By Karl Peskett.
When an eighteen-grand Kia has more personality than a $400,000 Bentley, you know the world has gone mad.
A few years ago, we were handed the keys to the latest Bentley Flying Spur and told to enjoy ourselves for a few days. As The Godfather promised, it was an offer we couldn’t refuse. Of course, the quality and space were amazing. But something let it down in a big way.
Under the bonnet was a twin-turbo twelve-cylinder engine, producing a mammoth 463kW. Clearly, it’s a quick machine. But when you pay all that money for a hugely powerful W12 and it ends up sounding like a V6, well, something is amiss.
Our test vehicle for this week, by contrast, was a three-cylinder. And produces a paltry 74kW. So, not exactly apples with apples. But the strange thing is Kia’s tiny Picanto GT with its lively 1.0-litre three-pot, sounds absolutely glorious. A whole lot more appealing than Bentley’s 6.0-litre W12, too.
However, as you’ll have noticed from above, the price disparity is bigger than the Grand Canyon. In fact, you could have 25 Picanto GTs for the price of one Flying Spur. That’s nearly one for each day of the month. Thing is, you’ll never worry about carpark dents in a Picanto GT.
It has everything you could want, too. There’s a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, smartphone mirroring, USB inputs, 12V charging point and enough storage around the place, including some clever stowable cupholders.
The other thing you’ll love about it is how engaging it is. With sharp steering, it turns into corners very nicely, and thanks to firm suspension, it hangs on as well. In fact, it’s very easy to point and shoot with this little vehicle.
The tyres do let it down in the wet, though, with the front end pushing wide if you’re too aggressive with cornering but being 16-inch wheels, there are plenty of options for better rubber around.
The engine has plenty of torque down low (there is a little bit of lag, however), with peak torque arriving at 1500rpm and running through to 4000rpm. Peak power hits at 4500rpm, so you can see that it’s almost diesel-like in its delivery, in other words, there’s no need to keep revving it.
And that’s the mistake that you initially make when you first start driving it. It says “GT” on the back, it feels quite torquey and so you rev it out expecting it to keep pulling hard until the redline. Instead, when you understand how this little motor delivers its grunt, you then start using the torque, changing gears earlier than you’d normally be used to, and stringing together shift after shift. The Picanto GT can actually be quite a quick and willing performer when you know what it likes.
The clutch action is nice and light, and so too is the gearshift, though it’s probably a little too light. A slightly shorter throw action would be nice, too, but for this price we’re certainly not complaining. Just bear in mind that the GT is only available in five-speed manual form.
Another nice surprise is the leather-faced seats, which have red edges and have excellent padding and shaping. The back seats are also surprisingly roomy for a micro-car, with actual adults who have legs being able to sit in the rear. But let’s not get too carried away – you certainly couldn’t do an around Australia trip in one of these.
Freeway driving, though, is a cinch, thanks to its taller fifth gear and 172Nm peak of torque. It sits at the national limit at a smidge over 2500rpm, and because the engine is so quiet when cruising, it’s only the tyres that you hear, which is certainly different to most micro-cars which are singing at over 3000rpm.
Fuel economy is good, as you’d expect for something so small, with our week of use returning 6.8L/100km, and that’s with some spirited driving thrown in. We’re sure that day to day use would give you something similar to the ADR sticker figure of 6.2L/100km for around town.
Negatives? Well, the HVAC system isn’t quite as good as you’d hope for Australian conditions. The heater takes ages to warm up and the air-con doesn’t quite maintain cooling enough for how much glass there is when the sun is beating down on you. Get some window tint, pronto.
For a fun-to-drive car, there aren’t too many vehicles that match the Picanto GT for the price. In fact, this is the ideal car for a first time owner.
At $18K, there really isn’t anything comparable that enables you to have something that sounds great, has Bluetooth, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, has a seven-year warranty with seven years roadside assistance and is as cheap to run as this one.
Sure, it can feel a bit cheap inside and you can’t use it to shift house, but if you have a small budget and you want to enjoy your driving, then you really can’t go past it.
