2020 Kia Picanto facelift launched in South Korea, priced at RM 41,524

KUALA LUMPUR: Sold as Kia Picanto in foreign markets, the facelifted version of the small Morning hatchback has just made its way to the South Korean showrooms. For the 2020 iteration, Kia has decked the lovable city car with a refreshed design, new comfort features, new safety equipment, and an enhanced engine. 

2020 Kia Picanto also comes as a consolidation of the outgoing model’s standard, GT Line, and X-Line variants into a single model called Urban. The price of the facelifted version starts from KRW 1,17,50,000 (RM 41,524).

While keeping the sporty general aesthetic of the GT Line, the new Picanto features a redesigned front end, the prominent “tiger nose” grille having chrome slats and a patterned lower edge. The new headlights feature four-point LED daytime running lights, which look similar to the ones on the Porsche Taycan. 

The rear profile gets the new 3D tail-lamps, revised bumper, and chrome exhaust tip. Other modifications include new 14- and 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheel options and shark fin antenna. The buyers can also opt for an all-new exterior colour, Honeybee.

The interior of 2020 Kia Picanto remains unchanged mainly in terms of design, as the orange decorative trim being the only visual update. However, it gets several technological upgradations that comprise a new 4.2-inch colour multi-information display in the instrument console and an all-new 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, pairable with two Bluetooth devices. 

The new Picanto is also equipped with a UVO navigation system that brings Internet connectivity to the table. It allows the users to control certain vehicle functions remotely including door locks and air-conditioning via a smartphone app. It also includes over-the-air map updates, connectivity to home devices, and voice recognition using Kakao’s AI technology. 

For safety, the added features are a lane-keeping assist system, forward collision avoidance assist, and blind-spot detection.

Under the skin, the new Korean-spec Kia Picanto houses a 1.0-litre MPI naturally-aspirated three-pot engine paired with a 4-speed automatic transmission. It produces 76 PS of maximum power at 6,200 rpm and 95 Nm of peak torque at 3,750 rpm. The claimed combined fuel consumption is 15.7 kmpl.

The Kia Picanto facelift model is expected to be introduced in other international markets later this year.

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