A thinly-veiled first appearance before permanent placement in the lineup.
Korean carmaker Kia’s local office are preparing to bring a new, special edition version of its Picanto compact car, previewing a permanent addition to the Picanto lineup. The Picanto is about to get a limited-run Australian Open Edition in November, ahead of the grand-slam event.
Peel away the ‘Australian Open Edition’ badging and you’ll find that it’s actually a Picanto X-Line. This is the same approach that Kia took ahead of the Picanto GT-Line’s introduction, suggesting that the somewhat-crossover-ey Picanto X-Line could join the lineup as a permanent member.
According to the report by CarAdvice, the Kia Picanto X-Line will feature things like 16-inch alloys, badging everywhere (both ‘X-Line’ and ‘AO Edition’), 15mm increased ride height, black plastic body cladding, twin exhaust tips, revised bumpers on either end, LED daytime running lights & LED taillights, and electric folding mirrors.
Step inside and you’ll be greeted mostly by the cabin of a Picanto GT-Line, with a black/red cabin, albeit with ‘premium fabric’ trim for the steering wheel & gear knob, as well as the seats. There will also be alloy sports pedals it seems. However no changes will be made under the bonnet, so the 1.25-litre atmo petrol mill will continue to do its thing with 62kW and 122Nm. Interestingly though, the Picanto X-Line will be offered with the 4-speed auto like the GT-Line and the standard Picanto, but it’ll also be given the option of a 5-speed manual.
Just 800 Kia Picanto X-Line AO Editions will be made, though there won’t be a cap on the Kia Picanto X-Line when it eventually joins the lineup. With a lot of buyers moving towards jacked-up SUVs and crossovers, the Kia Picanto X-Line might be just the thing to get buyers back into the compact-hatch segment.
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