It’s taken me almost 6 months to stop thinking I’d made a dreadful mistake by trading-in my beloved 2003 Toyota Corolla VVT3 1.6 auto for an October 2013 Kia Venga (level 2 trim) 1.6 auto. I’d just had the feeling that after 11 years of incredibly reliable service the Toyota must start giving trouble and almost on a whim started looking online for a replacement, nothing being further from my mind than a Kia.
Anyway, to cut a longish story short one Saturday last January my wife and I set out to do shopping at Lidl and ended up a £500 deposit poorer having been captivated by a pearlescent red Kia with only 660 miles on the clock, offered on the forecourt of a local Hyundai dealer. The asking price was at a substantial discount to the original showroom ticket, something to do with the first owner having been disabled and then losing his licence and having to give the vehicle back.
Anyway, enough waffle: here’s what I like and dislike about the car:

Likes:

1) High driving position and extra headroom. Very easy for those of advanced years to enter and exit.
2) Incredibly roomy – space for 2 kiddie seats and an adult in the back, or 3 adults. Lots of rear legroom as the seats are adjustable fore and aft and for rake. With the seats folded flat the load capacity is enormous, partly due to the high roof-line. Also the boot floor cover can be removed to create even more space.
3) Simple dashboard display and easy-to-operate heater, A/C and radio controls
4) Warning bleeps if seatbelts not fastened. Interior light remains illuminated if door(s) or hatchback not fully closed.
5) Comprehensive dual trip meter; time-elapsed on journey and instant, average and since-last-fill-up m.p.g displays, as well as external temperature and clock.
6) Steering wheel controls for radio and Bluetooth devices
7) USB, Bluetooth and auxiliary sockets
8) Notched auto-gearchange stick, better than Corolla’s straight up-and-down arrangement
9) Electrically retractable mirrors and front & rear electrically operated windows
10) Doors automatically lock once speed of approx. 15mph attained (can be over-ridden)
11) 30 mph clearly delineated on speedo
12) Service requirement only once a year
13) 7 year warranty
14) Last but not least - lovely pearlescent red, not silver or black!

Dislikes:

1) Appalling fuel consumption. I keep meticulous records and the average (London suburbs and monthly trips to Bristol or Yorkshire) is only 32 mpg . The Corolla did far better than this
2) Very firm suspension – car crashes and bangs into potholes and sometimes skips sideways after hitting one.
3) Engine seems to hesitate minutely before responding (unlike Corolla) leading me to `floor’ the throttle even more, presumably ruining my fuel consumption. (I remember fitting vacuum gauges to previous cars in the good old days and such techniques would send the needle into the red zone).
4) Build quality seems less solid than Corolla –it has an `elastic’ quality, as though all the under-bonnet bits are flexing about.
5) Lack of spare wheel – I gather some models have those thin spare wheels, but mine has only an aerosol kit
6) Huge depreciation - according to an article in `The Sun' on 31/07/14 it ranks 50th out of 50 (i.e. the worst!) for loss in value over 3 years. But as I got mine at a huge discount and will try and keep for a decade that doesn't bother me too much. Funnily enough a Kia Picanto was in 2nd place.
Anyway as my wife over-ruled my desire for a Mondeo or Avensis estate (even better for trips to the dump etc) I have reconciled myself to the KIA and am secretly beginning to love it!
Finally..........sorry the lead photo seems to show my beloved 11 yr old Honda Silverwing Scooter, to which, if this was a 2 wheel forum, I would accord 5 out of 5.