The Kia Venga is a car manufactured by
Kia
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second la ...
for the European market
across a single generation (2009–2019) with a five-door, five passenger, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, high-roof
mini MPV
Mini MPV— an abbreviation for mini multi-purpose vehicle— is a vehicle size class for the smallest size of minivans/MPVs. The mini MPV size class sits below the compact MPV size class and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-se ...
(compact minivan) design.
The Venga was styled by Gregory Guillaume
at Kia's
Rüsselsheim Research and Development Center, under the direction of
Peter Schreyer, head of Kia's European design studio. It was based on Kia's ''No3''
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by sev ...
, introduced at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show.
The Venga debuted at the
2009 Frankfurt Auto Show sharing platforms with
Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed worldwide by Kia, currently in its third generation.
Designed at Kia's design center in California, the Soul debuted at the 2008 Paris Motor Show and is manufactured in South K ...
(and the outgoing
Rio).
The Venga and
Hyundai ix20
The Hyundai ix20 is a car manufactured and marketed by Hyundai, which debuted at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. A mini MPV, the ix20 is a rebadged variant of the Kia Venga, sharing platforms with the Hyundai i20 and Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is a subc ...
are
badge engineered
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a man ...
variants.
The name ''Venga'' is Spanish for "come" or "come with."
Design
With a design emphasizing interior space and practicality,
the Venga featured a long wheelbase for its class,
at 2,615 mm; a 1600 mm high roofline to maximize cabin space; and aerodynamic Cd of 0.31.
The 440-litre boot expanded to 1253 litres with the rear seats folded.
The split-folding rear seats also slid fore and aft by up to 130 mm
and can fold completely flat, without the need to adjust or remove the seat headrests.
All models featured anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, hill-start, hazard lights activated via emergency braking, tire pressure monitoring, six airbags, load-limiting pre-tensioned seatbelts and active front headrests.
Upper trim level equipment included panoramic sunroof, LED rear lights, keyless ignition, welcome-home lights and a heated steering wheel.
The Venga employed Kia's corporate grille, known as the
Tiger Nose. The MPV won Germany's
iF Design Award in 2009, followed by a
Red Dot
The Red Dot Design Award is a German international design prize awarded by Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG. There are prize categories for product design, brands and communication design, and design concept. Since 1955, designers and producers can apply ...
(product design) award in 2010.
Kia released a facelifted Venga in early 2015, with a larger front grille, revised bumper fascia,
and a new six-speed automatic transmission replacing the previous four-speed one. Production of the Venga ended in early 2019, without a successor.
Safety
;Euro NCAP
Euro NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February ...
test results for a LHD, five door hatchback variant on a registration from 2010:
Following the initial test, Kia made several structural and safety improvements to the Venga, and had it reassessed.
Reception
The Venga was met with mixed reviews in Europe. ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' gave the car a score of 4 out of 10, calling it: "As sensible and tasty as a dry cracker. A decent enough car, perhaps one for the Freedom Pass brigade." ''
Autocar'' rated it three out of five stars, praising the spacious interior, refined engine, and generous specification, but criticizing the leisurely performance, bland styling, and price.
''
What Car?
''What Car?'' is a British monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Huntingford and published by Haymarket Consumer Media. Other team members include deputy editor Darren Moss and test editors Will Nightingale, Neil ...
'' gave the car two out of five stars. ''
Auto Express
''Auto Express'' is a weekly motoring magazine sold in the United Kingdom published by Autovia Limited. The editor-in-chief is Steve Fowler.
History and profile
Launched in September 1988, its 1,000th issue was published on 20 February 2008. ...
'' gave it three out of five stars, saying: "The Kia Venga has made a big impact in the mini MPV sector, with great space and strong value."
References
External links
* (UK)
{{Kia
Venga
2010s cars
Cars of the Czech Republic
Cars of Slovakia
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Hatchbacks
Compact MPVs
Mini MPVs
Euro NCAP small MPVs
Cars introduced in 2009