Collected the car last Thursday and have just completed 500 miles, which in itself should give an indication of my view of the car. The car is red with a wrapped black vinyl roof and to me looks really nice. A bit of history may add perspective here. I am 68 years old and had been a keen motorcyclist for 50 years until giving it up last year due to a combination of factors which when taken in the round made continuing just too dangerous in my judgement. I have also been a keen driver during this time as a bit of a serial car changer the last car being a Mini Cooper “S”. I must qualify this in as much as the Mini was bought at my wife’s behest as I have a dislike of all things BMW (Big Motoring Worries). Anyway, to cut to the chase I was mightily impressed with my wife’s new Kia Picanto GT Line so bought myself a new Picanto GT Line “S”. I am delighted with it. We live in a little village at the foot of the North Pennines and therefore the roads around are tight nadgery “B” roads and the Picanto is an absolute hoot. It’s nippy, not fast but it feels quicker than it really is whilst emitting a lovely but not intrusive soundtrack as you surf the not insignificant torque developed by the delightful 3 pot motor. I would also venture that the build quality is right up there and possibly even exceeding that of many others including German offerings. I appreciate that this is very subjective but I have owned many such cars and I really believe this to be so. Possibly one of the more amazing things achieved by the car is that it does not feel like the tiny car that it is and just how planted it feels at speed. The car is very comfortable for me and has more than enough toys to keep me happy. We had a run to the coast yesterday, a round trip of 100 miles on various roads and the fuel consumption was 50.1 mpg which on a still new relatively tight motor is pretty impressive. I intended to remap the car (yes I would have informed the insurance company) but when also taking into account the compromising of the warranty and just how pleased I am with the car's performance out of the box I think we will park that plan for the moment. So we have two cracking cars on the drive for about the same price as the Mini. A service plan covering both cars for £22 per month (an oil and filter with pollen filter change was £295, I kid you not) what's not to like. Well one thing, the armrest that's not an armrest, too bad, how sad, never mind.
Picanto GT Line "S" The First 500 Miles.
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Really pleased you're liking it Ting Tong. I'm a year younger than you and also live in a rural area (but gave up on motor bikes since falling off one in my 20's). I tend to hang on to my cars but had a 1970 1275 mini cooper S for a couple of years as well as a Saab 99 turbo later on. This Picanto 1.0 Gtdi has really put the fun back into driving for me too and I actually grin most of the time I'm driving it. I would not want very much more power though without sorting the chassis and suspension first. There are times when it's stock 66bhp suspension shows through 
. I've no plans to change it any time soon however as it's such good fun!
. I've no plans to change it any time soon however as it's such good fun!
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Glad you like it Ting Ting- I am also 68year old with over 50 years on motorcycles, thought thinking of selling last bike soon.
Yes they do feel solid, much more than diminutive size would suggest and great fun to drive. I added some soundproofing to my Picanto and that has further improved the driving experience.
If you ever feel the need to increase power, I am sure Edd at Bluespark would help, as he needs a current model car, to develop chip for our new version of engine.
Yes they do feel solid, much more than diminutive size would suggest and great fun to drive. I added some soundproofing to my Picanto and that has further improved the driving experience.
If you ever feel the need to increase power, I am sure Edd at Bluespark would help, as he needs a current model car, to develop chip for our new version of engine.
I wo
I would be very interested in how you did the increased soundproofing. I would suspect that it would be the spare wheel well as it looks to me as if it acts as a resonance chamber for rear-wheel generated road noise.
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Yeah had mine 2 weeks now and have to say I love it. was disappointed with my old gt line that had the 1.25 engine but this one is awesome with the 1ltr blown lump, just so easy to drive and a hoon when the loud "ish" pedal is deployed and the blower kicks in.
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91 Posts
Done several techniques Best result for effort is simply acoustic foam under the carpet/ cover in boot
Sound levels - MY 21 Picanto GT ( 1.0 Turbo) Interior...
Wow, this is some dedicated project you have going - well done! Send your results to Kia so they can add this to the factory cars from next MY. OK, I know they won't but I wish they would. What I find with inexpensive cars is that it wouldn't take much to make them a lot nicer but I guess when...
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