Overview: Kia Naimo, Rio & Picanto

For the first time, both five-door and three-door body-styles will be offered. The five-door version will go on sale in the U.K. from September; the three-door model will be launched in early 2012. Both versions will be manufactured exclusively at Kia’s Sohari plant in Korea.

Picanto

This is Kia’s A-segment city car, built under contract by the Donghee Auto Company at its Seosan plant in Korea. The previous (original) version was generally well received; this time round, Kia wants to give it more gravitas and more status, despite its diminutive size. The Company is using words like ‘solidity’ and ‘maturity’ to describe the styling of the Mark II. Perhaps aware that some sales might have been lost, Kia has set out to transform the character of the car from ‘cute and feminine’ into ‘mature and handsome’.

Overall length has increased by 60mm, though only 15mm of this is in the wheelbase. Front legroom is increased by 36mm, with boot capacity increased by 27 per cent. to 200l. The new car’s drag coefficient is a creditable C_d 0.31.

Kia expects the new three-door model to account for around 30 per cent. of Picanto sales; the Company is aiming this variant at younger buyers.

New Picanto will be available with automatically controlled air-conditioning, electronic and heated folding door mirrors with side repeaters, automatic light control with ‘escort’ and ‘welcome’ modes, audio controls mounted on the steering-wheel, and retractable cup holders. Other new features available include smart-key entry system with engine start/stop button, AUX, iPod and USB connections for the RDS radio CD player with MP3 compatibility, Bluetooth hands-free with voice recognition, heated front seats and (more significantly) stop-start for the engine.

Engines

In Europe, the Picanto will be powered by Kia’s Kappa engine. Three versions of the Kappa will be offered world-wide, though the U.K. will see only two. The most powerful power-unit is a four-cylinder, 1248cc variant, offering 85PS and 121Nm. Additionally, two three-cylinder, 998cc units are used: in Britain, we will see only the petrol version, though a bi-fuel version is offered elsewhere: this runs on LPG or petrol. The petrol engine produces 69PS and 95Nm of torque; the bi-fuel unit delivers 82PS and 94Nm.

Made in Korea, the Kappa engines share many common characteristics, including variable valve timing for both inlet and exhaust valves, a cast aluminium block, offset crankshaft, maintenance-free long-life timing chain and low-friction ‘beehive’ valve springs.

Some models will be available with Kia’s EcoDynamics technologies — automatic stop-start, ‘intelligent’ alternator control, upgraded starter motor and low-rolling resistance tyres.

The standard transmission for all engines will be a five-speed manual unit, while a four-speed epicyclic automatic gearbox will be available as an option on the 1.25-litre 85PS engine.

Running-gear

The new Picanto’s running-gear is an evolution of the previous model’s. The intention was to improve ride quality and refinement.

The McPherson strut front suspension features an increased castor angle of 4.1 degrees to improve straight-line stability. Springs are markedly softer — 12 per cent. — and wheel travel is longer. Bump-stops are 20mm shorter. At the rear, the torsion beam axle is 60 per cent. stiffer, increasing roll-resistance, while the springs are 29 per cent. softer. Bump-stops are 15mm shorter and trailing-arm bushes are larger, with the aim of offering a more compliant ride. Power steering is electromechanical.

The Picanto’s all-disc braking system, which is standard on all models fitted with Electronic Stability Control — that’s all models on the U.K. market — is backed up with standard ABS anti-lock, electronic brake force distribution and emergency brake assist systems. The ESC reduces engine torque, brakes one or more wheels, or a combination of both. Hill-start assist is fitted as standard, along with Kia’s emergency stop signal system.

The Picanto’s new bodyshell uses a higher proportion of high-strength steel than its predecessor and incorporates ring-shaped reinforcing loops within the B- and C-pillars. Additionally, bracing has been added at the front between the cowl and suspension towers. For greater side-impact protection, the B-pillars and side sills are reinforced with high-tensile steel plates, the anti-intrusion door-beams are extended to overlap the B-pillars, and polyurethane pads are incorporated into the front door trims.

Pedestrian safety has also been improved by fitting a new cross-member below the front bumper, creating a deformable cowling ahead of the windscreen, and off-setting the bonnet brace by 50mm from the car’s centre-line. This, of course, assumes that the pedestrian is struck by the centre of the car, an assumption based on NCAP testing procedures.

NVH counter-measures include larger hydraulic mountings for the engine and transmission, a triple-layer dashboard bulkhead sound-deadening panel, dual door sealing strips, and two measures to reduce wind noise: sound-blockers within the door mirror mounts, and moving the radio antenna towards the rear of the roof.

Eco Dynamics

For the U.K. market, the Picanto fitted with Kia’s ISG equipment — stop-start, upgraded starter-motor, alternator control and low rolling-resistance tyres — is badged ‘Eco Dynamics’. But the term has a broader definition, covering fuel-saving technologies and alternative fuels and drivetrains. Kia has stated that it will begin building small numbers of hydrogen fuel-cell cars from 2012, and to make them commercially available by 2015.

In the new Picanto, Eco Dynamics include the use of Kia’s Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG) engine cut-out system with the five-speed manual gearbox. ISG automatically stops the engine when the car is stationary in traffic and the driver puts the gearlever into neutral and takes his or her foot off the clutch pedal, and restarts it as soon as the clutch is partially depressed again.

ISG consists of crankshaft position, battery and vacuum sensors, plus neutral, on-off and clutch switches that feed into an electronic control unit. This operates the starter and ‘intelligent’ alternator. The air conditioning and bonnet switch also feed into the ECU. There is also a brake booster vacuum switch to make sure the engine continues to operate if brake boost falls too low.

The crankshaft position sensor detects the crank position during engine run-out and monitors it while the vehicle is stopped, ensuring the starter is activated for as short a time as possible by optimising cranking and combustion. A voltmeter monitors battery condition, while the clutch and neutral switches recognise when the driver wishes to resume driving.

A new heavy-duty maintenance-free AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) battery delivers the power necessary to run the system, and ‘intelligent’ alternator management takes the unit off-load while accelerating, recharging the battery on the overrun.