I remember clearly the day I went to Melbourne to drive the Suzuki Ignis, only to find out that that simple, affordable little car came with Apple CarPlay a standard. That moment made it clear to me that all cars should have CarPlay. Today, another such moment.
KIA has announced a face-lifted Kia Picanto and while there’s a bunch of tweaks that make it a cracking good value car – get this – it will have Wireless Smartphone Connectivity. That means Wireless Apple CarPlay.
A feature I’ve only seen thus far in top European cars from BMW and Audi, but the next Kia Picanto – currently a car priced well under $20,000 – will feature that same technology.
Once paired, your phone just connects to the system every time and you have full Apple CarPlay (And Android Auto if that’s your flavour) control.
Kia’s COO Damien Meredith had high praise for the changes “These changes will benefit buyers of models across the range, bringing additional style, comfort and integrated technology to a car which already boasts safety and value as key considerations,”
In addition to Wireless CarPlay, the new Picanto has an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system (the biggest for a “micro-car” in Australia), and a 4.2 inch colour display within the instrument cluster.
Outside, there’s a new more aggressive front design, Kia describes as “purposeful”, as well as advanced MFR Halogen Headlights on the base-model and Projection Halogens on the GT and GT-line models.
Can’t wait to give it a drive – should be available in Australia come August.
Web: Kia
