2004 Kia Picanto LX from UK and Ireland - Comments

Hyundai vs Kia - under the skin, they are much the same so performance and internal space will be similar. Same engines, gearboxes and similar weight. I would personally go for the Picanto as it doesn't look quite as odd as the Hyundai, but I haven't driven the Hyundai so I'm not sure if its any better equipped or roomier inside.

Just picked up a 6000 miles SE for 5300!

Usually drive big old BMW 5 and I'm surprised how similar they feel. Kia's got a solid feel and can stop and turn on a sixpence!

As a bloke I wish it didn't look so "cute" but once you put that aside it's a great car.

The rear seats are also HUGE for a car in its class, can accommodate 4 adults with ease.

The dealer was also willing to extend the warranty for another 3 years, so hats of to them too.

Do you know how much the cost was to extend the warranty? My Picanto runs out of warranty in September 2007, and I am already thinking of keeping it for atleast another year, so extending my warranty would be a nice idea, providing the price is right.

Has anyone had any problems with rust on the inside of their car? My car is showing rust on the nut and bolt joints on the seat belts and seat joints, it is less than a year old.

I also have rust on my seat bolts as well and am worried the car is leaking in some way. My car is 18 months old.

Hmmm it appears the true underpinnings of kia are now filtering through. Hard luck, try a mazda or chevrolet next time.

I have a 54 plate picanto and am having problems with timing have just learnt it is to do with crankshaft waiting to see if kia will put right.

Re the Rust on inside of car - I too have got rust on the bottom of seats (where the seat attaches to the floor). Also, I think there is a lot of rust around the fuel cap lever (bits of it flaked off in my hand). I'm a bit worried now that it will become unsafe because of the seat connectors rusting, or I won't be able to fill my car up because the lever snaps off in my hand due to the bad rust.

Anyone have any ideas? or suggestions on what to do?

I have a 5 month old new style Kia Picanto Ice that has covered 2300 miles. These are problems to date:

1) O ring (rubber sealing ring) on air conditioning pipe had a small leak (this could be seen by oil on the pipes joint to the left rear of engine. Had to return vehicle four times and to two Kia dealers before resolved as quite complicated to repair (whole air con system has to be drained, vaccumed and re-gassed) Once this was done no more oil on joint.

2) Washer bottle leaks on the joint where the neck slots horizontally into the bottle that is fitted into the wing. Dealer advised they cannot repair but fit new washer bottle for free. I declined, no point as the joint is horizontal and will always leak. To remove you have to move the power steering fluid and other pipes and bits, probably cause more problems than solving the one if this is done.

3) When it is wet or damp rear suspension squeeks if you push boot up and down on it (first noticed when I got in car and heard a squeek from rear as I sat in seat). This goes after a few pushes up and down on rear suspension and if it is dry no squeek so impossible for dealer to resolve unless they can keep it for days hoping for rain and then just by pushing up and down establishing the fault as then it stops squeeking once moved.

4) Rattles : Front nearside of dash and from steering column. I imagine this cannot be resolved as it eminates from inside the dashboard.

5) Rattle getting louder each day from inside rear boot lid that is evident over uneven roads.

5) Stereo: Stereo randomly when switched on has no sound, lets out a loud crackle / distorted sound from speakers & then works fine. This seems to becoming less of a problem & only occurs on rare occasions now.

This is a lovely car let down by these annoying faults. You can see Kia have tried hard with the quality of this car, even the rear parcel shelf has rubber mounts to prevent rattles and there are other small details where they have obviously taken time to think about potential irritating problems.

For the money very good value. I purchased mine new. When you break down the cost of £7000 OTR over £1000 goes on VAT alone. They have to ship it from Korea and everyone has to have their cut in the profits so I imagine the true cost of manufacturing this car can be no more than £3000 so truly amazing that for that cost they build such a smart, modern fuel efficient car. Well done Kia.

We have owned our KIA PICANTO 54 plate 1.1 SE for almost 2 years 25000 miles on clock.

In that time we have had no problems.

It’s a great little car.

Cheap on tax (£35 per year)

Cheap on tyres (19000 miles before replacing)

Reasonable but I wouldn't say fantastic on petrol.

Once the warranty ran out, I decided to service it (which is straight forward and needs no further comment).

Some points to check if you own or are thinking of buying one are:

Check in spare wheel well in boot; you might see some surface rust around the bottom of well (nothing bad but treat with rust proofer to protect it).

Lift the bonnet and check under the rubber sealing strip that separates the engine bay from the plastic windscreen shroud. (I found rust under this area that could become serious if not treated.)

Buy a spare wheel/jack kit from KIA (around £100) It is well worth it.

If you have air con, run it at least once a month for a little while to keep it nice and fresh.

Good points:

Really cute sporty looking car (with the exception of one thing; see final bad point)

The PICANTO SE version as all the extras you need

And also:

Superb brakes (discs all around)

Superb steering sticks like S**T to the road

Handles like a roller skate (and I’ve owned the original Mini)

Quite a nippy smooth engine (We had a Hyundai get before this car with the same engine, but picanto will leave it Standing)

Seats are good hard wearing cloth and very comfortable

Well built and very very reliable.

Bad points:

Interior is very cheap plastic

It hates pot holes speed bumps and rough roads, and will leave your bum new about it.

Remote locking key button is to easy to lock/unlock by mistake when leaving car, (but does re-lock itself after 30 seconds)

And finally, that front grille, oh boy that grille, I hate that grille.