THOSE on a tight budget could always rely on Kia to come up with the answer to their dreams.

Take the Venga for example. A supermini-sized, multi-purpose vehicle which believed it should have belonged alongside larger MPVs such as the Renault Scenic.

And the reason was thanks to it's clever packaging, for the car offered massive amounts of interior space for up to five to travel in comfort.

It all started with the South Korean marque's new small-car platform first used in the funky Soul. However, Kia stretched the wheelbase a little to help maximise cabin space.

The Venga was also the widest vehicle in its class and coupled with its high roofline, the end product offered an interior that provided for class-leading room throughout.

Sliding, 60-40-split rear seats added to the car's versatility, while they also folded flat to increase load space to what was already the largest boot in its sector.

But space was not the only issue, for the Venga's overall looks were far removed from the typical boxy-styled lines usually associated with vehicles of this ilk.

Viewed from the front, the wide-stance Venga was blessed with the now familiar Kia family grille, while from the side, the bulging door panels, muscular wheel arches and large area of glass sloping up from over the front wing to the rear panel gave the machine a somewhat sleek and sporty look.

Out on the road the Venga offered a smooth ride, while the suspension did a decent job of handling the humps and bumps of our badly-surfaced roads. Grip was good, but the car's tall stance did mean it leant a bit through tighter corners.

As with most MPVs, the driver benefitted from a high driving position to gain a great view of thinks happening up ahead, while the large glass panels in the split front windscreen pillars also added greatly to the driver's all-round vision.

Top choice in the UK was the highly-competively priced 1.4-litre petrol in Trim 2. However, for buyers of a used Venga my choice would be the similar sized oilburner.

Derived from the larger 1.6-litre diesel engine found in the Soul, the torquey Slovakian-built unit pumped out 89bhp at 4,000revs, enough to give the Venga a top speed of 104mph and a 0-62mph sprint time of 14 seconds dead.

But more importantly, emissions were kept to a low 117g/km, putting the sprightly little Venga into VED band C and with it an annual road fund charge of just £30 for 2016 and 2017 at least.

And to help cut running costs to the bone, fuel consumption worked out at nearly 63mpg on the combined cycle, thanks in part to the car's intelligent stop-go system.

From a comfort and safety point of view the Venga came extremely well equipped, but what made the Venga stand out over the competition was its unique, transferrable, seven-year/100,000-mile warranty.

Expect to pay around the £4,645 mark up to £6,135 for a 2012 Venga 2 1.4-litre CRDi on a 12-plate with 40,000 miles on the clock. A slightly less equipped but still well specced out Venga 1 should come in at anything between £4,055 to £5,355.

Move up to a 2013 year model on a 13-plate with around 30,000 miles and the price increases to between £5,420 and £6,965 for the Venga 2, with the less-equipped Venga 1 coming in from around £4,740 to £6,090.