Leaked: 2024 Kia Picanto outed
Bold new design for upgraded micro-car breaks cover ahead of official revealThe micro-car is a dying breed in Australia, but the Kia Picanto still manages to find hundreds of new buyers each month – and later this year they’ll be able to snap up a fresh-faced, higher-tech version of the pint-size five-door hatch.
Arriving in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2023, the new-look 2024 Kia Picanto is likely to remain one of just two micro-cars available in Australia (alongside the new electric Fiat/Abarth 500e twins), and one of just two sub-$20,000 new vehicles still on sale here – and perhaps the only one if the replacement for the top-selling MG3 goes electric and/or up in price.
As demand continues unabated for the current Picanto (priced from $16,290), with Kia Australia selling every example it can land here, carsales understands the upgraded model will be subject to only modest price increases – and will bring added equipment to go with its striking new exterior design.
The new-look 2024 Kia Picanto was leaked by Korean website AutoSpy.net ahead of its official worldwide premiere, emerging with a bold new front-end design headlined by a pair of intricately designed headlight clusters spanning vertical and horizontal axis.
The eye-popping new headlight design, which is part of a major facelift and not an all-new model, join a redesigned front bumper and grille with a robo-like motif, plus cyber-styled four-spoke alloy wheels – at least on this particular Picanto GT-Line model-grade.
The Kia Picanto’s rear-end also gets a new look, via an updated LED tail-light design that flows horizontally into the tailgate, along with a resculpted apron and a sportier low-slung rear diffuser with aero fins.
The changes are less audacious inside, although the driver’s instrument cluster now appears to be all-digital, with a central 4.2-inch LCD screen flanked by a new-look speedo and tacho. A small 8.0-inch central touch-screen will continue to provide infotainment functions to keep costs down.
The 2025 Kia Picanto is expected to be powered by the same 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol (62kW/122Nm) and 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol (74kW/172Nm) engines, which currently drive the front wheels through five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions to keep costs low.
At present the base Picanto S and mid-spec Picanto GT-Line ($17,740) variants get 1.2-litre engines and the manual-only Picanto GT Turbo flagship ($20,790) comes with the turbo-triple.
It’s not clear whether the Kia Picanto will be renewed for another generation, but Kia Australia has made no secret of its desire to continue offering micro-cars to customers Down Under.
Kia will release a brace of new small EVs in the coming years and has trademarked names including EV1, but it’s understood such a vehicle wouldn’t necessarily replace the Picanto, which will be required in countries with a lack of charging infrastructure such as Australia.
Stay tuned for the 2024 Kia Picanto’s official reveal.
Leaked photos: AutoSpy.net
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