📂︎ News | 🖳︎ Wayne Gorrett | 🖃︎ June 4, 2020
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➤ Order books open in the autumn, UK prices and specifications to follow.

The 2020 KIA Picanto gets exterior styling tweaks, an eight-inch touchscreen and an updated petrol engine range.

KIA’s little Picanto hatchback has been updated for 2020 with styling changes, a range of upgrades to the interior and revisions under the bonnet. The car goes on UK sale in the autumn, with first deliveries expected before the end of the year.

At the front and rear there are new LED light clusters, while the signature tiger grille had received slight alterations. Ten exterior paint colours are offered together with 14- or 16-inch alloy wheels.

The sporty GT-Line and rugged-looking X-Line models have received greater attention with redesigned front and rear bumpers. GT-Line versions get a wide air intake, red touches and new faux exhaust tips, while the X-Line has raised suspension and silver-painted areas that resemble an off-roader’s scuff plates.

Inside, its eight-inch touchscreen is larger than before and now supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also offers the ability to pair two phones at once – one via Bluetooth and the other via USB. Between the dials ahead of the driver there’s a new digital info screen and you get either fabric or faux-leather upholstery depending on trim level. Four interior colour packs are available in red, green, orange or lime.

On the safety front, the 2020 Picanto benefits from useful extra safety features. You’ll be able to have tech like forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping assistance, driver attention alert, blind-spot monitoring and lane-following assist. The latter means that some versions can essentially drive themselves on the motorway.

All three petrol engines are carried over but with updates to meet the latest CO2 emissions targets. The fuel injection and exhaust gas recirculation systems have been improved and all cars get a new engine management system. The revisions are said to improve fuel economy, although no figures have been provided yet. Every engine in the current car manages around 50mpg.

The range-entry engine is a 1.0-litre three-cylinder unit with 66hp, or you can upgrade to a 1.2-litre four-cylinder option with 83hp. Some trim levels will also give you the choice of a turbocharged 1.0-litre engine with 99hp. A five-speed manual gearbox is standard across the range, or you can pick a five-speed automatic that replaces the outgoing car’s ageing four-speed unit.