Kia Picanto Facelift – India Possibility?

The Kia Picanto is a stylish hatchback sold by the company in the international markets. It was showcased in the Auto Expo 2018 to garner interest in our market. It was known that the company will not launch the product initially in our market as it wanted to establish a brand name. But since the next product of Kia is going to be a sub-four-metre SUV. A sub-four-metre hatchback could also be on the cars which will most definitely be the Kia Picanto. The Picanto has also gotten a facelift recently in global markets. Find out more below.

Overview

The Kia Picanto is currently in its third generation internationally and is indeed a very popular choice abroad. The third-gen was launched in 2017 and since it has been three years, Kia has thought of making a facelift model for the Picanto. The car shares its underpinnings with the Grand i10 Nios which is sold here. Although the design is completely different and it is a bit smaller than the i10.

Kia Picanto design

The facelift model gets certain changes on it to make the car seem edgier such as a new headlight design, changes to the front grille, a new design for the fog lamps as well. The taillights and rear bumper have also gotten changes on them to give it a more aggressive look along with changes to the exhaust design as well. But the silhouette of the car has remained unchanged. The interiors are also expected to be getting certain changes and the addition of a few features to keep things fresh.

Features

Internationally, the car comes with features like a seven-inch touch-screen infotainment system with navigation, heated seats, heated steering wheel, a sunroof, cruise control. The facelift model will also get a lane-keeping assist driver system. But the Indian version will miss out on most of these features or either get downgraded ones.

Also read: Kia Sonet – Top 5 Changes Expected

Kia Picanto engine

International markets get three petrol variants of the Kia Picanto. But in India, the Picanto could be launched with two petrol options and one diesel.

These will be the  1.0-litre turbo petrol engine that churns out a power of 98bhp mated to a six-speed manual transmission and even an automatic as an option. The petrol turbo trend is hitting our market now. There will also be a 1.2 litre petrol that will be producing about 82bhp of power and will get a five-speed manual transmission. This is the one that will make it into India as well.

This particular engine is also seen on the Grand i10. There will also be a 1.2-litre 3 cylinder diesel engine on offer.

This will produce around 75bhp of power. This diesel engine is the one that also powers the Hyundai Grand i10.