Kia Venga 2 1.4: Test Drive Review

Date: 13 May 2010   |   Author:

Category: Supermini-MPV P11D price: £12,515 Key rival: Nissan Note

Kia's little Venga is a deceptively big car - it's actually a supermini-MPV rival to the likes of Nissan's Note or the Citroen C3 Picasso, rather than a traditional Ford Fiesta competitor.

It's well-packaged and practical with plenty of durable materials around the cabin and a decent-sized boot. The 90hp 1.4 petrol driven here is the same power and capacity as its diesel equivalent, but comes in at 147g/km for CO2 emissions and fuel economy of 45.6mpg. The diesel offers 117g/km and 62.0mpg. That emissions gap means company drivers will pay less tax for the diesel, despite it starting out at around £1300 more expensive. The petrol engine does also need a little more work than is ideal to get the Venga moving, but it's not inhibitive, just a little weak.

The Venga is another step forward for Kia - it's just a shame the petrol engine isn't up with the class best for efficiency or performance.

Subscribe