Kia’s new car destined to succee’d

(Published February 2008)

Korean car firm Kia entered the European marketplace in 1991 and since then has tried hard to make its products measure up to the best of the European marques.
In their latest car, the family-oriented Kia cee’d, they have not only matched the best in Europe, but beaten many more illustrious car companies at their own game.
Burns Car Sales on the Dublin Road is Sligo’s Kia dealer and they have a full range of new cee’ds on offer, from the SW (for Sporty Wagon) estate model tested here to the brand new sporty three-door, the Pro_cee’d.
The new cee’d is Kia’s challenger in the Ford Focus/Volkswagen Golf class and it is the most thoroughly engineered car the company has ever produced.
This is reflected in even a brief acquaintance. Sit in to the cabin and the level of quality on offer is a step above what has come before in the Kia range. In fact, the design of the ergonomically sound dashboard and centre console is better than in many current Japanese cars.
The dashboard and all the controls are made with soft-touch plastics which offer a reassuring grip and feel like they will still be working perfectly in 10 or 15 years time. The steering wheel has controls for the stereo, which comes with an MP3 CD player and an auxiliary input in front of the gearstick for your iPod or other MP3 player.
A digital display just above the stereo gives information on temperature, open doors, radio station, date & time and the like. It is backed up by a trip-computer display in front of the driver with comprehensive information on speed, fuel consumption and distance.
The ventilation controls are intuitive and do a good job of keeping the large windscreen clear of condensation.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel feels reassuringly expensive and the gearshift is a neat size, not too large like some of the cee’ds rivals.
The cee’d SW that I tested recently had a 1.6 litre common-rail turbodiesel engine producing a punchy 115bhp, which endowed the cee’d with a great turn of pace, particularly in the lower gears.
There is plenty of overtaking pace available at the drop of a gear, while the economic engine will still return 50mpg on average and drop no lower than 40mpg even with a heavy right foot.
On the move, the Kia continues to inspire confidence. Direct steering weighs up in the corners a little, but is never heavy and proves a boon at low speed manoeuvres.
The cee’d hangs on well in corners. The standard 16 inch alloys and low-profile tyres combine with the Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) system to limit slip and keep the driver in control of the car, even in emergency manoeuvres.
The ride comfort is something of a revelation for a car in this class. Where the likes of the Ford Focus goes for greater body control at the expense of a harsh thumping ride, the cee’d strikes a brilliant compromise, making swift progress effortless, both for the driver and crucially for the passengers.
The cee’d will seat five in comfort. There is plenty of room up front and the driver’s seat comes with a great range of adjustment, including lumbar support and seat height adjustment.
Even with the driver’s seat pushed right back, there was still sufficient legroom behind for an adult of average height or a teenage child.
From the outside, the cee’d manages to look more like an elongated hatchback than a full-on estate car. The clever swept-back angle of the pillar behind the rear door lends it a purposeful stance and disguises the fact that the boot is, in fact, quite large by class standards.
The design is cohesive too, with silver roof rails adding to the visual integration of the longer rear. While it might not be the most handsome car from the front, there are no awkward angles in the Kia cee’d, unlike say the rear of a Renault Megane hatchback or the profile of a Honda Civic.
This goes for the range as a whole. The five door is a neat design which has taken cues from the Opel Astra and Toyota Auris but is far better resolved than either.
The three-door Pro_cee’d has a lower roof line and more aggressive shoulders to go with its more sporting aspirations. It is definitely the looker of the range and is a handsome car which will surely find favour with young male and female drivers.
All of the cee’d models put safety to the forefront. Driver and passenger airbags, active headrest, anti-lock brakes, side and curtain airbags are all standard, as are seatbelt pre-tensioners, ISOFIX rear child-seat anchors, and a passenger airbag cut-off switch, for rear-facing child seats.
Unquestionably the finest selling points of the Kia cee’d range comes not from the car itself, but the warranty.
Kia offer a seven-year or 150,000km warranty, an unprecedented step in the class and one which has caught almost all the opposition flat-footed.
The cee’ds other big selling point is value for money. The less powerful Ford Focus 1.6 turbodiesel estate starts from E24,735. The Opel Astra Estate in 1.7 turbodiesel form is north of E26,000 and still can’t match the punchy engine in the cee’d which weighs in with a E22,495 list price.
Kia’s aim with this car was to be taken seriously as a maker of desirable cars. They have succeeded with the cee’d.