Kia Venga (2010 – 2019) Review

Kia Venga (2010 – 2019) At A Glance

3/5
Honest John Overall Rating
The Kia Venga is a sound small family car, but one that doesn’t deliver much in the way of driving pleasure due to the bumpy, soft-set suspension.

+Spacious back seats and wide-opening doors. Easy to drive and park. Good visibility. Decent boot capacity.

-Not a keen handler. Engines feel underwhelming.

Insurance Groups are between 8–15
On average it achieves 79% of the official MPG figure

The Kia Venga shares almost all of its bits with the Hyundai ix20 and, as with that car, it offers a perfectly decent way to carry the family for not much expense. As a used buy, it’s a reasonable bet, but don’t expect any of the driving fun you get in a Ford B-MAX or quite the same cabin quality and versatility found in a Honda Jazz. Read on for our full Kia Venga review.

Practicality and ease-of-use were obviously top priorities for the designers behind the Kia Venga. Despite its small size, the Kia Venga is spacious, with sliding rear seats, wide-opening back doors and a high-up driving position.

It’s easy to get in and out of, and unchallenging to drive – but the Honda Jazz does everything a little bit better.

There are two petrol and two diesel engine options. The 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre petrols are old-fashioned and naturally aspirated, meaning they need to be worked hard to give their best, unlike modern turbo petrol engines.

Emissions are fairly high – 130g/km for the 1.4-litre means tax isn’t as cheap as you’d expect.

The diesel engines are a better bet, unless you’re a low-mileage driver. The 90PS 1.4 CRDi is responsive at low engine speeds and emits 119g/km, but surprisingly the more powerful 114PS 1.6-litre diesel is marginally more economical and has lower emissions.

Sensibly designed rear seats make the Kia Venga very family-friendly. They can be slid back and forth and reclined, depending on whether boot space or legroom is a priority, plus they split and fold for bulky loads.

Furthermore, the rear doors open very wide, which makes life easy when strapping in child seats.

The boot is wide and flat, with a reasonably low load deck and a false floor, covering some little storage areas for small odds and ends. Volume with the seats up is 440 litres, and sliding the rear seats forward increases this a little. Folding the rear seats down makes a nice flat load area, with 1253 litres of capacity.

All of this makes the Kia Venga a perfectly acceptable choice as a compact family car. The only real flaw is that there are better alternatives that leave the Venga looking very much like a runner-up in this corner of the used car market.

Ask Honest John

Will my petrol car become non ULEZ compliant in the future?

"At present my 2016 petrol Kia Venga is ULEZ friendly, will there come a time when it would become ULEZ unfriendly? Just checking I was not too sure if when vehicles get to a certain age they fall into the charging zone."
At present the emissions standards required for petrol cars within the ULEZ is Euro 4, which came into effect for most cars in 2006. ULEZ compliance is based on NOx emissions rather than vehicle age, so a vehicle will not become non-compliant because of its age. However, the Euro 7 emissions standard comes into effect in July 2025, so it is reasonable to expect that at some point in the future the ULEZ standard for both petrol and diesel cars will be raised above the current levels, but it is difficult to anticipate when this might be. As your Kia was built in 2016 it is likely to be Euro 6 compliant, so even if the standards are raised for petrol cars it is unlikely it will be increased to the point where you car is non-compliant in the near future.
Answered by David Ross

Are Kia wheels prone to corrosion?

"Are Kia alloy wheels subject to corrosion? My 6 year old Venga has corrosion underneather the lacquer."
We have not seen any reports that Kia wheels are particularly prone to corrosion, but it may be that minor damage to the wheels has taken off some of the protective lacquer and caused premature deterioration, or if you live near to the coast this could also have caused the issue. If you wish to have the wheels refurbished we would suggest powder coating as this provides more substantial protection.
Answered by David Ross

What's the best car for a passenger with arthritis?

"My husband has arthritis of the spine and our Renault Scenic is very suitable for his needs, with the raised seating position making it easy to get in and out. However, it is costing us too much in repairs and we need another car. I need some advice on a reliable small car which will be cheaper to run and maintain but still have the height my husband needs."
Without knowing your budget I can't be very specific, but have you looked at the Kia Venga, Nissan Note or the Hyundai iX20? These are smaller in size than the Scenic but have taller bodies and higher seating positions than normal small cars. It would also be worth looking at small SUVs (again these have higher seating positions for ease of getting in and out) such as the Vauxhall Mokka, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Peugeot 2008 and Renault Captur.
Answered by Lawrence Allan

Kia Venga rear washer not working - is this a manufacturing fault?

"I own a Kia Venga that is five and a half years old and the rear washer is not spraying out, it sounds like it tries to work. I have been advised to take the vehicle into my local Kia dealership to have the fault investigated to see if it is covered by Kia's seven-year warranty. I am reluctant to do this in case I will be charged. "
It sounds like the rear washer is blocked with debris. If so, this is not a manufacturing fault or warranty issue. You can clear this yourself with a pin. If it is severely gunged up you may want to pay an independent garage to clear it with compressed air.
Answered by Dan Powell
More Questions

What does a Kia Venga (2010 – 2019) cost?