The smallest segment around is all grown up today.
If we go back ten or fifteen years ago, they were shabby lunchboxes.
If you had a heated rear window, you had a luxury lunchbox.
The financial crisis has gone however, and the car industry has discovered this segment.
I mean, these cars were the only ones bought by people in the financial crisis.
They've clearly upgraded that segment. The driving abilities have been improved,
drivetrains have been improved, and the trim has been improved as well.
You can almost get anything on those small cars.
But now it's time for the next step. Just like in the bigger segments,
every single niche is being filled. That means we're starting to see crossovers in the A-segment as well.
Kia joins in with the Picanto X-Line. It's toughened up a little,
it's got black wheel arches, bigger wheels, something which looks like a protective plate on the front,
everything which ables you to survive in the urban jungle.
Not only Kia, but also Suzuki joins in on the fun.
They've got the Ignis, and they actually call it crossover.
They should know, because they've been building small terrain vehicles for years.
This shopping cart, if I may call it that,
is even available with four-wheel drive. I don't know if that's necessary,
but we're driving the front-wheel drive version.
That's perfectly balanced with the Picanto I'd say. Let's find out how they relate.
When it comes to the drivetrain, Suzuki and Kia both go their own way.
Right now we're driving the Picanto, and it's fitted with a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine.
It's a swift little engine. It will get you through traffic in a decent fashion.
When you're at speed, it's pretty comfortable as well.
However, when you're going for longer drives, the 3-cylinder noise can get annoying.
But that doesn't ruin the fun. The engine is connected to a smooth 5-speed manual gearbox,
and I don't have anything to complain about if I'm honest. The Picanto has a good drivetrain.
Kia has fitted the Picanto with a grown up chassis, which is aimed at comfort.
The steering is a little bit vague in the neutral stance, but that means it's incredibly stable on higher speeds.
It doesn't feel twitchy at all, and we appreciate that.
Despite it being a toughened-up Picanto, the interior doesn't differ very much from other Picanto's.
That means it's a very neat interior. It's a oversightful instrumentarium with clear dials,
you can't get it wrong. The same goes for the multimedia system.
We've commended it before in Kia's and Hyundai's, because it's basically the same system.
There are a few physical buttons on the side and a very logical menu structure.
It's works very quickly, and there's nothing wrong with it actually.
It should serve as an example for the rest.
The design of the interior is pretty good as well. The used materials look and feel decent enough.
When it comes to space in the cabin, it's not the roomiest of them all,
but as an adult who is longer than normal, the seating in the front and next to that is good enough.
In the back, you can even sit with three.
That's not always a given thing in this segment, but it's possible in this car.
There are three seatbelts. I do have to say,
I shouldn't go there with my length, but for a few child seats, it's pretty good.
The boot is pretty small, I mean it's still the A-segment.
What's nice however, is that this car has a double floor.
You can choose between more room in the back, or if you fold down the seats, you can create one flat surface.
That's very clever.
For the Ignis, Suzuki hasn't used a boosterjet-engine,
but an atmospherical 1.2-litre 4-cylinder. It's available with a micro-hybrid system,
which swifts up the engine even more. It also becomes more economical.
If you want four-wheel drive or an automatic gearbox, you can't have that unfortunately.
Today we're driving the latter, the automatic gearbox.
It's a system which you should only choose...
if you can't drive without an automatic gearbox at all.
That's because it's an automated manual gearbox, and it's a technically cheap solution, but it isn't very refined or anything.
On the contrary. It takes a lot of time to change gear,
and it does it on moment you don't really expect. Sometimes it changes gear when you do expect it however,
when you're accelerating. You'll know there's going to be a gear change,
and you'll have to anticipate. It takes time, so merging isn't an easy task.
Compared to the Kia, the steering of the Suzuki is a lot more direct.
That's very pleasant in city traffic, the car does exactly what you want.
When you're on a motorway or a country road however, it could feel pretty nervous as well.
That's when we prefer the system of the Kia.
The Suzuki is a tad bigger than the Kia, and that translates itself in a more grown-up chassis.
It's more comfortable than the Kia, and it serves this car pretty well.
The Ignis is nice and high on its wheels, and it's higher than the Kia as well.
That means there's more space available. I mean, I'm almost two metres long,
so I know what I'm talking about when I say there's enough headroom.
They've done a pretty good job, in the front that is.
In the back, there's less headroom because of a slightly higher rear seat,
but it's still better than in the Picanto. Of course,
you wouldn't choose either if you wanted to be transported...
to the south of France. The accentuate the crossover-feeling of this car,
it's got a very straight line-design. It's blocky, and we see that in the interior as well.
The straight lines are found in here as well. The dashboard looks nice and tough.
In the middle console, you can find the same ridges from the behind the C-style. Fun detail.
It all looks pretty good. The plastic feels hard though, Kia has done a better job.
What we also don't like as much as in the Kia is the multimedia system. It's one big touchscreen without physical buttons,
and we're not incredibly positive about that. Especially if you want to change the volume.
I'd rather have a physical turning knob, so that I can take care of it immediately.
Now I have look for everything... I don't like that.
What Suzuki has done properly, is the space in the boot.
It fits 267 litres of luggage, and that means it's got 12 litres more than the Kia.
It's not an incredibly big difference, but we're driving the most luxurious version,
and we have a two-part adjustable rear seat.
So if you sacrifice legroom, you get more luggage space in return.
Because the rear seat is adjustable in two parts, and the seats are equally sized,
you only get two seatbelts in the back. That means it's a four seater.
If you want to take three people with you, you should get a simpler version.
That way you'll get three seatbelts, only you won't be able to adjust the rear seat.
It's all about choice.
If you're looking for a compact car with a tough appearance, you can go for a Kia as well as for a Suzuki.
Both cars keep each other in balance, and the same goes for the pricing.
Both near the €20.000-mark, and that's a lot of money for a car in this segment.
But, there are differences as well. The Suzuki is clearly more spacious than the Picanto,
but the Picanto has more pleasant driving abilities, and the finishing is better with nicer materials.
So, if you don't need the space, the Picanto should be your choice.