KIA Picanto 2007-2011 Photos, engines & full specs

Kia was on the verge of upgrading its vehicle lineup and, a year after the introduction of the cee'd, it refreshed the smallest family member, the Picanto.

While it wasn't a spicy vehicle, it was small and able to squeeze through the city traffic. It benefited from the carmaker experience in producing small cars for the Korean market, and thus the result was a fit-for-congestion vehicle.

Regardless of the car's qualities, the design was far from appealing to European or U.S. customers. The refreshed version tried to correct some mistakes, and the car showed different headlights, swept-back toward the top of the front fenders. It kept the same boxy-style with rounded edges and an ascending line on the rear doors. In the back, the design team refreshed the taillights and offered them an unmistakable look, improving the car's rear visibility.

Inside, despite being just a little commuter car, the carmaker tried to make it more pleasant and took inspiration from its bigger brother, the cee'd. The upholstery was enhanced, and new materials found their way inside the cabin. There was hardly room for two adults in the back, but the carmaker made them mostly for kids on their way to school. Inside the trunk, there was room for two backpacks and a briefcase.

Under the hood, Kia squeezed a choice of two engines: a 1.0- and a 1.1-liter engine. The carmaker added a 1.1-liter turbo-diesel engine for selected markets, but it was considered useless hence it didn't offer such a big fuel-efficiency as expected.