Kia’s smallest car in Britain is also one of its last with three pedals. Kia UK lists the Picanto from £17,095 in Pure trim, and its official specification sheet still prints a five-speed manual for the 1.0-litre petrol.
That’s a city car that hasn’t been turned into a hybrid or an EV yet, and it still lets you pick your own gears.
The official prices
According to the Kia UK Picanto page, the range comes in three trims, each shown with a “starting from” price:
- Picanto Pure: from £17,095
- Picanto GT-Line: from £18,245
- Picanto GT-Line S: from £19,945
Pure gets 14-inch alloys, an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. GT-Line adds 16-inch wheels, LED headlights and the LED front light bar, privacy glass and alloy pedals. GT-Line S tops the range with a tilting and sliding sunroof, blind-spot collision-avoidance assist and Kia’s junction-turning version of forward collision-avoidance assist.
The numbers Kia printed
Kia’s Picanto specification page lists a 998 cc petrol engine making 68 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 96 Nm at 4,000 rpm. Top speed is 100 mph either way. The manual is the quicker car: Kia quotes 0–60 mph in 14.6 seconds with the manual against 17.2 seconds for the automated manual. On the 14-inch Pure, the manual also wins on economy, at 52.3 mpg combined and 122 g/km of CO2, versus 51.4 mpg and 126 g/km. Kerb weight is 947 kg for the manual and 950 kg for the AMT, and the boot holds 255 litres with the seats up.
The clutch
Here’s the part that matters to us. Kia UK’s drivetrain table lists two gearboxes for the 1.0 petrol: a 5 Speed Manual (MT) and a 5 Speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). The MT column is the real deal, with a clutch pedal and a lever you move yourself, and Kia’s own performance and economy figures appear for it on both the Pure and the GT-Line wheel sizes. The AMT is a robotised version of the same five-speed that does the clutch work for you, and it’s slower to 60. Kia’s cabin photo above shows the manual lever right there on the console, and its page plainly says the Picanto is available with both manual and automatic transmissions.
Why it matters
City cars are disappearing, and the ones that remain are going electric or hybrid fast. The Picanto is still a small, light petrol hatch under a tonne, and Kia hasn’t dropped the stick. With a starting price of £17,095, it’s a cheap way to keep a clutch in your life, and the manual is the quicker, more efficient choice on Kia’s own numbers.
Highlights
- Kia Picanto starts at £17,095 in Pure trim on Kia UK’s site
- GT-Line from £18,245, GT-Line S from £19,945
- 998 cc petrol, 68 bhp at 6,000 rpm, 96 Nm at 4,000 rpm
- 5-speed manual (MT) or 5-speed automated manual (AMT)
- Manual: 0–60 mph 14.6 s, 52.3 mpg combined on 14-inch wheels; AMT: 17.2 s, 51.4 mpg
- 947 kg kerb weight (manual), 255-litre boot, 100 mph top speed
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