Kia Venga test drive since 2009 hatchback

Test drive Kia Venga: Time to act

Opponents in the camp of allies, the riddles of the luggage compartment, an unexpected button and unexpected scope - the Kolesa.ru portal experienced a new Korean microven, experiencing mixed feelings.

Kia Venga was introduced in September 2009 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The press release notes that such a name was chosen because it sounds pleasant and vividly. The word has Spanish roots and calls: Come on, act. The Spaniards probably like this name. And for us, a weng is just a set of sounds with Hungarian notes. However, the name is secondary, the main content. With the right pricing policy and decent equipment in Russia, Dau-Kalos and Proton Pertan would have sold perfectly

But why did Kia Motors need Mikroven (Koreans call Venga MPV B-class, that is, a multifunctional compact car), when you can buy Soul for about the same 600 thousand rubles?! Also a front -wheel drive, with a sufficient road clearance for Russia, a spacious salon, an even more extravagant appearance and an alternative diesel engine?! Sellers talk about various socio-demographic features of their audiences, but it works on paper, and in life it is not always. Perhaps after the test the situation will clear up a little.

Venga looks best in front and a little on top, that is, from the angle from which high drivers see it. So Kia seems lower and wide, and more resembles a hatchback like Honda Civic. It is interesting that to the drivers tall above the average, and to the equally high passengers, the car is hospitable

The front panel of the Weng is deprived of any delights like the sensory screen of the multimedia system as in the new Suzuki Grand Vitara or the remote control as in Peugeot 3008. But without it there is everything necessary. On the central console there are two strips of black-orange displays: one for the on-board computer, the second to display the state of climate control. On the steering wheel of the music control buttons, and instead of the ignition key, another engine start/stop button is provided.

The plastic in the cabin is hard, but this did not affect the general style of a cozy and disposable interior. The main indicator that the front is very spacious: the driver and passenger can fasten/unfasten the seat belt without interfering with each other. Try to do this in an ordinary V-class car and understand what it is about.

There are many places on the gallery; Here, a couple of sumoists can freely play ottoman. A driver of 180 cm tall and a passenger sitting behind him will not interfere with each other. In front of the knees of the latter will be still fifteen centimeters. And most importantly, sitting is convenient; The back is well -stained and moderately tough and do not fail, and the back does not hurt.

The driver's seat is soft, with weakly expressed lateral support. Usually this differs in cars that are not at all interesting in management. This is not quite about Venga.

Mikroven’s steering wheel is very sharp and responsive, it will not be difficult to dodge deep spots on the asphalt. In deeper turns, Venga is very fucked and swaying diagonally; It’s not easy to turn it over, but losing contact with a winter road is easy. The suspension is very peculiar: small cracks in the asphalt, which, it would seem, are overcome at any speed without unnecessary noise, Venga denotes a tangible and audible knock. And larger pits, on the contrary, Kia overcomes, gently and easily swaying.

The body is raised above the ground by 156 mm. This indicator is inferior to crossovers, but also significantly higher than the clearance of ordinary city cars. At least during the day of our test, in any rut and not on any snowy road, the bottom of the Venga never met with a typical defect in the winter highway.
 
At first, Venga trunk does not seem so roomy ... Until you raise the floor and you will not lower it to the lower level! In this way, it is possible to increase the volume of the luggage compartment by as many as 130 liters (it was 440, it became 570). And if you fold the backs of the rear seats ...

With the same 1.6-liter engine and a 4-speed automatic transmission, we already had more than one car on the test, the last was the Hyundai Solaris. The 125-horsepower engine is loud, but in the city it pulls five points. Yes, and the box does not interfere, despite the archaic of 4-speed hydrotransformer transmission. The ESC stabilization system (it is equipped with all Venga modifications, except for the base), it works harshly, noticeably pulling the machine on partially covered with ice asphalt.


We liked the Kia Venga
Spacious salon, double gender of the trunk

We did not like Kia Venga
Hard plastic in the cabin, not perfect sound insulation

Security
Venga car with excellent passive safety. In 2010, when Mikrovenn took place the Euroncap crash test, he scored the necessary 70 points to receive five treasured stars in the previous year. But in 2010, the requirements of the Security Commission were tightened, and only 4 stars were enough for the points scored. A year later, KIA engineers managed to improve the safety indicators of an adult passenger and child. Venga again passed the same test, improving the safety indicators of an adult passenger and a child from 79% to 89% and from 66% to 85%, respectively. So Kia Venga is an officially safe car!


Prices
The cheapest microven Kia Venga costs 614,900 rubles on the Russian market. This amount includes a 1.4-liter 90-horsepower engine, a mechanical gearbox, ABS, front airbags, air conditioning, front electric windows, heating seats, audio training, adjusting the steering column in height and departure.

A version with a 1.6-liter 125-horsepower engine with mechanics and a slightly more enriched equipment costs from 679,900 rubles, and with an automatic checkpoint from 712 900 rubles.

Competitors Kia Venga in the Russian market
Kia Soul
Nissan Note

The car is provided for the test Avrora Autocenter, an official KIA dealer.


Author: Maxim Sokolov
Photo: Roman Ostanin



 


 

A source: Wheel magazine [March 2011]