One of my favourite micro or light cars is the five-door Kia Picanto hatch – a 1.25- litre four-cylinder in four-speed automatic at $14,990 drive-away – it arrived late last year fairly late n the model’s life cycle – on sale in Europe for some five years. For that reason some aspects are a little dated like the four-speed automatic gearbox but having said that in a city environment it works really well. Fuel consumption on the combined city/country cycle from the 63kW four-cylinder is rated at 5.6L/100km and I got very close to that number this week. The Picanto really benefits from Kia’s 7- year/unlimited kilometre warranty, capped price servicing and roadside assistance. It offers real peace of mind motoring whether for a young first car buyer or a retiree with an end of life cycle purchase. This is an ideal urban commuter for two people who don’t drive long distances. With five star ANCAP safety, rear parking sensors and electronic stability control its very well equipped. I’m David Berthon

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