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2017 onwards if you can, because that is when the current generation arrived — longer, stiffer, with a much better cabin, more safety equipment and a nicer drive than the 2011 to 2016 car. Below that line the older car is still fine at these prices given service history. Above it, the difference between two Picantos is entirely maintenance.
The Kia Rio costs a good deal more and buys a bigger car with a heavier repair history — 75% panel repair against 56% expected for its band. The Fiat 500 is far dearer and more interesting to look at, but its electronics are the worst here at 19% against 3% expected for its band. The Picanto is the cheapest of the three to buy, run and repair.
Two things need checking, and both are cheap to find. Tyre problems show on 18% of the Kia Picantos we inspect in Saudi Arabia against the 6% we would expect for small cars of the same age and mileage in the Kingdom, and electrical or electronics faults on 23% against 10% for the same cohort. Median mileage here is around 130,000 km, and both are what a car gets when maintenance is done to the cheapest available standard — small cars are consistently the worst in this market for it. The Chevrolet Spark shows a mechanical fault on 34% of cars against 23% expected for its own band.
Read the tyre and electrical findings before you agree a price — on a car this cheap they are the difference between low-cost motoring and a series of small bills.