Kia Picanto upgrades, generation by generation.

JA cars from 2018 to 2023 with the basic radio, which is the car in the case study on this page, and TA cars from 2011 to 2017. Both come in for the same thing: an Android screen with wireless CarPlay in place of the factory radio, often with a reversing camera at the same time because the small back window and thick pillars make parking harder than the size suggests.

The Android screen is two to three hours including the camera; sensors take about two hours. The car is small and the dashboard comes apart quickly, so most Picanto work is done while you wait at the Dublin 11 workshop, and the fascia we use is made for the car, so nothing is cut or modified.

SA — 2004–2011: CD radio with no screen; Bluetooth on very few cars. TA — 2011–2017 (three-door and five-door): Radio with a small display, Bluetooth and USB on most cars; no factory touchscreen. JA — 2017 on: Basic radio with a small display on base cars; 7-inch touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto on mid trims from 2017, 8-inch with wireless CarPlay on most cars after the 2020 and 2024 facelifts. Not sure? Send the reg on WhatsApp and we tell you the generation and the route.

Car radio: A 9-inch Android screen in place of the radio on SA, TA and base JA cars, fascia matched to each dash. CarPlay: Android screen on SA, TA and base JA cars; a wireless adapter on JA cars with the factory touchscreen. Reversing camera: Camera in the tailgate handle on the factory touchscreen, the Android screen or a mirror monitor. Parking sensors: Rear sensors colour-matched with a factory-style tone; front sensors where the small bumper allows. Ambient lighting: Ambient LED kits in doors and dash, extended factory ambient on newer cars, app controlled. Speakers: Plug-in door speakers and tweeters, factory head unit and amplifier kept, no cutting. Dash cam: Hardwired from the fuse box with parking mode and a low-voltage cut-off, cables hidden. Subwoofer: Under-seat or boot subwoofer on a DSP amplifier fed from the factory unit, boot space kept. Soundproofing: Doors and floor treated with butyl and foam, trim refitted without marks.

Car radio: two to three hours, usually the same day. CarPlay: under an hour for activation, two to four hours for a box or a screen. Reversing camera: two to three hours. Parking sensors: two to three hours for one end, about half a day for front and rear. Most Picanto owners wait at the workshop or drop the car in the morning and collect it the same day.

SA: the CD radio with no screen; Bluetooth on very few cars stays and we add to it. TA: the Radio with a small display, Bluetooth and USB on most cars; no factory touchscreen stays and we add to it. JA: the Basic radio with a small display on base cars; 7-inch touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto on mid trims from 2017, 8-inch with wireless CarPlay on most cars after the 2020 and 2024 facelifts stays and we add to it. Steering-wheel buttons, factory amplifiers and cameras are carried over on every route; the only route that changes what you see is an Android screen, and even then the controls are kept.

Send the reg or the year on WhatsApp or the form below and we confirm the generation, the route, the price and the next free slot. Every job carries a one-year warranty on the work, done at our workshop in Rosemount Business Park, Dublin 11, Monday to Saturday.