Driving Kia’s new Picanto five-door micro car – in many ways a city car and just so easy to drive. This 1.25-litre four-cylinder four-speed auto really hit the spot with me – effortless to drive, highly equipped, very affordable and in many cases projecting a big car feel. The ride quality on the Picanto is a real surprise – it doesn’t jolt on bumps, is well controlled and feels far from small, the ride quality enhanced by very comfortable and cossetting seats. Currently $14,990 drive-away the current Kia Picanto Si automatic five-door hatch will be replaced by a new model in June, it was shown at Geneva Motor Show this week, so you should now be able to do a sharper deal. An ideal car for retirees looking for affordable motoring, good safety credentials with six airbags and a five-star ANCAP safety rating – some nice equipment including rear parking sensors along with electronic stability control and Hill start assist – a really handy feature. Kia is now really benefiting from its industry leading 7- year/unlimited kilometre warranty with capped price servicing and road-side assist – sales up by an industry leading 32.4 percent in the first two months of this year. The seven-year warranty is real peace of mind motoring, also the capped price servicing every 15,000km at a cost each year of $335 on Picanto. The upright seating position really suits older drivers in a body that surprisingly rooky. Only real minus the lack of cruise control. I’m David Berthon

2016 Kia Picanto front 3/4 in motion.

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