Kia Picanto 3dr revealed

Three doors or five? That’s the decision now facing buyers of Kia’s new Picanto. The city car was previously offered only as a five-door, but these first official pictures reveal the sportier variant, on sale at the start of next month.

Prices kick off at £7,795 – that’s £200 less than the cheapest five-door – and rise to £11,695 for the high-spec Equinox.

Despite the stubbier looks, the three-door has identical dimensions to the five-door, so interior space and crash safety are maintained. Apart from the obvious changes to the car’s profile, there’s a larger grille opening, with silver or red trim running around the edge. The front bumper has been reprofiled for a lower and wider look, while the rear bumper gets a black rectangular insert instead of body-coloured paint.

These tweaks are designed to deliver a sportier stance – a theme that’s finished off with the chrome-tipped twin exhausts.

Inside, the front seats tilt and slide for access to the rear, but the switchgear and layout are identical to the five-door’s.

Engines are also carried over, so there’s a choice between 1.0-litre and 1.25-litre petrol units. The smaller of the two offers 68bhp and 95Nm of torque, and claims 67.3mpg economy, plus CO2 emissions of 99g/km to give exemption from road tax. There’s a choice of entry-level 1 trim and 1 Air, which includes air-con.

The more powerful 84bhp 1.25-litre engine powers the Halo and Equinox models. This is a departure from the 2 and 3 naming structure used on the five-door, and follows the lines of the Burner, Echo and Searcher versions of the Soul supermini-MPV. Halo and Equinox cars offer a high spec in a small package.

Both get Bluetooth hands-free with voice recognition, plus auto lights and LED daytime running lamps. The Halo is marked out by 14-inch alloys, heated front seats and rear parking sensors, while the black and grey trim is offset by a white gloss centre stack.

The Equinox adds red trim, 15-inch wheels, keyless entry and Galaxy Black metallic paint.

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