City Car of the Year 2026: Kia Picanto
The Kia Picanto is the 2026 Auto Express City Car of the Year, with the Leapmotor T03 and Toyota Aygo X commended
The Kia Picanto has been on the shortlist for this award for a long time and after a useful mid-life facelift in 2024, the current model was named City Car of the Year in 2025. It has now backed that up with another win in 2026.
So why have we given the Picanto the title again? Well, for starters it’s sure to be kind to your wallet. Starting at a smidge over £17,000, the Picanto is not only one of the cheapest cars on the market, it’s also affordable to run thanks to its efficient 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, low insurance group rating and low road tax.
Plus, although the Picanto is Kia’s smallest model, it offers many of the same attributes as its larger siblings in a compact, economical and urban-friendly package.
This is genuinely a good car to drive, too. True, with 77bhp, it’s not particularly quick, but the manual gearbox is engaging (although you can specify an auto box instead) and the engine itself is smooth enough. With less than a tonne of weight to chuck around and a short, narrow wheelbase, the Picanto feels agile in the bends as well.
What we love most about the baby Kia is that despite its size, it feels grown up. It’s comfortable and quiet on the move, with a decent boot and a roomy cabin. And if you step up to the GT-Line trim, you get a level of equipment that many family hatchbacks would struggle to compete with.
Configure your perfect Kia Picanto through our Buy A Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Kia Pinanto from stock or top prices on used Kia Picanto models...
Our choice
- Kia Picanto 1.0 Pure (£17,095)
All Picantos come with the same engine these days, so every model drives the same, whatever trim level you choose. Go for the basic Pure at just £17,095 and you get an eight-inch touchscreen with sat-nav, plus digital instruments, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a reversing camera, air-con and alloy wheels.
Commended
Several Chinese brands are making all-electric city cars, but the best right now is the Leapmotor T03, which gets a panoramic roof, a 10-inch touchscreen and 15-inch alloy wheels – for just £14,495. You can even get a van version, but the 165-mile range means whichever model you get is only good for short journeys.
Toyota’s smallest car got a big update in 2025 with a new, ultra-efficient hybrid powertrain, more power and a new front end. All of this comes at a price, however, and while the Aygo X is much better than before, it also now costs more than £21,500, so it can’t quite take top spot this year.
See all the winners...
Click on the gallery below to see all the winners of our 2026 New Car Awards...
You can find all the information on our New Car Awards 2026 winners and the reasons why we chose them on the pages below. Just follow the links to read more…
New Car Awards 2026: the winners
Special edition of Auto Express
For the full New Car Awards experience, make sure you pick up a copy of our special 2026 New Car Awards collectors' edition of the Auto Express magazine, which is available in shops now.
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KIA Picanto
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