IT can be tough when you have to downsize, for whatever reason.

Swap a four-bedroomed detached home for a three bedroomed semi or a two bedroomed bungalow and you really will miss the space.

The same goes for cars. Trade in your spacious family saloon for a small hatchback - as many people are now having to do - and you could start to get symptoms of claustrophobia.

Trade it in for a Kia Venga, however, and you probably won't even notice the difference.

For while the trendy looking Venga appears relatively compact from the outside the interior is a real revelation. If ever there was an automotive version of the Tardis this is it.

Designed for five adult passengers it offers an exceptional amount of headroomfor a car of its size, oodles of shoulder room and - best of all - limousine-like leg room.

Despite being only 13ft long you can actually sit in the back seats and stretch your legs out, thanks to a particularly long wheelbase and the fact that the rear seats slide.

In fact the rear seats move backwards and forwards by up to six inches to give you the option of more legroom or more luggage space. And let's face it most people only need a spacious boot a certain number of times a year.

But even with the rear seat right back there is a sensible amount of luggage space, and it's boosted by the fact that the boot area has two tiers.

And if you are downsizing to save money you will get a pleasant surprise with the Venga CRDi EcoDynamics model, which averages almost 63 miles per gallon and comes with free road tax for the first year (and £35 in subsequent years).

Like a lot of cars today it features a stop/start system to reduce fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.

Additionally, of course there is also Kia's seven year, 100,000-mile warranty.

This 1.4-litre diesel features a smooth, six-speed manual gearbox and plenty of pulling power. It's not the quickest when it comes to initial acceleration but mid range is reasonable.

I found the Venga surprisingly comfortable thanks to supportive seats and an impressive ride. The abundance of glass affords excellent all-round vision although the windscreen pillars are wide enough to be a little obstructive.

Vengas come in three trim levels - 1, 2 and 3 - and this Venga 3 boasted climate control, double panoramic sunroof, electric windows all round and privacy glass. That's in addition to standard features on all models of front, side and full length curtain airbags, alloy wheels, split rear seatbacks and six-speaker audio system.

The black dashboard with contrasting brushed aluminium inserts is stylish and the dials are clear and easy to read. Unlike some new cars everything is logical about the layout and you are not left reaching for the handbook to understand what does what.