Any old Picanto drivers around?

[thestaggy]

My brother is looking to replace his current car (a high-mileage 1600 2000 Opel Corsa) that is a real fuel-guzzler. It is driven almost exlusively in and around town, so it never gets a chance to run economically, resulting in 400 km on a 45 litre tank being the best result. It's serviced regularly and has even had the fuel pump and injectors replaced. Barely an improvement. As result, we're looking at a newer, cheaper-to-run alternative and we have our eyes on the pre-2011 Picanto. The old bug-eyed, squirrel-faced variant.

We know the size, engine power and overall build quality will be a step back from the Opel to the Picanto, but this is an economic decision. Newish car that should be cheapish to maintain - the car is fairly basic so home repairs are possible - and will hopefully be light on petrol.

I've scoured the net but can't find any solid real driver feedback. Manufacturer claims and road tests are BS as I can't even match those claims in my own car and their figures are reached under exceptional circumstances. I also know that smaller, older tech engines are not necessarily always economical. So if possible, I'd like feedback from someone who has experience with the vehicle, specifically on fuel economy. Bonus points if you spend the bulk of your time sitting in heavy, peak hour traffic.

[Wyzak]

I assisted my parents buy a 2010 Picanto last year. They get very good mileage - in the region of 13-15km/l. However they will avoid peak traffic as much as possible.

The car went for its first service and the service was just over 1k. Which I felt was reasonable.

The boot is very small, and the chair doesn't go back very fair if you are tall. But other than that it's a very decent car for its price.

[Nuro]

I own a 2005 Picanto, and a 1.6 Polo, but drive the Picanto to work because of fuel and maintenance.

My route consists of 80% highway, congested in the mornings, but afternoons are ok. A full tank gets me about 500KM, but the tanks are tiny (34L if I remember). Open road is closer to 600KM. I can't really complain about the build quality, as nothing has gone wrong in 7 years. The only non wear and tear item to go was some seal between the engine and gearbox, which cost 1K to replace 3 years ago.

The thing that people have to remember is that it's not a sports car. People drive it the s*** out of it, and wonder why things break. Mine has about 110 000 on the clock. Performance wise, acceleration is gentle, but she will do 140km/h on the highway if you don't watch your speed, cruises nicely at 120.

[flarkit]

Also bought a Picanto in 2005 and have driven the "&**" out of it

In our case, the brakes are giving some hassles this year, which I'll get our mechanic to look into. Otherwise, it's a great city car for 1 or 2 persons.

[thestaggy]

Also bought a Picanto in 2005 and have driven the "&**" out of it

In our case, the brakes are giving some hassles this year, which I'll get our mechanic to look into. Otherwise, it's a great city car for 1 or 2 persons.

Fuel consumption? As you say you drive the $^*&$ out of it, if it's still reasonable then it will be good if driven like a civilised human.

[flarkit]

Fuel consumption? As you say you drive the $^*&$ out of it, if it's still reasonable then it will be good if driven like a civilised human.

When we drive like civilized humans (100-110km/h), we can get 600km+ out of a tank (35L). When I become impatient and push the car (120-140km/h), then the range drops to 500km per tank. This is mostly highway driving too, between Pta and Jhb.

Services can be a slightly pricey business, since parts are sourced from Kia, so we pay about R1,000 for a standard 15K service.

[SharkBait]

Just a note, I am currently driving my brothers' Ford KA and get +-15km/l. Also mostly highway, pta-jhb-pta and +-120km/h, depending on traffic.