Kia sows cee’d of success

The new Kia cee’d is a beautiful looking car

If a stylish set of wheels is non-negotiable in your search for a compact family car, then you should take a look at the new Kia cee’d.

Fans of Top Gear will recognise its predecessor as the car from its Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment, but get that image out of your mind.

Unlike the outgoing model, the new cee’d is a beautiful, sleek, sporty-looking compact. Bullet-like in its appearance, it has striking looking windows and front lights. The windows, from the outside, look a lot smaller than they actually are.

In fact, the whole car looks a lot smaller on the outside than it actually is in the inside.

A 5-seater, five-door hatch, the Kia cee’d can be converted to an even more spacious four seater if you choose to pull down the arm rest/cup holder in the middle rear.

Legroom both back and front is generous, and the boot is also quite big. Cargo space can be increased by lowering the rear seats.

The cockpit in the Kia cee’d is functional and well laid out

Inside the cabin, the test car had a dark but nice looking fabric interior, with grey inserts to brighten it up. Seats were low lying and comfortable.

The cockpit was well laid out and functional. The test car was also well specced, with cruise control/limiter, Bluetooth, air conditioning and steering wheel mounted audio controls. There were also parking sensors, front and back.

Infotainment-wise, the Kia cee’d I was driving had radio/MP3/CD, with USB and Aux ports well positioned at the bottom of the centre console, with a shelf for the phone or MP3 player.

There was also a choice of steering modes with Flex Steer, ranging from normal mode, which offered medium steering, to sport, which had a heavier feel to it. Comfort mode, meanwhile, offered a lighter touch.

The test car was a six-speed manual diesel and I enjoyed driving it. The majority of my time in it was in the city, with motorway driving thrown in for good measure. There was also the obligatory supermarket car park.

The Kia cee’d did well on all routes, handling well and offering a lovely smooth drive. Flex Steer meant you could choose which was the best mode to drive in depending on the situation. It was also very easy to park and was pretty fast at the lights.

Overall, I found the Kia cee’d to be a beautiful, well specced car that will take you anywhere in style.

The Kia cee’d comes with a 7-year warranty and is available now, with prices starting from €18,995 for the 1.4-litre TX petrol. The mid-range 1.6l EX diesel model I was driving costs from €23,295.

Tech Spec:
Engine: 1.6 (128ps) diesel
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 10.9seconds
Maximum Speed: 197 km/h
Combined fuel consumption: 4.3l/100km
CO2 emissions: 114g/km
Annual road tax: €160 (Tax Band A)

Visit the Kia Ireland website or its Facebook page for further details.

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