Kia car insurance

A few years ago, spotting a Kia on the road was fairly rare, but these days it's a common sight. With their unique and instantly recognisable design, models like the compact Picanto and the practical Sedona are becoming increasingly desirable.

The Carens is the smaller of the two MPV’s produced by Kia and has been available in the UK since 2000. Now in its second generation, some versions come with seven seats so it’s ideal for families with more than two children, although big kids might struggle in the rear seats. It also comes with lots of kit to keep you safe and comfortable on journeys.

With a fairly low car insurance group range the Carens might not be an expensive car to insure.  The engine size is middle of the road too which will also help keep costs down.

With low car insurance groups and small engine sizes, this little run-around could be a relatively cheap car to insure.  Fuel economy is upwards of 47mpg and car tax ranges from £0 to £140 for a year (at current 2013 rates), depending on which model you opt for.  If you're looking for something a bit racier, perhaps have a look at our review of the Kia pro_cee'd GT.

New to UK roads in 2011, the Kia Optima is a family four-door saloon available with the Korean car manufacturer’s famous seven year warranty.

With good looks, plenty of kit as standard, and a frugal diesel engine, this is Kia's effort to try and tempt people away from the Ford Mondeos and Vauxhall Insignias that dominate this area of the car market. With Kia slowly transforming its image from a value brand to one of quality it might just manage it.

With a fairly limited variation in the range, the Optima sits near the middle of the car insurance group table, with a mid-range sized engine too.

With prices starting at £7,895+ on the road and Kia’s famous seven year warranty, no car tax on certain engines and between 53 and 67 mpg (again, dependent on engine), the Picanto stands as a reasonably priced and economical car. The Picanto is classed as city car, which means it is in the same league as the Ford Ka and Fiat 500, but does it have what it needs to take them on?

With a small engine and low insurance group, depending on your circumstances, this is likely to be fairly cheap to insure.

+Price quoted is for a 1.0 New Picanto 1, www.kia.co.uk, January 2015.

The Rio is an ideal car for city living. It has a low insurance group and small engine which means depending on your driver history, it should be fairly cheap to insure. The flipside of having a small engine is that it also makes the Rio quite an economical car. As well as being economical, the Rio's low emissions mean some of the models cost £0 to tax.

The Sedona is a large MPV like people carrier. It comes with a fairly big engine and above average insurance group. With that in mind, the Sedona could cost more to insure. Even the car tax for this model is quite expensive, with the lowest group being I, that'll set you back upwards of £220 a year (prices accurate as of Nov 2013).

Kia's largest car, the Sorento, is pretty much what you'd expect from a 4x4.  It has a reasonably large engine, quite high car insurance groups, and isn't light on car tax (vehicle excess duty). With that in mind, this isn't likely to be a cheap car to insure.

But that's not to say that it doesn't have a lot to offer, with features like cruise control, MP3 connectivity and rear parking sensors as standard, this car comes with a lot of extras which with other manufacturers you could have to pay separately for.

Only launched in 2009, you won’t see many Kia Souls on the streets of the UK. It’s aimed at a more youthful market, perhaps to compete with the likes of the Mini and Fiat 500? Any review you read of the Soul will comment on its distinctive look and will more than likely use the word ‘boxy’. 

The Soul is one of Kia's smaller cars. With a 1.6 engine it'll be nippier than the Picanto, but has a higher insurance group and tax bracket. This shouldn't be an expensive car to insure, but isn't likely to be that cheap either.

The Sportage is one of Kia's 4x4 models. Starting with a 1.6l engine and rising up to a maximum of 2.0l, the Sportage surprisingly doesn't have a very high insurance group range compared to other 4x4's. The car tax (vehicle excess duty) does however go from £125 for 12 months up to £260 for the same period†.

†Prices correct as of November 2013.

The Venga is a small people carrier in the same spirit as the Renault Grand Modus and the Citroen C3 Picasso. Despite its small body size, the Venga has a fair bit of room inside and the rear seats can be slid backwards and forwards to give more leg room or increase the boot space. 

One of Kia's smaller cars, the Venga boasts relatively small engine sizes perfect for city driving and a relatively low insurance group range.  Those combined make this car a great run around, or an ideal first car as it shouldn't be too expensive on car insurance, which is often an issue for new drivers.

*Information sourced from Parkers.co.uk

• Established - 1944
• President - Hyoung-Keun Lee
• Headquarters - Seoul, South Korea

Kia is South Korea's oldest car manufacturer and its first car, built in 1974, was actually the first car ever manufactured in Korea. Prior to producing cars, Kia made bicycles, motorbikes and trucks, and you might still see some of Kia's famous 3-wheeled trucks in Korea today.

Kia recently built a new US plant, which was a $1 billion investment, and it sponsors a variety of organisations, people and events, ranging from tennis player Rafael Nadal to the Vans Warped Tour (a punk rock festival in the US).

The name Kia is rougly translated as, "rising out of Asia", and the distinctive front end of all Kia cars is called the “tiger nose”.