Kia Venga 1.6 Auto

What is it?

A rather odd, expensive and undesirable version of the new Kia Venga mini-MPV – and one that shows exactly how much ground this up-and-coming Korean brand still has to make up on certain better-established European car makers.

The 1.6-litre petrol version of the Venga is the most powerful in the range. Conventional wisdom would dictate that it should also be the range-topper, therefore, and in other European markets it will be, offered with a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.

Here in the UK, though, you’ll only be able to get a 1.6-litre Venga with a four-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox, and only in mid-spec ‘Venga 2’ guise. Kia estimates that less than 10 per cent of Venga buyers will opt for the car, which equates to fewer than 200 customers a year. We’d describe that as an optimistic gambit.

What’s it like?

Waterproof teabags? A soluble lifeboat? In a car like the Venga, a four-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox is of marginally more use than the above, but not much.

That’s because, compared with the latest self-shifting transmissions, this gearbox feels slow and outmoded, and does little to flatter this car’s willing and reasonably refined petrol engine.

Truth be told, if you’re prepared to stroke this car along gently, it makes a compact and easy-to-drive supermini for use in the city, with good all-round visibility, a roomy cabin and boot, and a reasonably contemporary and rich-looking interior.

That will make it quite attractive to a certain type of driver who spends the majority of time bumbling around town, and who demands nothing more of their car than for it to be an inexpensive, reliable, spacious, undemanding and pleasant means of getting from A (almost certainly a pebble-dashed suburban bungalow) to B (the local post office, garden centre or bingo hall, we’d guess).

For those of us who make greater demands on the performance of our cars, however, the Venga 1.6 seems something of an under-deliverer.

Although that gearbox allows you to make acceptable progress in town, it limits the performance of the car’s 123bhp engine to the extent that this car feels slower than both 1.4-litre versions of the Venga out on the open road.

It’s less refined than the smaller petrol too, because in order to motivate it to move anything other than sedately you’ll spend more of your time beyond 4000rpm than you would in the five-speed 1.4. Overtaking on the motorway is much a noisier and slower process than you might expect it to be.

And on our test route, the old-tech torque converter in this car hobbled its economy as well as its performance. On a mainly urban and quite congested route our Venga auto returned an average 26.5mpg. Its return would have been better had we spent longer out of town, but we’re not sure how much better.

Should I buy one?

Perhaps – if you’re in love with the Kia Venga, but you’ve got an auto-only driving licence, or limited motility in your left leg. Otherwise, both of the cheaper versions of the Venga are significantly better and represent much better value for money than this car, the 1.4 petrol particularly so. It’s got an unusually slick and satisfying manual gearchange for a supermini, too.