Used Kia Picanto for sale: everything you need to know

The Kia Picanto is a superb small car that comes with a seven-year warranty – and which is now famous for so much more besides. The advantage of such a long warranty is it carries on to serve used buyers as well as the original owner.

A smartly-styled city car, the five-door Kia Picanto is offered in a comprehensive and, occasionally, rather overwhelming array of trim levels. All share a 1.0-litre petrol engine, which you can have either with a turbo or without. It competes with cars such as the Hyundai i10, Volkswagen Up and Toyota Aygo X. 

Should you buy a Kia Picanto? 

The fact you still get Kia’s generous seven-year warranty with many used examples bolsters the Picanto’s appeal. That impressive warranty doesn't come at the expense of the Picanto's kit or finish, however.

It’s anything but stark-looking and austere. It’s built just as well as other Kias, with solid interior quality and robust refinement. The special-edition Shadow and higher-spec X-Line and GT-Line variants look particularly stylish. 

The Kia Picanto will certainly surprise many in terms of its space efficiency. Those standard rear doors are not just there for show, because adults can climb into the back and discover plenty of space. The boot is small as a result, but it’s not too impractical by city car standards. Split-fold rear seats are also standard – yes, even in the Kia Picanto 1. 

The Kia Picanto is an undemanding car to drive, delivering good fuel-efficiency and low insurance groups. If you want more power, you can trade the cheap insurance for a punchier turbo version, while the regular car also offers the convenience of a two-pedal automatic transmission (even if the AMT automated manual gearbox isn’t as smooth as a true automatic). 

Overall, it’s a very good choice for those seeking a five-door city car. It offers great value, certainly, but so much more besides.

A Kia Picanto not for you? We've got 1000s of used cars for sale to suit all budgets and needs.

What's the best used Kia Picanto model to buy?

Most buyers - especially those covering only a few thousand miles a year - will be well served by the basic 1.0-litre model. It may be slow, but it's a peppy engine, sounds good when worked, and will be cheap to run.

It can struggle on motorways and uphill, so if you live somewhere with a lot of ups and downs, we would pay the extra for the 1.25-litre instead or, better yet, the turbocharged 1.0-litre motor.

Used buyers would do well to track down a Kia Picanto GT-Line for fancy big car features.

Used Kia Picanto fuel economy and performance

Kia has offered a choice of thre engines with this generation of Picanto since 2017: an entry-level 1.0-litre three-cylinder and a more powerful turbocharged 1.0 three-cylinder called T-GDI, plus a 1.25-litre four-cylinder with 84PS. There are two transmissions as well. The 1.0-litres have a choice of a five-speed manual and a five-speed, two-pedal automatic-style gearbox called AMT (it stands for ‘automated manual transmission’). With the 1.25, you can pick between five-speed manual or four-speed traditional auto 'box.

• Kia Picanto 1.0 petrol: The basic 1.0-litre engine has a middling 66PS, which serves up 0-62mph acceleration in 14.1 seconds. It’s not fast, then, but it does offer a combined fuel economy figure of 58.9mpg, plus tax-friendly CO2 emissions from 110g/km. Engine stop-start is standard. 
• Kia Picanto 1.0 T-GDI petrol: Adding a turbo transforms the Kia Picanto. Power leaps to 99PS, and it has almost double the torque, delivered from just 1,500rpm instead of 3,750rpm. The 0-62mph time drops to 9.9 seconds, while combined economy of 53.3mpg doesn’t look bad given the extra oomph. 
• Kia Picanto 1.25 petrol: A four-cylinder engine with 84PS to its name, this motor came with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions. With the manual, it provided combined economy of 47.9mpg and 106g/km Co2 emissions. This engine was offered up until 2020.

What used Kia Picanto trim levels are available?

For a small, city-friendly hatchback, the Kia Picanto’s trim line-up is extremely comprehensive. There are no fewer than eight variants to pick from as a used buyer, all with their own specific level of standard kit. Here we run through the highlights of each. 

• The Kia Picanto 1 is the most basic Kia Picanto. And when we say basic, we mean it. No alloy wheels, no air conditioning, not even body-colour paint for the door handles. At least you get a stereo – albeit one with just two speakers. 
• The Kia Picanto 2 is the more effective low-cost entry model, simply because it has a passable level of standard equipment. They may be tiny, but at least the wheels are alloys, while it has air-con, electric door mirrors and twice the number of speakers for the stereo. 
• The Kia Picanto Shadow is a special Kia Picanto that has an extremely generous standard spec. Surprise features include LED daytime running lights, 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity… oh, and a full six speakers for your music. 
• The Kia Picanto 3 adds sat-nav, climate control air-con and even electric-folding door mirrors.
• The Kia Picanto X-Line is a neat crossover-look Kia Picanto with tough plastic body mouldings and rugged interior trim that boasts ‘outdoorsy’ green accents. A set of 16-inch alloys is standard, too. 
• The Kia Picanto X-Line S is a higher-spec version with climate control air-con, sat-nav and wireless smartphone charging. 
• The Kia Picanto GT-Line is a sportier alternative, with a racy look and more style-conscious set of 16-inch alloys. Inside, it has red accents throughout. 
• The Kia Picanto GT-Line S again brings a higher level of standard kit to the GT-Line look: climate control air-con, cruise control, sat-nav, wireless smartphone charging and keyless go with an engine stop-start button. 

Used Kia Picanto dimensions and boot size

The Kia Picanto’s exterior dimensions are: 

• Length: 3,595mm
• Width: 1,595mm (X-Line: 1,625mm)
• Height: 1,485mm (X-Line: 1,500mm)
• Ground clearance: 141mm

The Kia Picanto’s boot space is:

• 255 litres
• 1,010 litres with rear seats folded

Used Kia Picanto road tax

This generation of Kia Picanto went on sale almost exactly so that it coincides with the 1 April 2017 date that the flat rate of road tax is charged from. Early generation Picantos will have their road tax based on the engine's emissions, but this generation from 2017-on all pay that fixed £180 per year to the taxman.

How much is it to insure a Kia Picanto? 

The Kia Picanto is potentially an extremely cheap car to insure. As the 1.0-litre 66hp ‘2’ with the AMT automated manual transmission, it boasts a best-possible group 1 insurance rating (out of 50). This is actually lower than the 1.0 66hp Kia Picanto 1 entry-level car: that’s a surprising group 5. Most Kia Picantos fall into group 4 or 5 for insurance, with the AMT version proving cheaper to insure across the board. A word of warning for the 1.0 T-GDI though: it has a higher group 11 rating. 

Read our full Kia Picanto review