Kia has decided it’s time to dip its
toes into the hot-hatch waters, and take on the legend that is the Golf GTI,
now in its seventh incarnation. So can the pro_cee’d GT with its 1.6-litre
turbo engine kicking out 201bhp, while taking you to 60 in 7.4 seconds, and on
to a top speed of 143, and giving 38.2mpg, take on the ‘Daddy’ of hot-hatches?
Oh and it only costs £19.995.
On
paper it doesn’t quite stack up to the GTI’s stats, but you have to remember
this is Kia’s first attempt and
going punch for punch with the GTI would be a first round knock-out. What Kia has done is create a
‘warm-hatch’ to test the waters before jumping in the deep end.
From
the second you set eyes on the GT you tell this car mean business, the company
has taken the already sporty looking cee’d and given it a few styling tweaks to
make it look even sportier, thankfully Kia didn’t go too far and I
think the looks of this car spot on.
There
are some nice little touches, like the red stripe across the bottom of the
front grill – the original Golf GTI had a red outline around its front grill.
You also get 18-inch alloys, red brake calipers, dual exhaust and ‘ice cube’
LED daytime running lights.
Things
don’t get any worse on the inside, as you would expect from Kia you get a whole
lot of kit for your money – way too much to list – let’s just say if you can
think of it, it’s probably there.
One
thing that is missing from the ‘base’ model is sat nav, which you get if you
pay an extra £2,500 for the Tech pack which includes xenon lights, heated seats
and sat nav. One surprise on the inside is the Recaro seats; yes a Kia with Recaro
seats.
Not
everything on the inside is perfect though – you can see where costs have been
cut, for the most part the plastics and finish are great, but in certain places
they have reverted to type.
Kia seems to have raided
Peugeot’s parts bin from the 80s, with a single strip clock and info screen on
top of the dash just in front of the windscreen in a nice orange colour. But
overall the cabin isn’t a bad place to sit. The seats are comfy and nicely
supportive; the rear passengers get a good deal of space thanks to the long
wheelbase and there is a decent size boot for car of this class.
Let’s
get to the point of a ‘hot hatch, how it drives and goes. For a first attempt
it’s a very good one. Put your foot down and the initial getaway isn’t going to
set any records, but once it gets into its stride, the mid-range power is
surprisingly good from the 1.6. Show it a nice B-road, and as long as you don’t
push it too much, it handles them with aplomb. As soon as you start to push it
a little too hard you get a fair bit of understeer, but back it off by 10% and
the chassis and suspension do a great job of putting smile on your face.
The
engine is probably the weakest point of the GT, when you rev it to the 6,000rpm
limit, where you get the full 201bhp it does sound a bit harsh. At town speed
there does seem to bit a slight touch of turbo lag when you request full power.
What Kia has created is a warm-hatch
not a hot-hatch, but it has all the power and poise you would ever want from a
‘hot-hatch’ if you keep it at 90%, at a fraction of the cost, plus there is Kia seven-year, 100,000 mile
transferable warranty for your peace of mind. Kia really does
have the power to surprise.
Statistics
Price: $19,995
0-60 mph: 7.4
Max speed: 143
CO2 (g/km): 171
Combined mpg: 38.2
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