Europeans love - no, adore - small cars; eight out of the ten best-selling models were small cars. Of course, the small car market is the most competitive, and only the fittest survive. Auto Bild, a German auto magazine, compared three A-segment models including the Kia Picanto. The A-segment cars in Europe are classified as 'small' in South Korea, but the difference is that there is no limit on engine capacity or body size, and there are no government subsidies, unlike Korea. So, these small cars must compete with other bigger cars even without any advantage.
The three models were the Kia Picanto, Renault Twingo, and Mitsubishi Space Star. Auto Bild used just the basic trim, considering many of the consumers care about the cost-efficiency the most. Also, the magazine made sure they tested the cars that cost around 10,000€, and offer 1.0l engine for powertrain and 5-speed transmission. The Kia Picanto offers 67 hp in maximum torque, Renault Twingo 65 hp, and Mitsubishi Space Star 71.
The magazine compared the three car's body, powertrain, performance, eco-friendliness, comfort, and price. 〈Auto Bild〉 picked the Kia Picanto for having the best body; having the 'best body' infers the comfort of the car's overall spaces. Auto Bild was impressed by the cozy rear seats and spacious cargo space; though the length of the body was 250mm shorter than that of Space Star. On the other hand, the Mitsubishi Space Star offered an 'exceptionally small cabin', and Renault offered small cargo space for having its engine underneath the rear seats.
The Kia Picanto scored the highest for offering the most comfortable cabin, though its body size was the smallest.
〈Auto Bild〉 read the 'comfort' was the most important aspect of this test, hence 150 points out of 800. Comfort indicated how easy it felt to sit in the car - the seat position, comfort of each seat, control, driving comfort, and convenience features. The Kia Picanto scored the highest in three criteria among the five.
For the comfort category, Auto Bild said Picanto's center fascia was easy to control and the dashboard displayed information intuitively. Meanwhile, the editors could easily get into the back seat of Renault Twingo and did not feel constricted in the seats, hence the high marks.
The Space Star(left) showed high driving performance, while the Twingo offered fast acceleration.
The Twingo marked the highest in the powertrain - 77 points, including NVH and engine response. The two cars, Twingo and Picanto, both marked the highest in acceleration and overtaking acceleration. The Space Star, on the other hand, marked highest in the driving test, but could not edge out the other two in other criteria.
Both the Kia Picanto and Renault Twingo tied in steering and braking performances. Auto Bild was impressed by Picanto's delicate steering, lively engine, and stable driving. The Twingo was stable, the brakes grab an important meter more courageously, according to the magazine; together with the Kia, it surpassed the five-liter mark in terms of fuel consumption. The Space Star, on the other hand, 'gets understeered faster than the other two little ones in this comparison', and 'did not appear to be intimately connected to the road'.
The Kia Picanto offered various convenience features, and marked high in connectedness.
'Connectedness' indicated how well the car connects with smartphones, how well the navigation is made, not to mention online applications, audio, and voice control. This is to tell if the car is a true 'connected car' or not. The Kia Picanto scored the highest, especially for its online application. For your information, Picanto offers its connected service, UVO, regardless of the trim. The Twingo marked the second, while the Space Star scored the least for having only an audio.
The three A-segment small cars showed each of their distinct characters. At first, the Picanto and the Twingo seemed to be equally doing well, but the total scores showed otherwise. The Kia Picanto topped the test, scoring 453 out of 800. Auto Bild gave Picanto the highest scores on driver convenience, practicality, driving comfort, quietness, delicate steering, and driving performances such as acceleration and braking.
The Renault Twingo scored 427, marking second, and the Mitsubishi Space Star got 404 points. It was a close race with the Twingo since it offered a quiet yet powerful engine and traction performance for being RWD. The Space Star scored high in driving performance, but did not stand out in other criteria.
Auto Bild said the Picanto 'drives well and can do something'.
Auto Bild said the Picanto 'drives well, can do something, stresses little, has a long guarantee'. And for Renault Twingo, the magazine said 'his turning circle alone made him a city prince'. And in conclusion, when the magazine pointed out that a new car in Germany these days offers 166 hp on average and costs 33,580 euros, it said it is 'violent! Does it have to be that way? Nope, We just found out.'
