Kia Cee’d: A league of its own

3 minute read  |  July 23, 2017

Not in the classic sense; this isn’t a timeless silver screen icon draped in class and preened to perfection. This is the new style beauty, showing a little leg on Instagram, while promoting a new energy supplement.

This is a new school beauty, with a body and interior that pitch it comfortably against the Golf and the Focus. But despite its looks, is there anything under the makeup or is this another Kardashian in the making?

Overview

The Kia Cee’d comes in numerical order, 1 to 4, with a price range that ascends accordingly. The ‘1’ is the entry level, standard fayre for those on a budget, featuring a rear spoiler, 15in wheels, heated door mirrors, hill start assist and front electric windows (because no one cares about the comfort of the back-seat passengers). Internally you will find the usual ‘mod cons’ like Bluetooth, USB connectivity, air con, a cooled glovebox and DAB radio.

The ‘2’ adds folding door mirrors (seriously why aren’t these standard???), cruise control, vanity mirrors, front foglights and LED day running lights.

A cheeky upgrade to the ‘3’ will provide you with luxuries such as 16in wheels (every inch counts), dual zone climate control, automatic wipers, electronically adjustable lumbar support, and Kia’s seven-inch infotainment system featuring TomTom powered sat nav and reversing camera (whatever happened to just blindly pulling out and hoping for the best?).

The ‘4’ is essentially a Transformer. With electric sunroof, adaptive xenon headlights, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, front parking sensors and carefully selected Kia safety tech. Keep an eye out for the ‘4’ fighting a Decepticon at a cinema near you, very soon.

The GT range adds sporty upgrades such as bodykits, twin exhausts, 18in alloys, 17in brake discs and a plethora of GT-line specced interior details which would decimate my word count.

On the road 

Aside from the bells and whistles, the most important aspect of any car is the driving – no one wants a £20,000 paperweight.

If the first Kia Cee’d aspired to be a ford Focus, the new version aims to mirror the VW Golf, something it does with aplomb. The Cee’d is comfortable, maintaining a ride that invokes quality, refinement and a surprising amount of agility.

Considering Manchester is the pothole capital of the world (disclaimer: that’s probably false) the absorbency makes the ride smooth and ‘cushy’ with the adjustable lumbar support of the ‘3’. In other words, your back is in good hands.

Saving the environment and your wallet

We spent a good amount of time with the 1.6 CRDi ISG ‘2’ model and comfortably got about 70mpg. We’re told it also comes under the 100g/km CO2 barrier, but as we didn’t have any equipment on hand to gather accurate emission readings (I know, right!) we can’t say for certain. Although, after the whole VW debacle it’s likely Kia aren’t going to start exaggerating such claims.

Below are some facts and figures provided by the team at TopGear.com on the various models.

Title	0-62	CO2	MPG	BHP
1.6 GDi GT 5dr	7.3s	170g/km	38.2	201
1.4 ‘1’ 5dr	12.3s	138g/km	47.1	98
1.6 CRDi ISG ‘1’ 5dr	9.5s	94g/km	78.5	134

Seven-year warranty 

One of the key selling points for the Kia is their seven-year warranty. Kia provide this at no extra cost, covering your vehicle for 2,555 days or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. They are also able to transfer the warranty to future owners making this an attractive vehicle for reselling down the line.

A seven-year warranty means that Kia have confidence in their vehicles, something which is refreshing to see from a big car maker. Kia are the only manufacturer to offer this kind of warranty on all their vehicles. With that in mind, it may be worth the price of admission for many buyers looking for a vehicle without the potential hassle of any future problems. 

Should you buy one?

It all depends on what you want from a car. If you’re after a comfortable ride, that oozes sex appeal and could be up for a part in the next Transformers movie, why not. It also doesn’t hurt that the CRDi model offers excellent miles to the gallon, with a respectable BHP and low emissions.

All this, alongside an industry leading seven-year warranty, means the new Kia Cee’d gets a ‘thumbs up’ from us.

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