Road test: Kia cee’d ISG GT-Line

For mainstream car engine designers, less is more. Generally, this means smaller capacity engines with higher power outputs, helped by turbo charging.

Makes such as VW and Ford have gone down this route, as having three, rather than four, cylinders means that the engine does away with a quarter of its moving parts. Since making them go round takes energy, this impacts on the amount of fuel it uses.

Now Kia has joined this club with a 1.0 turbo petrol triple, the first member of a new family of engines, appearing for the first time in a mildly revamped cee’d.

Despite its weird name, this is a car with plenty of other skills, which have been enhanced by the 1.0 engine, or a new, 1.6 diesel, available with a seven-speed duel clutch self-shifting transmission for the first time. Older 1.4 and 1.6 petrols remain.

Space doesn’t permit a detailed rundown of the visual and spec upgrades visited on the car (illuminated USB port and extra bits of chrome anyone?), but it remains swoopy looking outside and decently spacious within.

The 1.0 is offered in two states of tune. The more powerful 118bhp version pulls very well from low speeds. You’d never guess it was a tiddler. Kia claims 57.6mpg combined, which means real-world economy ought to be 40-plus mpg, and the car comes with a seven- year/100,000 warranty.
So the reconstituted cee’d is efficient, well made, decently equipped and easy to live with, although at more than £20k, our GT-Line version was no longer cheap.

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Kia gives its cee'd hatchback a fresh new look for 2016

Kia has carried out a comprehensive upgrade of its popular Kia cee’d, a model that has provided the foundation for the company’s continuing success in Europe over recent years.

With more dynamic performance and Kia’s distinct style, the upgraded cee’d offers buyers a car built to meet the exacting standards of quality and design demanded by European buyers.

Kia’s European designers have evolved the interior and exterior styling of the current cee’d into an exciting new look, with the power train team developing a wider range of engines and transmissions.

The improvements include Kia’s all-new three-cylinder 1.0-litre T-GDI engine, as well as a range of new safety, comfort and convenience upgrades.

The changes apply to every model in the cee’d range, incorporating the five-door cee’d hatchback, Sportswagon and three-door pro_cee’d.

The upgraded model will come with a new ‘GT Line’ specification, offering buyers the sporty looks and dynamics of the GT models and the versatility of the conventional cee’d model family.

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The Kia Cee'd is a must-have car

You've got to hand it to them. Their dramatic turnaround has been nothing less than remarkable over the last five years and its new Cee'd — despite its pointless apostrophe — is a wonderful thing in Sportwagon guise.

The Cee'd, made famous by its stint as Top Gear's 'reasonably priced car', has stolen sales from the established players in the hatchback sector such as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf and is set to win more fans in its refreshed estate form.

A 'GT Line' trim package has been released and debuts on the Sportwagon, which takes sporty styling cues from the handsome ProCee'd GT, with more aggressive bumpers and a twin exhaust adding to its already large appeal. Estate cars' styling is notoriously tricky to get right, but Kia has got it just right. That handsome Peter Schreyer-designed 'tiger nose' front grille appears once again and it's actually a bit of a looker; the front has a stylish appearance with daytime running lights, the sides have swooping, graceful lines and the rear follows Kia's model-wide blueprint.

First impressions count for a lot with me and I'll admit it, I'm impressed. Its interior feels extremely well-made, there's not much in the way of scratchy plastics to ignite one's derision and its optional satellite navigation is a doddle to use. It's a pleasant place to be with masses of space, with 1,642 litres of room in the cavernous boot.

Rewind back just a handful of years and Kia's offering was a very different proposition. Style-free Rios with the scratchiest plastics known to man and woeful seven-seat Sedonas with beige upholstery dominated the marque's line-up. Our test car, fitted with a 1.0-litre engine, is enhanced by a small turbocharger and produces 118bhp. You'd perhaps think — like I did — that its small capacity would maybe feel a little underwhelming in a car the Sportwagon's size but it's actually a great fit. It takes 11 seconds to get to 60mph, which feels adequate on the road. That turbo gives torque, so you're never lacking sufficient grunt. It's quiet on the move, too, but there's the hint of a satisfying three-cylinder growl above 4,000rpm. Mainstream manufacturers are moving towards downsizing their engines and Kia's effort is unquestionably a great example of it.

Its six-speed manual gearbox has a nice action to it without ever feeling notchy, visibility is great thanks to unintrusive A-pillars and any thoughts of pre-2010 Kias are dissipated thanks to piano black trim and quality materials throughout the cabin. The GT Line has three steering modes — Normal, Comfort and Sport — but they're the only disappointing features in the whole package. It's best left in its default mode, as Comfort mode tends to feel just too disconnected and Sport dials in more steering weight which just feels unnatural. Leave it in Normal and there's a good balance, although feedback could never be described as a strong aspect.

ONE positive thing about its lightness is the car's excellent turning circle. It makes for simple manoeuvring and, for quite a long car, is an easy thing to park thanks to it. Stop-start technology - a standard feature on the GT Line - plays a big role in the mightily impressive fuel economy figures. Around 50mpg is claimed and with that comes cheap running costs, so it's most definitely a major plus point.

As you'd expect from a car aiming for families, a broad range of engines are on offer. A 1.4-litre petrol with 99bhp starts the choices, followed by a 133bhp 1.6 petrol. Diesels come in the form of an 89bhp 1.6 and turbocharged units in either 108bhp or 134bhp guise.

Prices start from £21,220 in GT Line specification, which far undercuts its European rivals, but don't think that that leaves you without equipment. A seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system - which houses the satellite navigation - is standard, as is the reversing camera, 17-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and an impressive LCD speed display.

Since its introduction in 2006, more than one million Cee'ds have been sold so it's arguably the marque's most important car. Now into its tenth year, it's better than ever and that enticing seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty remains.

The Cee'd has come on leaps and bounds and the Sportwagon is now a genuine alternative to ten-a-penny Golf and Focus estates. The future is looking very bright for the muchmaligned South Korean manufacturer and the handsome new GT Line is certain to steal yet more sales from its well-established rivals.

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Kia Ceed facelift Test Drive Review

Kia has given the Ceed a mid-life makeover to help it compete against mid-size rivals including the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf. In the update, the Ceed's 1.6-litre diesel motor jumps in power from 126hp to 134hp, while emissions fall by up to 10g/km.

Meanwhile, Kia has introduced a new dual-clutch gearbox, which cuts emissions for automatic models by nearly 25% - meaning much lower benefit-in-kind payments for drivers.

A fleet-friendly 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol unit is also now available - in 98hp and 118hp guises - and returns claimed economy of 57.6mpg and emissions of just 115g/km, which places it into the 18% BIK band - the same as the more expensive manual 136hp diesel.

Also arriving with the updated Ceed is a GT Line trim, which offers the sporty styling of the powerful GT model without the performance or increased fuel costs.

The automatic diesel model provides reasonably strong performance while being capable of 67.3mpg and 109g/km(down from 72.4mpg and 102g/km for the manual). The new gearbox offers relatively smooth changes, although it can't compete with Volkswagen's DSG gearbox for ultimate smoothness or speed.

The diesel engine itself also can't match the refinement of rival motors, with a little more noise and vibration getting into the cabin than drivers might expect.

The suspension, on the other hand, provides a comfortable - though slightly firm - ride, although the payoff is that the Ceed proves nimble around corners with several steering weight settings to choose from: Comfort, Normal and Sport. There is little wind or road noise inside, too, which makes the Ceed quiet on the motorway.

More impressive, though, is the 1.0-litre petrol. In 118hp form this engine feels smooth, quiet and responsive, offering greater acceleration than the on-paper 10.7 seconds 0-62mph figure suggests.

The Ceed's interior feels well built and features a clear layout, but more upmarket rivals such as the VW Golf and BMW 1-series are more tactile and nicely designed. Space in both rows of seats, though, is generous, with even the middle rear seat offering decent leg and headroom. Visibility, however, isn't great, with large pillars front and rear.

Whole-life cost figures for the updated Ceed are yet to be released, but a list price of £23,730 for the 
range-topping 1.6 CRDi 4 DCT seems high, meaning that the stylish Seat Leon 1.6 TDI 110 SE Technology DSG (45.7p) is likely to offer better value.

Opt for a lower-specification Ceed, however, and the tables are likely to be turned, as '4' trim is stuffed with high-end kit and carries a £1600 premium over still well equipped '3' models.

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2015 Kia Cee'd Facelift Revealed

The facelifted version of Kia’s Cee’d has been revealed and will go on sale in the UK this October.

What is it?

A significant mid-life update for the current Kia Cee’d, the Korean manufacturer’s mass-market C-segment hatchback.

Alongside minor styling changes inside and out, Kia is promising improved ride and handling as well as lower noise levels inside.

What engines can I choose from?

Most significant is Kia’s new 1.0-litre engine, which is available in both 98bhp and 118bhp forms. It joins the car’s existing 1.6-litre CRDi diesel, which has been upgraded to emit lower levels of CO2, at 94g/km.

Higher-powered versions of the 1.6 CRDi have also been upgraded and now produce 134bhp and 210lb ft of torque. This engine will be available with Kia’s new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, while six-speed manual and six-speed automatic options are also available elsewhere in the range.

The Cee’d’s existing 1.6 and 1.4-litre petrol engines remain unchanged, as does the current 1.4-litre diesel.

Buyers opting for the high-spec Cee’d GT and Procee'd GT will find that the 201bhp 1.6-litre engine in that car has also been upgraded, dropping its 0-62mph acceleration time to 7.6sec while lowering its CO2 emissions to 170g/km.

How much equipment does it come with?

Kia says it has upgraded the Cee’d’s safety technology with new blind spot monitoring, park assistance and speed limit information systems.

The car also gets the latest version of Kia’s infotainment system, which includes a new connected services function that allows live traffic updates and other information to be sent to the car directly.

How much will it cost?

Prices for the facelifted Kia Cee’d will be announced closer to the car’s UK launch, but we don’t expect prices to increase far beyond the £14,305 starting price of today’s car.

How good are its rivals?

The Cee’d is competing in the same heavily populated family hatchback segment as the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and Seat Leon. The Focus and Leon both currently hold a four-star rating on What Car?, while the Golf has a full five-star rating. The current Cee’d gets a four-star rating.

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