After some delay the Picanto SE + finally arrived at dealerships around the UK.
Sporting the new grille which is unique to this model, the SE + arrives at a time when Picanto sales are at an all time high.
Having seen the new grille in the flesh, with its chrome horizontal bars, it certainly changes the front profile of the car and we can see this becoming standard across the range. It brings the front end more in line with the Rio, Sportage and Carens.
The interior looked luxurious too, with leather and cloth seats and a metal grain interior trim. New 14″ inch alloys were of a subtle design and at £7,695 on the road, looks a little bargain compared to what else is available for a similar price. The dealership where the photograph was taken had already sold their allocation of SE + and so let’s hope Kia can get more out there.
We also asked about the diesel and got a shrug of the shoulders, so fingers crossed it arrives in time for the new registration on March 1st. Somehow we doubt it!
I like the grill, I wonder if it will be available as an ‘extra’ to fit to previous models?
In the short term and speaking to the dealer network, the only grille is the accessory part and thats a bit too steep at the moment.
I honestly think Kia will go with this grille across the whole range in the end as it ties in with their corporate styling on the rest of the range.
Long term i’m convinced it will be available as a replacement part. Honestly the grille situation is an important factor right now for Picanto owners.
It’s my personal view that this is Kia’s way of testing the water in order to see how the customer responds. As it’s silly to offer one car in the range with a different grille. Beside Kia do listen to their customers more than most manufactures and i guess feeding back on forums like this will only help in the long term.
The customer will always get what they want and if they demand it then they’ll get it as its all about sales in the end.
If Kia put this new grille across the Picanto range, then won’t it kill off the accessory grille?
So it seems silly for them to do that.
Although i do agree it’s a much nicer grille than the current one.
I think it is better looking and more Corporate Kia as with the rest of the
range. Conversely, one could say that sometimes you need to be different to
give a car a little bit of individuality.
Nick
I asked my local Kia dealer about purchasing the grill to use on an existing Picanto, they said it costs £40.14 inclusive of VAT. The accessory grill includes a local grill. Maybe other readers could check with their dealership and give feedback?
That’s a great idea so many thanks for that.
I’ll email a couple myself to get the ball rolling.
Has there been any developments on the availability of this new grill?