The nimble and frugal Kia Picanto provides great ease-of-use

So it’s nice, every now and then, to drive a car that’s beautiful in its simplicity.

The Kia Picanto is just that – with a naturally-aspirated engine, manual gearbox and a proper handbrake. Remember them?

This five-seat city car is the smallest vehicle in Kia’s line up, competing in the A-segment. Its size, or lack of it, makes it incredibly easy to drive around town or to slip effortlessly down narrow country lanes lined by the type of unforgiving dry-stone walls that might make you hesitate in a wider vehicle.

The interior of the Kia Picanto

It feels very nimble and has a turning circle of 9.4 metres to further enhance ease-of-use.

Running costs are also very cheap – something that’s bound to appeal in the current cost of living crisis.

Buyers can choose between a 1-litre or 1.2-litre engine, both of which offer great efficiency. The smaller unit, tested here, is good for a combined 54.3mpg in the official figures, with an average of 45mpg achieved during my week in the Picanto’s company.

Not surprisingly, that impressive fuel economy comes at the expense of speed, with the 1-litre version taking more than 15 seconds to get to 62mph from a standing start.

But that drawback is offset by a relatively slick-shifting five-speed manual gearbox that allows the driver to work the engine hard when necessary to extract the very best from it.

While the third-generation Picanto may be unfussy, it certainly isn’t basic.

All models get a lengthy list of standard equipment, including safety tech such as six airbags, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, electronic stability control, hill-start assist control, forward collision-avoidance assist and lane keep assist.

Rear parking sensors and a reversing camera system come as standard on all grades.

All variants also get an 8.0-inch touchscreen navigation and 4.2-inch driver display screen, along with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity.

You also get free seven-year Kia Connect services, a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty and complimentary 12-month roadside assistance.

The updated design aligns the Picanto styling with Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy.

The vertical headlamps bring big car energy to the car, while there’s also an enhanced new front bumper and signature ‘tiger nose’.

Picanto ‘2’ models, such as the one tested here, come with 14-inch alloy wheels as standard, while all other versions feature 16-inch alloy wheels.

The Picanto pictured beside a reservoir in the Pennines The ‘GT-Line’ and ‘GT-Line S’ models have a presence that is strengthened with a confident front end that emphasises the sporty elements and also feature a sporty rear diffuser.

In terms of the interior, the fit and finish is pretty decent. A car costing less than £16,000 is always likely to feature of few scratchy plastics, but there are plenty of nicer materials dotted around the cabin too, including the artificial leather steering wheel, which comes as standard.

The ‘2’ variant comes with black cloth seats, while ‘GT-Line’, ‘3’ and ‘GT-Line S’ versions feature black and grey artificial leather upholstery.

Kia says the artificial leather represents the first step in its strategy to make its vehicle colours, materials, and finishes more sustainable.

The seats are very comfortable, especially by the standards of a car in this segment. Where the seats in many city cars have one-piece backrests with integrated headrests, those in the Picanto feature fully adjustable active headrests.

Meanwhile, 60:40 folding rear seats are standard across the range, expanding the luggage area from 255 litres to a maximum of 1,010 litres when folded.

All in all, there’s a lot to like about the Picanto, not least the value for money and ease-of-use it offers.

Kia Picanto ‘2’

PRICE: £15,595

ENGINE: 1-litre petrol

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph in 15.4 seconds and max speed of 90mph

ECONOMY: 54.3mpg and emissions of 116g/km

TRANSMISSION: Five-speed manual