Kia raises its supermini game

THOSE people who seem to think the job of a motoring correspondent involves a whirlwind of glitzy launches in foreign climates and a non-stop merry-go-round of driving the biggest, best, fastest and most expensive metal there is to find, never seem to realise there are other aspects of the job as well; like driving a Kia Picanto, for example.

Such folk often express green-eyed jealousy at my darned luck in ever getting such a brilliant job as they dream of the five star luxury bestowed on me by fawning motor companies desperate for a favourable review of their latest whiz-bang product. But then they express complete amazement that this also involves driving products which will never see the top ten of anyone’s “that’s-what-I’ll-buy- when-I-win-the-lotto” list; like a Kia Picanto, for example.

But like anything else in life, you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth and so it is every now and then that you find yourself driving what are sometimes callously called “budget cars”; like a Kia Picanto, for example.