Before we purchased the car we have, we took a zesty lemon, Kia Picanto out for a spin. It was nippy, compact and everything I love about a car - including 7 years warranty if anything were to go wrong. Unfortunately the size of this car didn’t quite fit for all the adventure equipment we seem to have, so with a heavy heart decided to leave it.
Having walked away and not purchased the car, it really did leave an imprint on both Nick and I. It had been a strong contender for us, so being invited by Kia to go to their UK launch of their new Kia Picanto in Tuscany, of course I bit their hand off. We would be driving their brand new Kia Picanto along the streets of Tuscany - who could resist that?!
Me and Nick (aka WeBean) would be jet setting on a private plane from the (elite and oh so swish), Tag Farnborough Airport. From there we would travel to Grosetto where we’d stay in the statement hotel, L’Andana, nuzzled amongst some epic vineyard views and gorgeous grounds. Greeted by attentive Kia Motors staff we were escorted to our cars. Myself and Nick popped our luggage in it’s deceptively spacious boot, and hoped in with driving instructions presented before us. Admittedly it was going to be interesting because not only do us, Sat Navs, and me giving directions all clash, we were also driving on the other side of the road!
Apart from one miss turn, (which ended up in a good 5-10 minute silence in the car) we managed to keep on the right path! Exploring the beautiful scenery and eyeing up the masses of non-stop miles of vineyards. This was one nippy little car to drive said my husband, and performs outside it's class. Luckily after our 2 and half hour drive of smooth driving around the Italian countryside, we wound up getting to the beautiful L'Andana hotel.
We parked the Picanto up when we arrived at the hotel, dropped the bags off and immediately took out the new Picanto GT Line out for a drive as well. This is the upgraded version with basically all the bells and whistles! It's a rather sporty number with a bit more bite to it, but that being said both Nick and I preferred just the standard Picanto 2, because essentially you're buying a city car and getting a multifaceted 5 door vehicle that performs as good as it looks.
Beyond the driving around the Italian countryside, we took in a spot of wine tasting, indulged in a Michelin star dining and then had a walking tour around Grosetto. It was such a crazy whirl wind of night stop over, but it was quite evident that Italy's mountain roads we're no obstacle for this redesigned 'supermini', that seamlessly blends mile munching economy, with tight and accurate steering... kind of essential really on the giro d'Italia worthy switchbacks!