The ADAC, a highly respectable automobile club in Germany, has revealed that the Kia Picanto is Germany’s “most economical car” in the A-segment.
Using the ADAC’s database of 5,500 new cars, the data of the survey confirms the conclusion that the total annual ownership costs for a Kia Picanto 1.1 LX five-door hatchback was 4,537 Euros or just 30.2 cents per kilometre – making it the economic champion of Germany in its class.
For the survey, published in April 2005, the total annual ownership costs were calculated over a four year period, covering 15,000 kilometres each year, and include purchase price, depreciation, residual value, scheduled servicing and maintenance, fuel, tyres, brakes, insurance, taxes and VAT.
“The ADAC’s confirmation that the Picanto really is an incredibly economical small car to own, is great news for Kia,” commented Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President Kia Europe. “Picanto was created with European consumers in mind. It was designed to appeal to their hearts and emotions as well as their sense of style, while delivering a lively drive with a spacious cabin and high levels of safety. Picanto is also one of the cleanest, least-polluting cars in Europe with a C02 rating of just 118 g/km.
“Now, we have independent confirmation that those numerous appealing attributes are also backed up by long-term low ownership costs. Picanto sales in Europe so far this year have reached more than 45,000 units and this latest endorsement from the ADAC will encourage further rises in demand for what is already our most popular model,” concluded Mr Lievens.
As well as beating the 10 closest rivals (shown in the table below) the Kia Picanto 1.1 LX performed better in Germany than well established models from several major European manufacturers including Renault (Twingo 1.2, 32.0 cents), Ford (Ka 1.3, 32.1), Opel (Agila 1.0, 32.4), Volkswagen (Lupo 3L TDI, 33.6) and Smart (Roadster 0.7, 38.8).