As the only car in Europe to offer a seven-year warranty, the new Kia Cee’d is forcing rival manufacturers to sit up and take notice.
The parent company may be Korean, but this is a car designed by Europeans for Europeans. It’s been crafted in Europe - in Slovenia to be exact - and the man behind the design project, Peter Schreyer, was once head of design for Volkswagen.
Thanks to its long wheelbase, wide track and tall roofline, the Cee’d comfortably swallows up a five-person family. And with on-the-road prices starting around the £11,000 mark, it also adds up to great pound-for-pound value.
With prices for the range-topping models peaking at around £14,000, Graham Dallaway reckons it adds up to good value for money - quite possibly the best in this sector of the market.
“Paying this sort of money for a family hatchback, you might expect it to be a bit basic or flimsy. But nothing could be further from the truth,” Graham says.
“It handled very well, has a very good braking system, and the vision was good too. The split rear seats are excellent for people like me who like DIY and want to transport bulky items, and the controls are very well positioned - including particularly good lights for night driving.
“There’s good leg room in the back, rear vision for parking is excellent, and it has ample boot space for family shopping.
“In fact, the only real downside from my point of view - and it’s just a small point - were the gears when travelling on the motorway. They seem to be a bit on the low side, and you find yourself wanting to change up to sixth despite only having five gears.”
Quality fabrics, doors that shut with a reassuring “thunk”, and thoughtful design all help add to the Cee’d appeal, and Kia has collaborated with Michelin to develop tyres which minimise rolling resistance, improving fuel economy and emissions.
Some of the plastic interior finishing touches still leave a bit to be desired - Graham felt the console grey trim had a tendency to cause visibility “wipe out” on some sunny days - but this is a vehicle which, on the whole, has evidently been benchmarked against the best Europe has to offer.
The entry-level model includes air conditioning, an MP3-compatible CD stereo, front seats with height and lumbar adjustment to complement a rake and reach adjustable steering column, electric front windows and six airbags.
For the GS model you can add 16-inch alloys to the list, alongside heated and electrically adjustable door mirrors, remote central locking and a stereo with USB and auxiliary inputs.
Go for the LS version and you’ll get a fully automatic climate control system with air quality system, rear electric windows, front fog lamps and half-leather trim.
Although you hear much talk of the seven-year warranty deal, the actual package isn’t quite that generous; it’s five years or 100,000 miles, plus another two years for the powertrain.
This does include a paint warranty of five years, however, and a 10-year anti-perforation clause - and it puts mainstream rivals like Ford and Vauxhall in the shade.
The fallback reassurance of trouble-free motoring could well be enough to tip the balance for many potential customers, and insurance ratings also look very reasonable.
The 1.6-litre engine is also a star performer at the fuel pumps, giving just over 44 miles to the gallon. At just over 152g/km, emissions aren’t bad either.
Which leaves just one question: how did Kia come up with the name ‘Cee’d'? Kia’s marketing team explain: “We wanted to emphasise that the Cee’d isn’t just a Korean car adapted for Europe, but a European car that just happens to come from a Korean manufacturer.
So we borrowed the initials of the European Economic Community, or CEE, and added ‘ED’ for European Design, knocking out the third ‘e’ and replacing it with an apostrophe.”
Phew!
Share this article:
What are these?