The new Kia Picanto made its entry into the country yesterday at a well-attended launch ceremony hosted by Al Attiya Motors, its official distributor in Qatar. Al Attiya Motors CEO Mohamed Maali formally unveiled the vehicle on the occasion.
The sportier model, according to the company officials, is a benchmark in the A -segment, pushing the boundaries of compact and performance like never before.
The car made its public debut at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show held earlier this year and is expected to go on sale across the Middle East from the ongoing second quarter of the year.
The vehicle in its third generation, brings a new, more youthful character to the A-Segment. Boasting an assertive new design and a high quality, high tech new cabin, the latest model also offers buyers greater potential for customisation and promises to be one of the most versatile cars in its class.
The new cars are created by Kia’s design centres in Namyang, Korea, and Frankfurt, Germany. The company officials said yesterday that their designers succeeded in giving the model a more assertive stance with bolder body lines.
The exterior of the Picanto is complemented by new projection headlamps with LED indicators and LED daytime running lights. The car is characterised by distinctive lines running along the side skirts, shoulder and around the wheel arches, and subtly sculpted body surfacing, each helping to create a confident on-road design, and visually ‘stretching’ it for a greater sense of ride stability.
The vehicle offers buyers a choice of 11 vibrant paint finishes designed to make it stand out. The  six colours available are ‘Lime light’,  ‘Shiny Red’, ‘Aurora Black’, ‘Pop Orange’, ‘Sparkling Silver’ and ‘Celestial Blue’.
Inside the car, the designers have created a more modern, refined cabin than the second generation model with new materials and layout adding a greater sense of quality for occupants. The vehicle provides occupants with more leg-and head room compared to most other competitors in the A-Segment. It is available with either four or five seats, with the rear bench split into either two or three seats depending on customer preference.
While the seats in many-A segment rivals provide one-piece back rests with integrated headrests, the new Picanto gives buyers fully adjustable headrests, which move up and down and tilt forwards and backwards.
The manufacturers say new Picanto is the first car in its class offering buyers torque vectoring by braking - an additional function of the electronic stability control system.
The new Picanto will be sold as standard with Kia’s unique 5-year 100,000km warranty.