Not everyone groaned when that nice Mr Darling announced the rocky road ahead for UK motorists.

Gas-guzzlers hung their head in shame. High-emission motors were almost afraid to show their exhausts to the world.

But manufacturers like Kia rubbed their hands and positively relished the moment. For the Korean car-makers have the car that's up to the challenge – the Picanto. And its time might just be now.

Second generation Picanto is here, it's green, it's cheeky, fun, a character that breezes around town with a smile on its face.

Consistently among the UK's small car best-sellers, new Picanto has now sharpened up its act with some smarter styling, simplified and extended its model choice and comes in a five-door package from £5,995 to £7,995.

Picanto is already a familiar face around town. But without losing its identity, Kia have lost that quirky front grille that looked rather like a ball of wool that had been unravelled vertically and replaced it with a honeycomb one similar to that on Kia Carens and cee'd.

There is also a new front bumper, new bonnet, new front wings and new headlamp unit that give the car a fresher look – rear bumper and lamp units have also been revised.

The car is now 40mm longer as a result and changes have been made inside, too, with a classier, all-black dashboard and door trims, plus a new steering wheel with a chrome Kia badge. And instruments are now backlit in orange, echoing the style set by the cee'd family.

Kia sets out their stall that everyone wants to buy from because they know their market. At present it only comes in 1.0 and 1.1-litre petrol engines – the smaller unit emitting such low emissions (117 grams per kilometre of CO2) that it becomes exempt from the London congestion charge under current proposals.

Front-drive Picanto's 1.0-litre engine returns 47.9mpg and the larger engine 47.1mpg. Although they feel faster, with brisk performance and sporty engine note, Picanto takes a pedestrian 16.4 seconds and  15.1 seconds to 62mph, so you'd better not be in too much of a hurry.

Most of the time around time, you're not going to worry too much. You'll be too busy appreciating Picanto's nimble, easy drive, incredibly tight turning circle and ability to dodge into tight parking spaces – the rear window is large, too, so over-shoulder vision is excellent. And then there's the fact that you don't seem to be visiting the gas station too often.

I've been driving the mid-range 1.1 Ice manual model (£6,995) which made for an economical week of motoring.

Picanto has very tidy handling for a small hatch, with good balance and cheery progression. The five-speed, lazy-action gearbox is virtually unmissable and a light clutch and plenty of power assistance in the steering makes for very laid-back driving, although I'd ideally prefer a little more involvement.

The new interiors are a vast improvement, with a definite upward move in quality, and minimalist controls and instruments are simple to operate.

A high-lifting tailgate reveals a small everyday boot that will only hold a few shopping bags but Kia has an ace up its sleeve by providing fold and tumble seats which double up out of the way to create a pretty flat and useful load floor if you need to stash more on board.

Minus marks? Kia still hasn't sorted out the doors, which need banging shut, otherwise they half-close with a clatter, and there's the irritation of no pull-down handle or recess in the tailgate, so it's dirty hands every time you close it.

I also thought the toggle-operated manual door mirrors were a bit penny-pinching.

But I've always been a Picanto fan and current legislation – with further petrol price hikes in the pipeline – has only served to reinforce my view that more and more of us will soon be driving them.
 
Factfile:

• New Kia Picanto comes in six-model line-up, with two engine sizes (1.0 and 1.1-litre) and manual and auto gearboxes.


• Prices from £5,995-£7,995.


• Fresh design in and out, with classier interiors, and 40mm longer than outgoing model.


• Picanto 3 gains iPod, AUX and USB connections.


• Entry-level model achieves 57.6mpg overall with incredibly low emissions.


• Power-assisted rack and pinion steering and tight turning circle make manoeuvring and parking easy.


• Seat height adjustment becomes standard on Ice, 2 and 3.


• All-round disc brakes, ventilated at the front, ensure lightweight Picanto stops as easily as it goes.


• ABS allows driver to steer round obstacles while braking and electronic brake force distribution (EBD) apportions the braking power between wheels for maximum stopping efficiency.