In other words, the future Picanto will have almost the same dimensions as the old Picanto. But the exterior design will be very different and this will happen mostly thanks to Kia's design boss Peter Schreyer and his team of engineers.
The exterior is expected to borrow some cues from the Venga, so the future Picanto will be a bit sportier. The company's new tiger nose grille and a new shoulderline are both contributing to this chapter, rounding off the boxy look the current model has. The five-door model in the pictures is likely to be the first configuration to hit the market but, as always, the carmaker is looking into ways to develop a three-door variant. The reason would be the same: offer consumers a more affordable version of the Picanto.
The interior of the car will be refreshed and it would most likely resemble the one seen on the Sportage. Equipment levels will be pretty much the main advantage of the car, so expect the standard version to be offered with air conditioning, electric windows and audio system with MP3 support.
As for the engine lineup, Kia has intensively working on the units, but sources claim that the new 1.0-liter engine that releases only 99 grams of CO2 in the atmosphere and scheduled to debut on the Hyundai i10 in Paris 2011, is likely to make it to the new Picanto. Pricing will be slightly different, but don't expect to see the cheapest model breaking the EUR8,000 barrier.
The car will make its debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March 2011, so more information is likely to emerge soon.
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