Kia Picanto Hatchback 1.0 1 5dr [4 seats] Owner Review

With the £1k incentive for taking Kia's finance (paid off 2 days later) & a further £1k discount negotiated with the dealer, my base model Picanto 1 was the cheapest new car I could find in the UK (the Sandero had a cheaper list price but there were no discounts). I bought it from a dealer in Lancashire and whilst the sales team were excellent, the preparation of the car was poor.... the interior lights & stereo packed up 45 mins after leaving the dealer; the black rear panel around the number-plate had popped out on the left hand side and won't clip into place no matter how much I try to push it back in, the front number plate looks like it's been attached by a 5 year old with the holes drilled out of line and the self-tappers screwed in at 45 degrees, and the coolant in the expansion tank being low. I fixed the stereo/lights issue myself (the transit fuse in the fuse-box hadn't been clipped in properly during the PDI). Very disappointing as even though it was the cheapest new car I could buy, £11,650 (with optional white paint) is certainly not 'cheap' compared to prices of 3 years ago. The dealer offered to sort the rear panel but they're 240 miles away so I'll likely sort it myself or just put up with it.
Other than the above disappointing prep issues, the car drives great. It's slow (as expected), but offers a good ride, is comfortable, handles well enough, and averages 60mpg(uk). Before buying it I'd read various reviews stating mpg figures in the early 40s but that has certainly not been my experience at all. Yes, I've owned the car for nearly 5 months & done just over 3,000 miles through the warmer months of the year when fuel consumption tends to be better but I've averaged 60-61mpg. Most of my driving is a 20 mile (each way) commute to work consisting of 12 miles of 70mph dual carriageway and 8 miles of city driving. The best fuel consumption on my commute has been nearly 68mpg(!!!) and the worst has been 53-54mpg (head-winds make quite a big difference on such a light car). I have experienced low 50s mpg on a handful of days when there's been traffic problems and I've been stuck in jams in the city for ages. If you were using this car for short town/city journeys then I would say that low 40s would be par for the course but you really need a run of 10+ miles before it starts getting to mid 50s & upwards. The car's 3-cylinder engine runs like a little sewing machine. The automatic volume control on the stereo (that is supposed to adjust in line with road speed/noise) doesn't seem to work & I find I'm constantly adjusting stereo volume via the steering-wheel control to suit. The day-time running lights turn-off whenever you're stopped at lights & pull the handbrake on - I find this annoying in stop-go city traffic but maybe that's just me.
In summary: The 2023 Picanto is, not withstanding the dealer's poor prep, a good little car; well built; reliable; gets great fuel consumption; is comfortable. Would I buy another?: Personally no.... High prices of new cars and my main dealer experience mean that I won't. In fact I think I'll service it myself and take my chances with voiding the 7-yr warranty rather than entrusting anything to the main dealer. I might sell this car after a year; I might keep it two or three years. Either way I think this is the last car I'll buy (I'm 50 yrs old - for context). With even the cheapest new cars being over the £12k mark these days, I think I'd be more inclined to use my e-bike, public transport & will likely buy a 300-350cc scooter/motorcycle instead of another car.