Kia Venga (2010 - 2019) 1.6 2 5d Auto (2011/11) Owner Review
Want to know everything there is to know about this car?
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Summary
What does this car say about you?
Am I piloting a Lunar Lander? Am I flying a brick? I feel like young (retired) grandparents being helpful to (grand)offspring. A practical granny-car.
What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?
Practical for shopping etc (big boot) but not quite big enough for family holidays.
Would you buy this car again and why?
I'll keep it and I may even buy KIA again.
What are you likely to buy next?
Probably one for the kids.
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Buying experience
Type of dealer you bought from?
Franchised
Did you buy this car new?
No
What price did you pay?
£6,600
When did you buy the car?
August 2014
Did you get a good deal and why?
I got it from Cargigant and I would have preferred a dealer with a different business model (like testing and fixing/servicing/mot-ing a car before they sell it on). But they buy cheap as-is and sell cheap-ish.
Is there any special reason why you bought this car?
I had good experience with Korean cars (Chevrolet) but the car was getting on, older that 5, so I thought I'd try something similar and this seemed to fit a similar specification, even if it is a bit more expensive.
What was the dealer like?
Very implacable. They lost the second key to my Chevrolet (part exchange) so the manager gave me an extra 100 on the deal, take-it-or-leave-it. The actual sellers were very pleasant.
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Driving it
What's it like to drive?
My chevvy had good suspension, a high torque on the automatic gear (good in London traffic), good self-righting properties on the steering and ... well forget that on the Venga. The ride is hard, the creep is low so hill starts (esp reversing on steep hills is tough) and self-righting hardly exists.
What's it like to park?
Surprisingly good.
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Living with it
Have you had any problems with the car?
Nothing as yet. I had a big action finding out if the 7 year warranty existed (apparently it has to be serviced every 12 months, preferably by a KIA dealer but always with KIA parts) so many of the KIAs I looked at were without the warranty.
What's most practical about your car?
Good fuel economy (49/gallon mixed London driving) and 140 annual tax. The 1.6 engine is nippy and easily delivers the power of my previous 1.8. It cruises at 85 (albeit loud).
Favourite gadget, option or accessory?
There are almost none. The rear windows are manual, there are few of the well designed pockets/drawers I liked with the chevvy, even only one coat hook. The emergency stuff rattles round under the boot. You have to stick the sat-nav in the middle of the windscreen because no other surfaces will take it. No anchor for hard-free phone either .... phew!
