The Magentis scored a reasonable four stars in official Euro NCAP crash tests, but many similar sized family cars like the Renault Laguna, Citroen C5 and Toyota Avensis achieved the maximum five star rating. There’s a good level of safety kit though, including front, side and curtain airbags and active head restraints to reduce whiplash injuries. There are also Isofix child seat mounts in the back.

The Magentis has a decent boot with 452 litres of space – that’s bigger, for example, than a Peugeot 407, but smaller than saloon versions of the Ford Mondeo or Mazda6, both of which offer at least 500 litres. The Kia suffers as it’s not a hatchback and there’s no estate version available either, so buyers after practicality will have to look elsewhere – Kia’s own Ceed SW is a good place to start.

Up front there are a few useful storage areas but nothing exceptionally practical.