2004 Kia Picanto EX from Denmark - Comments

I have had my Picanto for 3 weeks now, and this far nothing has gone wrong nor annoyed me.

Surprisingly high quality of materials in the interior.

Transmission not as precise as in a Japanese car, however better than we are used to in Korean cars.

Low noise until appr. 110 km/h.

Fuel consumption 18 - 20 km/litre, unless cruising at 130 km/h - then fuel consumption grows remarkably (max. performance 15 km/l).

All type of KIA vehicles is well known heavy fuel consumption. It might cause by the poor ECU design to optimize it. If really 10KM/Liter, your car definitely close to my Proton Wira 1.6XLi w/Converted to Mitsubishi DOHC 16V that had 130ps.

Picanto models sold in Europe are a slightly different animal to the models that we have in Asian countries where they are imported at below EUR 2K for basic specs by the local distributors. I do not know what fuel savings features are taken out, but most notably is the weight saving Tire Mobility Kit and low FC tires.

Roads surface in Asian are also different to that in European cities, and the Petrol we get at the pump also is different in energy content and formulation.

Conclusion: We cannot directly compare FC figures.

I have had my Picanto now for 3 months, I feel this car's pulling power at the begining is poor compared to that of other cars.Especially on mountain roads it pulls with great difficulty at the start. Fuel consumption is not so bad in Sri lanka. When driving in cities it does 12km/L ,wheres driving on highways and country roads around 15km/L.