The Kia Picanto has just received an update in its home market, getting a handful of aesthetic improvements and some new safety features.
Called the Kia Morning in South Korea, the tiny city car has been given more modern daytime running light designs in both front and rear ends, a new grille, new wheels, a new front bumper featuring more macho-looking fog light housings, and new side skirts. The new visuals might not be too apparent from afar, but up close, they’re noticeable improvements.
Inside, the 2020 Kia Picanto now comes available with an attractive black-and-orange color scheme that allows components like the A/C vents to truly pop out. It also gets matching orange contrast stitching on the steering wheel and the seats, as well as a nicer eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
A nice surprise is that the vehicle now also comes available with advanced safety features like Forward Collision Prevention Assist, Rear Side Collision Prevention Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Rear Cross Collision Prevention Assist, and Driver Attention Warning. These are tech features you’d expect to find in offerings higher up in the vehicular food chain.
Powering the Picanto is a 1.0-liter MPI gasoline engine with Smartstream technology. It is capable of an improved 75hp and 95Nm of torque—the horsepower figure is a 9hp bump up from the previous model’s engine output.
No word yet on whether or not these updates will make their way to the Philippine market, but we certainly hope they do. If the local Picanto gets them, it could easily become one of the most attractive starter cars on the market depending on the price. What do you think?
