 122Nm of torque. You can have it paired with either a five-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic gearbox.

It’s fantastically nippy around town, and acceleration feels far quicker in urban environments than its 0-60mph time of 11.6 seconds would ever suggest, with a top speed of 107mph.

Away from the city the Picanto does struggle, with a five-speed gearbox meaning at motorway speeds it sits at 3000rpm. While the engine was not designed for national speed limit roads, it performs perfectly fine if you do need to make the odd journey on them, just expect fuel economy to suffer if you’re sitting at high revs for long periods.

As for running costs, Kia claims the X-Line will return 61.4mpg and 106g/km. However, we struggled to get it anywhere near this clamed figure – averaging around 42mpg over a mix of driving.

What’s it like to drive?

The Picanto X-Line is ideal around town, with a tight turning circle and light steering being a huge help on narrow streets and when parking.

It’s not exactly fast but it’s surprisingly enjoyable to drive as it handles well with minimal body roll, and is good fun to throw into a corner with confidence that you won’t end up in a hedge around the other side.

As for refinement, the 16-inch alloy wheels create a lot of tyre noise at speed – a problem we’ve found in other Kias, too, and the 16-inch wheels also don’t ride as comfortably as other trim levels fitted with smaller 15-inch alloy wheels either. If comfort is therefore your main priority, it might be worth opting for a lesser spec.

How does it look?

Here is where the X-Line is noticeably different to the standard Picanto, as Kia has added some crossover styling to its humble city car.

As well as the plastic cladding, it’s also bigger at 75mm longer, 30mm wider and has 15mm more ground clearance – all minor things but enough to tell you that it’s not a normal Picanto. Elsewhere, it features ‘SUV-style’ bumpers and front and rear skid plates.

You also get quirky lime green highlights around the grille and fog lights, too. Our car also came in a luminous shade of green that was truly unmissable. However, it still looks smart in less lairy colours.

While these details won’t be for all, the Picanto X-Line looks interesting and stands out on the road – something that can’t be said as much for the standard model.

What’s it like inside?

Some of the X-Line’s interior flair has also been added to the interior, with white and green detailing on the door cards and lime green stitching on the flat-bottomed steering wheel, gear lever gaiter and armrests.

While it’s nowhere as vibrant as the outside, these touches are just enough to set it apart from the standard Picanto. Interior quality is not quite up to the standard of the Volkswagen Up!, but everything feels built to last. The seven-inch touchscreen is also intuitive and comes with features including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Picanto is a city car so don’t expect MPV levels of space. However, Kia claims the Picanto offers class-leading boot space, and with a 255-litre boot it is unusually spacious for a car of this size.

What’s the spec like?

The X-Line is very well-equipped for the price, costing £12,595 for the manual or £650 more for an automatic transmission. The X-Line’s styling touches only set you back a few hundred pounds more than the similarly equipped GT Line grade, with a range-topping GT Line S model costing £13,995.

Standard equipment includes a seven-inch touchscreen that has Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth. You also get automatic air-conditioning, keyless entry and faux leather upholstery.

On the exterior you get the X-Line styling pack, LED daytime running lights and 16-inch alloy wheels. The safety kit fitted is also impressive for such a small car, with features including autonomous emergency braking, hill start assist, and electronic stability control.

Verdict

The Kia Picanto is a charming little city car, and the X-Line trim adds quirky rugged styling that looks smart and will no doubt appeal to many buyers wanting a piece of the crossover pie without wanting, or needing, the size of a small SUV.

As a city car, it is hard to fault. It’s nimble, well-equipped and big on safety, and should be very near the top of your small car shopping list for all those reasons.

And if the X-Line’s vibrant styling is not for you, you can save yourself a few hundred pounds and go for the equally impressive standard Picanto.

Facts at a glance

Model as tested: Kia Picanto X-Line
Price: £13,460
Engine: 1.25-litre petrol engine
Power: 83bhp
Torque: 122Nm
Max speed: 107mph
0-60mph: 11.6 seconds
MPG: 61.4mpg
Emissions: 106g/km