Skip to content
News

Kia guns for Focus with new cee’d

<em>Kia cee’d 2 1.6 CRDi 6-speed manual ISG car test review</em> <br /><strong>IS there no stopping Kia? New models keep tumbling out of the Korean car maker – and they’re all good. This time it’s the Ford Focus challenger, the new cee’d hatchback. </strong><br /><br /><em> Car review: Sue Baker</em><br />

3 min read
Share
Kia ceed MY12 front2

 

 

Kia cee’d 2 1.6 CRDi 6-speed manual ISG business car test review

Car review: Sue Baker

 

What is it?

Step past the stupid punctuation and the latest cee’d is the new standard-bearer for South Korean automotive ambition.

Kia’s new-generation cee’d is now a much more convincing Focus and Golf-chaser than its predecessor. All-round better, it moves much closer to the top of the class than the original cee’d launched back in 2006.

This second-generation Kia cee’d has acquired a wedgier shape and a significant upgrade in quality and driveability.

The cee’d’s cabin has shifted forward for a more rakish roofline and sportier stance. There are two petrol engines, two turbodiesels and two six-speed transmissions, including Kia’s first twin-clutch automated manual in the new cee’d line up.

Prices for the range start from £14,395 for a 1.4 litre manual and rise to a rather lofty £23,795 for a top-spec 1.6 CRDi with the new ISG manual transmission.

What’s hot?

  • Longer, narrower and lower than its predecessor, the cee’d is now more wedge-shaped for a sportier and more upmarket look
  • Better aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.30 Cd, honed in 100 hours of wind tunnel work
  • Much improved driving dynamics, close up there with the class leaders
  • Range of models from 1.4 petrol with manual transmission to 1.6 turbodiesel with a dual-clutch automated manual box
  • Six versions in the range with 13 per cent company car tax BIK, four on 15 per cent
  • Lowest CO2 figure in the range is an impressive 97 g/km, in the 1.6 CRDi ‘1’ version with the automated manual transmission. It has standard stop-start, a 122 mph top speed and 11.5 seconds 0-62 acceleration time
  • Combined fuel economy figures range from 46.3 to 76.3 mpg
  • New state-of-the-art direct injection petrol engine
  • Power outputs from 89 to 133 bhp, torque from 137 to 260 Nm
  • Five trim grades: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 4 Tech
  • Across-the-range standard kit includes two-way steering wheel adjustment, height adjustable driving seat, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors
  • That long Kia warranty – seven years or 100,000 miles
  • Range topping cee’d 4 Tech has a panoramic sunroof, 10-way adjustable driving seat with memory, parallel park assist, parking sensors, lane departure warning and Xenon adaptive front lighting
  • Designed and built in Europe
  • Styling directed by design chief Peter Schreyer, who also has Audi and Volkswagen on his CV

 

What’s not?

  • The silly name with a lower case initial and a comma
  • Kia pricing is climbing along with the quality ascent of its products
  • The styling may be a bit too much of a wedge for some tastes
  • The CRDi engine needs to be quieter
  • Only available as a five-door hatchback for now

 

Wedgy: Sportier and upmarket look to new generation Kia cee'd

Related