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.

Kia Venga 2 1.4
P11D price £12,515
Model price range £11,495-£15,360
Fuel consumption 45.6mpg
CO2 (tax) 147g/km (18%)
BIK 20/40% per month £38/£75
Service interval 12,500mls
Insurance (1-50) group 8
Warranty 7yrs/100,000mls
Boot space (min/max) 444/1486 litres
Engine size/power 1396cc/90hp
Top speed/0-62mph 104mph/12.4secs
On sale Early 2010
Score 7/10
Verdict Appealing and user-friendly, but
weigh up petrol versus diesel