BMW iX3 crowned World Car of the Year 2026 as EVs lead the way
The BMW iX3 has been named World Car of the Year 2026, with the announcement made at the New York International Auto Show on 1 April.
- Industry News
- 2 April 2026
The day of dull ‘function over form’ small cars, seems to be something of the past if you look at the updated version of the Kia Picanto, due for its local launch at a later stage.
The new Picanto has shown its face internationally and comes with a choice between a baseline and a GT Line version that looks the part.
The new light signature, along with a new front bumper signature ‘tiger nose’, fender and bonnet give the enhanced version a dramatic new image. There is also optional LED headlights and Daytime Running Lights and a simple and stable rear design highlight clusters.
The new version of the Picanto comes with the choice of two engines: a 1.0-litre or a 1.2-litre petrol engine. Both engines drive the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission or via Kia’s Automated Manual Transmission (AMT).
The Picanto comes with an 8.0-inch ‘floating’ touchscreen navigation system and a digital display in the driver's instrument cluster. The vehicle’s 8.0-inch touchscreen navigation system features Bluetooth multi-connection, which means users can pair up two mobile devices at the same time – one for hands-free phone and media use, and the other for media use only.
Meanwhile, Online Voice Recognition lets users search for POIs, addresses or receive weather updates. A new ‘Online Navigation’ routing service uses cloud-based real-time and historical traffic data to predict time-efficient routes more accurately than ever before.
The new Picanto features a variety of Kia’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and a range of active safety systems to enhance occupant safety, making it one of the safest cars in its class, Kia claims. Depending on specification, the Picanto’s new ADAS features include Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 1.5 (FCA) with vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian detection.
Additionally, the Picanto is available with Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Warning and Leading Vehicle Departure Warning (DAW+), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA) and Lane Following Assist (LFA).
LFA uses the front-facing camera to monitor road markings, thereby controlling the enhanced Picanto’s steering to keep the car in the centre of its lane. It also features Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), which alerts the driver and stops the vehicle if it detects another vehicle approaching from the left or right when reversing out of a parking space.
The enhanced Picanto can be fitted with up to seven airbags throughout the cabin. It also features ISOFIX child-seat tether and anchor points. The model is equipped with a seat belt reminder mat sensor that detects whether the seat belts of rear occupants are fastened.
The enhanced Kia Picanto will be available in South Africa in due course – no official launch date is available at the time of release, and features or specifications applicable to the South African model will only be confirmed closer to its South African launch date.
The BMW iX3 has been named World Car of the Year 2026, with the announcement made at the New York International Auto Show on 1 April.
Retail new vehicle sales continue to surge in South Africa despite global and regional conflicts, local floods and droughts.
South Africa’s new vehicle market delivered a standout performance in March 2026, extending its domestic growth trajectory to the strongest level seen in nearly two decades.
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