SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
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Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday July 27,2011
"New car prices have been increasing less quickly than the official inflation rate over the past few years," said Ray Levin CEO of Kia Motors SA. "This is partly due to a fairly strong Rand, but mainly because some component prices have dropped thanks to economies of scale. For example, the into-factory cost of ABS dropped from (US) $600 per car a few years ago, to only $200 today. Consumers notice it either as slower rates of price escalation or getting more bang for one's entry-level buck today."
This brings us to Kia's latest incarnation of its 'A' segment baby car. It's available in three models, one-litre basic and slightly smarter LX versions, and top of the range 1.2 EX with yet more goodies. All come with a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, giving buyers the pick of six models altogether. The price leader is a 998 cc, three-cylinder, DOHC CVVT unit putting out a useful 51kW and 94 Nm of torque; yours with manual gearbox for R99 995.
Keeping to the highlights, it has steel wheels, manually adjustable outside mirrors, a heated rear window, rear fog lamps, manual air conditioning, a gearshift indicator to encourage economical driving, a trip computer, an MP3-capable radio and CD unit with auxiliary, USB and iPod sockets (cable supplied), an air bag for the driver, ISOFIX child seat anchors for the back seats, kiddie locks, keyless entry, alarm and immobiliser and remote central locking.
For R8 000 extra, the LX version adds front fog lamps, rear window wiper, automatic lights with 'escort' and 'welcome home' functions, electric windows in front, height adjustment for the driver's seat, a storage tray under the front passenger's seat and a second air bag. A further R7 000 gains you the 1248 cc four-cylinder engine developing 65 kW/120 Nm and EX trim with some worthwhile additions.
These include alloy wheels, electrically powered mirrors and rear windows, a leather covered steering wheel with remote controls for the music centre, Bluetooth for your phone, two more speakers and ABS with EBD and Emergency Stop Signal (ESS). This dramatic-sounding device panic-flashes the brake lights three times when you jump on the anchors like your life depends on it. I left out details of body-coloured this and chromed that, because it wastes space and you can pick up a brochure from your dealer anyway.
As with most small cars, this one has grown since its previous sighting, being 60 mm longer on a wheelbase stretched 15 mm. Taking advantage of this, interior restyling added 36 mm of front legroom and increased luggage space by 27 percent to 200 litres, so I'm sure no-one will mind. Apart from cosmetic changes that move the Picanto's appearance upscale from 'cute' to "sturdy' and 'purposeful,' with the family Schreyer line grille, larger front air intake, more obvious fog lamps and a bolder, squatter rear end, mechanical changes have taken place too.
Suspension and running gear were tweaked to keep handling responsive while improving ride quality and refinement. Electric power steering is fitted for its good balance between steering precision, feel and feedback, while agility is retained thanks to a turning circle of less than 10 metres. McPherson strut front suspension features increased castor angle for enhanced straight-line driving stability while12 percent softer springs and longer wheel travel make life more comfortable.
The coupled torsion beam rear axle is 60 percent stiffer, so reducing understeer, with 29 percent softer springs, shorter bump-stops and larger trailing-arm bushes for improved stability and a more compliant ride. Kia’s ‘High’ suspension set-up increases ground clearance by 10 mm compared with European-spec models, to 152 mm to enable a comfortable ride over rough or heavily cambered roads. Brakes are 241 mm ventilated discs up front and 180 mm drums behind. ABS is standard on1.2-litre EX models.
The all-new bodyshell uses a greater percentage of high-strength steel, incorporating ring-shaped reinforcing loops within the B- and C-pillars, across the floor pan and roof, with additional bracing at the front between the cowl and suspension towers for improved rigidity. For greater side-impact protection, the B-pillar and side sills are reinforced with high-tensile steel plates, the anti-intrusion door-beams are extended to overlap the B-pillar and polyurethane pads are fitted within the front door trims. Pedestrian safety has been improved by fitting a new cross-member below the front bumper, creating a deformable cowling ahead of the windscreen and off-setting the bonnet striker inside the engine bay by 50 mm from the car’s centre line.
Picanto's blend of safety, strength, comfort and youthful appeal is aimed at singles and young families, although empty nesters are considered possible candidates too. Whatever the case, greater value for money, especially at entry level, is always welcome.
The numbers
Prices: Picanto 1.0 (basic) - R99 995, Picanto 1.0 LX - R107 995, Picanto 1.2 EX - R114 995. Automatic transmission: add R10 000
Fuel economy: 4,9 l/100 km (1.0 manual) to 6,0 l/100 km (1.2 automatic)
CO2 emissions: 117 to 144 gm/km
Tank: 35 litres
Performance: Zero to 100 km/h - 11,6 seconds (1.2 manual) to 14,3 seconds (1.0 automatic)
Maximum speeds: 155 km/h (1.0 auto) to 169 km/h (1.2 man)
Warranty: 5 years/100 000 km with 3 years' roadside assistance
Service Plan: Optional on all - 2 years/45 000 km, priced at R3 255
For a road test on the 2011 Kia Picanto 1.0, click here
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8