SA-bound Picanto to pop up at Geneva '15

  •Updated exterior, interior
  •New cruise control, touchscreen
  •Three style packs

SEOUL, South Korea - Kia will unveil its third-generation Picanto at the 2015 Geneva auto show on March 3.

The new Picanto, expected to arrive in South Africa in the second quarter of 2015, sports redesigned front and rear bumpers as well as a new version of Kia's trademark ‘tiger-nose’ grille.

It has a new 14” alloy rim design and an optional sport pack, is available in both two- and four-door variants, which adds cosmetic enhancements.

SPRUCED INTERIOR

The cabin gains chromed accents on the instrument binnacle and facia air-vents, new cloth upholstery and a redesigned facia.

Optional extras, being introduced to the Picanto for the first time, includes the latest generation of Kia’s audio-video navigation with a 17cm touch-screen display as well as cruise control with speed limiter.*

COLOUR PACKS

The new Picanto for Europe benefits from three interior colour packs:
Red Pack - Artificial black leather, red cloth seats as well as gloss red and black door-panel inserts.
Yellow Pack – Artificial black leather and cloth upholstery with yellow stitching. Bright yellow facia and steering wheel.
Brown Pack -  Artificial brown leather seats, brown door trim and black dashboard.

Footwell illumination is added when fitted with a colour pack.

Larger 252mm front brakes (increased from 241mm) are available as an option. They can, Kia claims, stop the car “from 100km/h in 37m - an improvement of two metres”.

The upgraded Picanto receives minor modifications to its one-litre petrol engine.

*European specs. Specifications for South African versions of the new Picanto will be announced closer to the release date here.