MANUFACTURERS such as Ford and Peugeot-Citroen have deserted the A-segment or city car market.

Kia believe there is still a demand for their Picanto city car.

Now in its third generation, the Picanto had its UK introduction in 2004 and more than 250,000 have now been sold here.

The Picanto costs from just £13,695 and comes with the peace of mind provided by Kia’s generous seven-year, 100,000 mile warranty.

It has a 1.0 three-cylinder engine and five-speed manual gearbox, with certain versions offering the option of an automated manual transmission.

There was a time when small cars with small engines were okay for knocking about town but hard going on motorways.

I have just been driving a Picanto and clocked up around 300 miles due to unexpectedly having a lot of running about to do.

It surprised me just how well the Picanto coped with everything that needed to be done.

With only 66bhp on tap, it is no ball of fire – 0-62mph takes more than 14 seconds. The engine requires to be worked but I was unaware of holding up drivers behind me.

The Picanto was also fine on the motorway. Kia claim it is good for 100mph.

My example was the GT-Line. This sporty-looking model costs £15,600 as sampled in manual guise. Its features include imitation leather upholstery, rear privacy glass and 16inch alloy wheels.

Despite my pressing on much of the time, the Picanto’s computer indicated 51.3mpg overall.

Being a city car, it has modest legroom for adults in the two rear seats and a small boot. That said, I found the Kia Picanto GT-Line appealing.