Driving school fleet

The car fleet of Angels driving school consists of 3 Kia Picanto's 

and a Toyota Tazz.

 

It's good to know that when Angels driving school started, management did not

go out and buy any car they could find. The vehicles had to meet

certain requirements e.g.  fuel consumption, reliability, must be easy to drive

to be used in the driving school industry. The necessary manufacture support

and service structure had to be in place, to insure can be serviced regularly as

recommended by the manufacturer.

 

We decided on the Toyota Tazz, and yes, it really is as good as they say

 " Everything keeps going right Toyota". Angels bought the last year model before

Toyota discontinued the Tazz series.

 

Whit this news we had to find another

manufacturer that could supply a vehicle that can take the punishment and abuse

of the driving school industry, to our surprise the Kia Picanto was the ideal replacement.

 

       

 

   I took the liberty of posting the following information

   concerning the Kia Picanto from the main Kia website.

 

 

 

http://www.kia.co.za/?gclid=CPSi_o3yg6ACFVpb4wodX21qjw 

 

 

 

  • 5 doors as standard
  • Power Steering
  • Front electric windows
  • CD / MP3 player
  • Colour coded bumpers and mirrors
  • ABS and EBD

 

 

  • The KIA Picanto stormed the market as a small town trotter and soon turned into an urban must have, thanks to its contemporary design, competitive engine performance, generous interior dimensions, impressive fuel economy and excellent occupant safety and design.

    The KIA Picanto is available in 3 motoring options; the Picanto Baseline, the LX and the EX, all ensuring a fun and safe driving experience. The Picanto may be compact but it’s big on features and competitively compares with others as a class leader. Between the Picanto LX and the EX model, these extensions to the baseline Picanto offering provides additional features such as airbags, power steering, air conditioning and electric windows.

    Available in a 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic, the 1.1 litre engine delivers 48 kW @5500rpm and 98 Nm of torque, making the Picanto even more competitive within its class than ever before while, offering affordable fuel economy and overall affordability. The Picanto car range offers above class safety features including an all steel body-shell with crumple zones, a passenger survival cell and high tensile steel beams in each door, not to mention ABS Braking systems and McPhersons struts fitted to the front suspension, improving road holding and over all safety.

    Having recently received a refreshed look, the Picanto has been restyled with curvier lines and rounded forms for a fresh, new, fun reinvented look.

    If the original Picanto came with bells and whistles, the new Picanto comes with bells, whistles and an electric guitar in the back.


    Picanto 1.1 LX “Most economical Car in European Survey”

    Date Of Publication: 21 July 2005
    > Original Publication
     
    • AC survey confirms Kia Picanto 1.1 LX is “most economical car”
    • ADLowest total annual ownership costs of just 30.2 Euro Cents per kilometer
       


    (SEOUL) July 20, 2005 -- A regular survey* of motoring costs by the highly respected ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club) has recently revealed that the KIA Picanto is Germany’s “most economical car” with four seats in the A-segment. Using the ADAC’s database of 5,500 new cars, the data of the survey confirms the conclusion that the total annual ownership costs for a Kia Picanto 1.1 LX five-door hatchback was 4,537 Euros or just 30.2 cents per kilometre, making it the economic champion of Germany in its class.

    For the survey, published in April 2005, the total annual ownership costs were calculated over a four year period, covering 15,000 kilometres each year, and include purchase price, depreciation, residual value, scheduled servicing and maintenance, fuel, tires, brakes, insurance, taxes and VAT.

    According to Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of KIA Motors Corporation, “Since bursting onto the scene and taking the automotive world by storm in 2003, the overwhelmingly popular Picanto has been one of our global top sellers, with over 70,780 units sold in 2004. And through the first six months of the current year, the Picanto has been our best seller in overseas markets, with over 56,530 units delivered.”  Jean-Charles Lievens, Senior Vice President KIA Europe, said, “The Picanto was created with European consumers in mind. It was designed to appeal to their hearts and emotions as well as their sense of style, while delivering a lively drive with a spacious cabin and high levels of safety. The Picanto is also one of the cleanest, least-polluting cars in Europe with a CO2 rating of just 118 g/km.”

    “Now, we have independent confirmation that those numerous appealing attributes are also backed up by long-term low ownership costs. Picanto sales in Europe so far this year have reached more than 45,000 units and this latest endorsement from the ADAC will encourage further rises in demand for what is already our most popular model,” concluded Mr. Lievens.

    As well as beating the 10 closest rivals (shown in the table below) the KIA Picanto performed better than well established models from several major European manufacturers including Renault (Twingo 1.2, 32.0 cents), Ford (Ka 1.3, 32.1 cents), Opel (Agila 1.0, 32.4 cents), Volkswagen (Lupo 3L TDI, 33.6 cents) and Smart (Roadster 0.7 , 38.8 cents).

    * (Source: ADAC Special Autokosten 2/2005)


    E&OE - All information is subject to change without notice, images are not model specific.