City Car of the Year 2025: Kia Picanto
The Kia Picanto is the 2025 Auto Express City Car of the Year, with the Hyundai i10 and Leapmotor T03 commended
In 2025, the Kia Picanto reminded us all at Auto Express exactly why we love small cars so much. Kia’s smallest model received a shot in the arm for this year, gaining a range of improvements that not only made it even more funky to look at, but also saw it benefit from the sort of tech that only a few years ago would have been out of reach on even some family cars.
It didn’t take long behind the wheel for us to be certain that there’s far more to appreciate than the funky, fresh robot look brought about by the new LED lights and updated face. This 3.6-metre bundle of enthusiasm shows us all just how nippy and easy city cars can be to drive. Is it the fastest vehicle we drove all year? Of course not, but rarely did we feel like we needed more than the 77bhp offered up by the smooth and revvy 1.2-litre petrol engine. Especially when the benefit of such little mass to move around made it incredibly reluctant to use any petrol, too.
But alongside all of that fun, above all else, it’s the Picanto’s ability to feel so grown up on the open road that led it to victory. Refinement and ride comfort are great for such a small car, which means you could quite happily cover longer distances in the Kia without feeling worn out at the end of the journey.
All models benefit from an eight-inch touchscreen and a digital driver’s display, while cruise control, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are standard, too. Here’s a car that could be the perfect downsizing candidate without any drawbacks.
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Our choice
- Kia Picanto 1.2 Shadow (£17,045)
The larger 1.2-litre petrol engine gives the Kia Picanto greater flexibility than the 1.0-litre unit, which is why we’d pair it with the well equipped Shadow trim. It comes with the sort of equipment that would have been exclusive to luxury cars only a few years ago; LED headlights, wireless smartphone charging, a heated steering wheel and a digital driver’s display are all fitted as standard.
Commended
Hyundai i10
Last year’s city-car winner has narrowly been overthrown by its funky Korean stablemate for 2025, but there’s still a huge amount to love about this down-to-earth entry point to Hyundai’s talented line-up. It’s slightly more pricey than the Kia, but otherwise it’s just as easy yet grown up to drive.
Leapmotor T03
There are few places where electric cars make more sense than in cities. With the tech growing more affordable, there are some intriguing EV slickers hitting the market, and the Leapmotor T03 is our favourite. The brand’s first pint-sized EV impresses with its space, refinement and standard kit for just £15,595.
See all the winners...
Click on the gallery below to see all the winners of our 2025 New Car Awards...
You can find all the information on our New Car Awards 2025 winners and the reasons why we chose them on the pages below. Just follow the links to read more…
New Car Awards 2025: the winners
Special edition of Auto Express
For the full New Car Awards experience, make sure you pick up a copy of our special 2025 New Car Awards collectors' edition of the Auto Express magazine, which is available in shops now.
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