Kia Cee’d review (24/10/2012)

IT may be, as the old saying has it, that flattery is the best form of imitation, but I must say I was quite surprised during my recent test of the new Kia Cee’d by the numbers of people who complimented the car in the mistaken view that it was a new Ford Focus.

It was a mistake you could easily forgive people for making because there is no doubting that if you were to compare the look of the new Kia family hatchback with any of the

other contenders in the segment, it is the Ford Focus that would draw the majority of comparisons.

While it is an undoubted fact that the South Korean manufacturer has the top European contenders such as Focus and VW Golf in it sights when it comes to expanding its sales impact in this part of the world. But, while it might be stretching it a little to maintain the Cee’d is a mere knock-off of the Ford, it is true to say there are definite visual similarities.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing – particularly for the Kia – given the ongoing success of the Blue Oval’s family car stalwart, but you’d have to say that when the two are side by side the differences are far more obvious than when seen in isolation.

For all that, however, the Kia is a very sharp looker and when you compare it with its immediate predecessor, it certainly fulfils Kia’s stated aim of producing a car which is more sophisticated, more refined and more economic than what went before. Their claim that it is also a more engaging driving experience than the original Cee’d, is something we will deal with in more detail later.

At the heart of the new design is the ‘Tiger nose’ front grille, which has now formally been adopted as the face of Kia and is now seen across the company’s range. But front the grille back, the Cee’d design exudes flair and imagination and it is undoubtedly a smart looking machine.

The pleasing nature of the exterior look is matched inside the Cee’d too and it has to be said that what is on offer here is light years away from what we might have seen from Kia only a few short years ago.

What with innovative instrumentation and a classy mixture of leather and chrome touches and an impressive mixture of tactile plastics, the Cee’d has raised its own bar significantly and in doing so has surely put the frighteners on a lot of European manufacturers who are having difficulty coping with this Korean upstart.

And they have every right to be frightened as Kia has certainly upped its game and it is now right to believe that it has the segment’s class leaders in its sights. Throw in other stuff like the extensive standard specification list and the seven year warranty and it is easy to see why the Cee’d is moving off garage forecourts in larger numbers than so many rivals.

On the engine front, things are fairly familiar. We tried the 1.6 litre diesel with an output of 126 bhp and available torque of 220 Nm between 1,500 and 2,750 rpm; this translates into a decent top speed of 197 kph and a 0-100 kph capability of 10.9 seconds.

Tied in with a 6-speed manual gearbox, this is an engine which has to be worked hard to achieve its maximum capabilities, but if you’re looking for a workaday machine with honest credentials, you probably won’t want to look much further — especially so when you’re getting a return of 4.3 l/100 km, which translates into an excess of 65 mpg.

All very good thus far, then. But when it comes to on-road dynamics — and despite the fact the Kia has gone down the road of providing a multi-link rear suspension to match those of the class leaders — the Cee’d does not quite look as good as you might imagine.

That is not, I must insist, to say that the Kia is a bad car to drive and be driven in. Far from it. Rather it is a very good car to drive and be driven in, but maybe not quite up to the standard of the class leaders.

I am not saying it is bad – far from it – but it is not as dynamic as some rivals and it would seem that Kia has not quite yet got the hand of suspension tuning for European tastes. It is a very comfortable car and rides well, but it is not quite yet at the place it would like to be.

On the plus side of the balance sheet, it is also worth mentioning the amount of space on offer here is well up to scratch — both for passengers and cargo — and more generous than some rivals. This makes the Cee’d a very attractive proposition from the practicality point of view.

Kia has certainly upped its game in recent times — as we have seen with such as the Rio and the Sportage — and the new Cee’d certainly reflects the strides the company has made towards being a serious player in one of the most competitive market segments of the lot. It is good value, has a lot to offer even in baseline spec and that seven year warranty is a very definite plus factor for many buyers.

The bottom line is that this is a car which can compete with the best and, that being the case, it should definitely be on the must-see shortlist of anyone in the market for a family car.

Colley’s lowdown

The Cost: from 18,995 (23,295 as tested).

The Engine: a 1.6 turbodiesel which offers decent performance and excellent economy.

The Comfort Zone: a very comprehensive specification list — even for the entry level models.

The Competition: Citroen C4, Fiat Bravo, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai i30, Mazda 3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Note, Opel Astra, Peugeot 308, Renault Megane, Seat Leon, Skoda Octavia, Toyota Auris, VW Golf.