Where an automatic city car stops being expensive. Pick the exact KIA you want.
Greece bought manual cars for decades, which is why an automatic in the cheap end of the market is harder to find here than in most of Europe. KIA is the brand that broke that pattern: the Picanto and Rio sold in large numbers with automatic gearboxes at prices nothing else matched, and they are all over this platform now. Add seven-year warranties that kept these cars maintained, and you get a small automatic that is both affordable and in good condition. On Sync you see the gearbox and the year before you book.
The Ceed and Sportage are the ones for distance, quiet enough and economical enough that a cross-country route is uneventful. The Picanto is a city car in the honest sense: it will do Athens to Nafplio but the noise at 120 makes it a poor choice for Athens to Thessaloniki. The Rio sits between the two. As with every car here, check the daily kilometre allowance on the listing before committing to a long route.
A Picanto is among the cheapest cars to run on the platform, near 5 litres per 100km in town and costing almost nothing to park because of its size. The Ceed and Sportage sit in the mainstream middle. The KIA and Hyundai groups share engines and parts, so independent servicing is cheap and available in every Greek town, which keeps daily prices sensible and makes a month-long booking low risk.
Equipment is generous for the price in the same way as Hyundai, but KIA interiors have generally been the better-looking of the two in recent years, with cleaner layouts and physical climate controls kept where they belong. Screens support CarPlay and Android Auto on most cars from 2018 onwards. The ride is comfortable rather than sporty, and the Picanto in particular has far better visibility than its size suggests.
The gearbox is the thing that decides whether a cheap car works for you, and it is invisible in a rental category. An automatic Picanto and a manual Picanto are the same booking at a counter and two different weeks if you cannot drive a clutch. On Sync every listing states the gearbox, so you filter for automatic and see only cars you can drive. Many hosts can deliver the car to an address you choose for a set fee, you pay by card, and no deposit is held on a standard-value car.
The Picanto is the small one and the cheapest practical way to have an automatic for a city week. The Rio is a size up with a usable boot. The Ceed is the family hatchback, available as an estate with a lot of luggage space. The Stonic and Sportage are the crossovers, with the Sportage the proper family SUV. The live list on this page shows which are free on your dates.
The Picanto's automatic is a four-speed on many model years, which is smooth in town and revs high on a motorway, so it suits a city week rather than long drives. KIA and Hyundai are the same group, so if the KIA you want is booked, the equivalent Hyundai is the closest substitute. Lane-keeping assist on newer models will tug at the wheel on faded rural markings and can be switched off from the steering wheel or the menu.
You pick the specific car, year and gearbox, with the Host's own photos.
Many Hosts deliver to an address you choose, at a fee you see before you book.
Book with a debit or credit card. No guarantee blocked on your card.
People and small companies who rent all year round, not only in August.
Vasileios R.
KIA Stonic 2023
Πολύ καλή εμπειρία! Το αυτοκίνητο ήταν καθαρό, άνετο και σε άριστη κατάσταση. Η Κατερίνα ήταν ευγενική, εξυπηρετική και η επικοινωνία μας άψογη. Θα την επέλεγα ξανά χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη!
Melanie elodie mathilde D.
KIA Picanto 2020
Με κλειστά τα μάτια !
Emmanouil K.
KIA Picanto 2019
Άψογος ο Χρήστος, άψογο και το αυτοκίνητο. Θα τον προτιμήσουμε ξανά. Ευχαριστώ.
Christos M.
KIA Picanto 2019
Εξαιρετική συνενόηση με τον ιδιοκτήτη, χωρίς κανένα πρόβλημα.
For one or two people, comfortably, and it is the easiest car on the platform to park in the centre. The boot takes two cabin bags or one large suitcase, so if you are flying in with hold luggage for two, look at a Rio or a Ceed instead. As a city runabout for a week it is hard to beat on cost.
It manages, but it is not what the car is for. Many have a four-speed automatic, which means high revs and noise at 120, and a long drive gets tiring. For a week that is mostly city with a short trip out, it is fine. For Athens to Thessaloniki, take a Ceed or a Sportage instead and pay the difference.
Mechanically they are the same group, sharing engines and platforms, so reliability and running costs are close to identical. Recent KIA interiors tend to look and feel a little better organised. In practice, pick whichever specific car on the platform has the year, gearbox and price you want, rather than choosing between the badges.
Usually better than the price suggests, and the seven-year warranty is why. Cars under warranty get serviced on schedule at proper intervals, and a lot of the KIAs on this platform are still young enough to have been maintained that way. What matters most is still the individual car, and the host's own photos show you its actual condition before you book.
Rent exactly the model you want from local Hosts and have it delivered where it suits you.
