The FINANCIAL -- Kia Venga has won the coveted red dot design award, marking the second prize the car maker's newest B-segment MPV has won since its launch, earlier this year.

"A top-class jury picked Venga as the winner in the "product design" category for the compact MPV's departure from the conventional mini-van profile. The red dot award is acknowledged worldwide as a seal of quality for outstanding design and complements the prestigious iF product design award already received by Venga," KIA motors informs.

"Our design teams can be truly proud of this additional red dot award. It underscores the success of our design strategy," says Peter Schreyer, Chief Design Officer at KIA motors . "B-segment MPVs have traditionally been a class of vehicle purchased for practical reasons. The Kia Venga is set to change that. Its balanced architecture, spacious interior and dynamic silhouette demonstrate that style and utility make a perfect match. The Kia Venga is a car people will want to be seen in."

As a red dot award-winner, Venga follows in the tire marks of Kia Soul, which received "honourable mention" in 2009.

The red dot award

Product design is one of the world's major design contests and has been held by the Design Centre of North Rhine-Westphalia since 1955. This year, manufacturers from 57 countries vied for the award with a total of 4,252 product entries. The judging was entrusted to an international jury of highly respected design experts.

Judges scrutinized and tested the products, ranking them according to criteria such as level of innovation, functionality, ergonomics, durability, ecological compatibility and intuitive handling. The red dot award is also conferred to "communication design" and "design concept" categories.

Start/stop system and 7-year warranty

Designed especially for the European market and produced in Europe, Venga is available with a choice of four engines: two petrol and two diesel with 90 to 128 ps. The greenest model, the Venga 1.4 CRDi, comes with an ISG start/stop system, a carbon emission level of 117 grams per kilometre and fuel consumption of just 4.5 litres per 100 kilometres. The five-door MPV is 4.07 metres long and has a highly flexible boot (thanks, in part, to its twin floor levels and rear seats that can slide forward) that holds up to 1,341 litres. As with all of its cars in Europe, Kia gives a seven-year or 150,000-kilometre warranty on Venga.

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