Facelifted 2021 Kia Picanto Debuts In Korea As The ‘Morning Urban’

Launched in 2017, the Kia Picanto city car has been given a mid-cycle nip and tuck in its home market of Korea, where people know it as the Morning.

From now on, the facelifted model will be called the Morning Urban to reflect the improvements. Compared to the outgoing iteration, the Kia Morning Urban brings refreshed exterior and interior designs, as well as improved convenience features and advanced driver assistance systems.

On the outside, the Kia Morning Urban sports an updated ‘tiger-nose’ radiator grille with chrome strips in the middle, new headlights with LED DRLs, and a sportier front bumper. The latter features chrome-rimmed fog lamps now placed inside the lower grille, which gains gloss black trim.

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At the rear, the facelifted Kia Morning / Picanto gains refreshed taillights with a three-dimensional LED signature. The bumper is redesigned and features redesigned horizontal reflectors and chrome dual muffler garnish integrated into the diffuser-like element. In addition, Kia has introduced a new ‘Honeybee’ color, new 16-inch alloys, chrome trim at the bottom of the lateral windows, and black trim at the lower end of the doors.

The changes are less significant inside, where the facelifted Picanto gains colored accents, an 8-inch UVO infotainment system with navigation, a 4.2-inch display in the instrument panel, Bluetooth Multi Connection (two Bluetooth devices connected at the same time), voice recognition, and more.

The range of available advanced driver assistance tech includes Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Rear Side Collision Prevention Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, and Driver Attention Warning.

Power comes from an updated SmartStream naturally aspirated 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol rated at 76 PS (75 HP) and 95 Nm (70 lb-ft) of torque. Kia says the Morning / Picanto Urban averages 15.7 km/L (6.3 l/100 km or 44.3 mpg UK), making it the most fuel-efficient model in its segment in Korea. Local prices start from 11,950,000 won, the equivalent of $9,760.