Used test: Hyundai i10 vs Kia Picanto: costs

What will they cost?

New, the i10 was the more expensive of these two by around £1500. Bought at a year old, as here, that difference remains roughly the same, but perhaps more importantly you'll make a saving on either car of £2500 over the cost of buying one new.  

As far as running costs go, insurance for the i10 is more expensive – we reckon it'll set you back around £200 more over the course of three years – but you should make that back in fuel savings. We managed a test figure of 42.9mpg, versus the Picanto’s 39.8mpg. The Picanto will also cost you more to service over three years: £941 to £808 by our reckoning. 

You get more kit with the i10. Although the Picanto alone has climate control (the i10 makes do with manual air conditioning) and both have four electric windows, electric door mirrors, automatic headlights, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearlever and alloy wheels (16in for the i10, 15in for the Picanto), the i10 goes further. It adds luxuries such as heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and privacy glass.

Both cars come with automatic emergency braking, but the i10 has features that weren’t available on the Picanto, such as lane departure warning, lane-keeping assistance (to push you back within your lane if you stray), automatic main beam and a driver attention monitor.

According to the Euro NCAP safety tests, the i10 received a rather disappointing three stars out of a potential five when it was tested in 2020. However, this test was conducted under a newer and stricter testing regime than the one the older Picanto undertook, and under which it achieved four stars overall. That may not sound great either, but it’s better than a Volkswagen Up or Toyota Aygo, which also each achieved three stars under this older method of testing. 

This latest version of the i10 didn't feature in our most recent reliability survey, but the older 2014-2020 model came in seventh place out of 22 cars in the city and small car class. Alas, the Picanto finished way down in 20th place in the same survey. Kia and Hyundai as brands also did well in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, ending up sixth and seventh respectively in a field of 31. Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty trumps Hyundai’s five-year cover, although there’s no mileage limit for the i10.

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