KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — It’s been quite a few years now that the Korean car industry has matured — Korean cars now are more upbeat in design, and in terms of features, they do not lose out to the Japanese or Continental brands.

The latest compact offering from Kia, the Picanto, is actually quite a brilliant car, very suitable if you are on a low budget, but want to get the best value for your money.

From a looks point of view, the Kia Picanto is quite upbeat, having a really modern and contemporary shape, with a front end that would look equally at good as any of its Japanese or Continental competitors, a practical hatchback set-up, with a size that will seat four comfortably, and five at a pinch. From the rear, it looks pretty good, modern, and without too much clutter.

Size-wise, it is marginally smaller than the Myvi, having a 2,400mm wheelbase compared to the Myvi’s 2,500mm wheelbase.

Overall length, track and overall width are all marginally smaller. In terms of power, the Kia Picanto develops 84 Ps from its 1,248 cc 4-cylinder engine with maximum torque of 121.6 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Compared to the Myvi 1.3’s power of 95 PS, the Picanto has 84 PS and similar torque at 121 Nm at 4,000 horsepower.

On the road, the Kia’s engine is more than adequate to make it a fun car to drive - the engine power is perky enough for you to push it around should you be in the mood for some exuberant driving.

However I note that the transmission is tuned for fuel economy — under normal driving conditions, i.e. when you do not have a heavy demand for power, as in when your foot has only normal pressure on the accelerator pedal, the transmission tries to retain as high a gear as possible — this promotes fuel economy.

However, if you put your foot down, as in you are demanding for more power, then the transmission holds on to a lower gear longer, to give you more power. It doesn’t come with a ‘Sports’ mode button, but the standard transmission control seems good enough to cater for varied driving styles.

I did most of my driving stint in city and suburban driving, and found the Kia Picanto had more than enough get-up-and-go for me. It is no tyre-burner, but it will serve the purpose if you need a car to run around.

Fuel economy is quite reasonable, by my standards — My fuel consumption was 7.7 litres per 100 to 9.5 litres per 100 km. mind you, this was in city driving conditions, and included some hard acceleration while driving in the right hand lane – we don’t want to be hogging the fast lane, right?

The four-speed automatic transmission is ‘adequate’ for the task. I would have thought that bringing in a manual transmission option would be good, but nowadays Malaysians seem to prefer automatics. Anyway, given that the car has to be sold at a reasonable price, the four –speed auto is acceptable.

Nevertheless, the Kia Picanto is quite a fun car to drive – its small size is great for parking in little spaces, and there is plenty of room on the traffic lanes. Inside, it also feels spacious enough, as long as you are carrying a lot of people.

Handling is quite decent — I would say that it is quite good, actually — it seems like the design engineers have spent some time to get the right balance in the suspension.

Anyway, it is quite a challenge to get the suspension right, especially when you have to prepare for up to a 50 percent increase in weight between an empty car of 983 kg, and 1500 kg when laden with five people and luggage.

The result is always a ride that is on the firm side of comfortable as the springs have to be able to cater for the fully laden weight of the car. In the case of the Picanto, the designers have done quite a decent job, and the result is a ride that is firm, without being harsh.

In terms of features, the Kia Picanto is quite well packaged — I like the Smart Key which provides keyless entry, and the push-button start.

On slopes, the Hill-Start Assist would be a welcome feature. Auto lights mean that you never have to worry that your headlights are not on, and the reverse camera is one of the best I have seen — it is so sharp and clear, with minimal distortion.

Last, but not least, the Kia Picanto has ISOFIX Child seat anchors, and a Vehicle Stability Management system (VSM) that includes ABS, BAS, ESC and TRC.

The big question would be — would I buy one?

Well, I would certainly put the Kia Picanto under serious consideration if I were looking for a little city runabout, and the reasons would be the ease of driving it, and the fact that it looks different form the run-of-the-mill cars.

Recommended On-the-road price without insurance is RM52, 238.00.