Kia Ceed hatchback - Reliability & safety

The Ceed should be an easy purchase based on the remote chances of it going wrong and a pretty strong safety record. Reassuring performances in our Driver Power owner satisfaction survey and a seven-year warranty mean you’re unlikely to be left stranded, or reaching into your wallet unexpectedly.

Kia Ceed reliability

While this Ceed is an all-new model, built on new underpinnings and with a new petrol engine, we’d be shocked if it's a reliability disaster. Kia has staked its reputation on dependability in recent years and the brand came an impressive sixth out of 32 manufacturers in our Driver Power survey, 14 spots ahead of old customer favourite Skoda, which has dropped down the rankings. 

The Kia Ceed was the first of two Kias to hit the Driver Power top 10 in 2023 (the EV6 sits in seventh place). Owners appreciate its excellent value and good looks, for which it’s ranked fourth and third respectively.

Breaking down the numbers reveals an eighth place for exterior style and a seventh for exterior-quality feel. Interior design notched up a 10th-place rating, and owners reckon that the Ceed has the 12th most comfortable front seats. There’s a 20th place for boot space, while ride and handling rank ninth and 15th.

These strong all-round results are enhanced by an 18th for running costs, 15th for reliability and 16th for user-friendly controls. But the 73rd place for gearbox smoothness is a setback.

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Safety

Euro NCAP has crash-tested the third-generation Ceed, and it scores four stars as standard. Both its predecessors scored five stars on less stringent tests, and this new car offers the maximum five-star rating if you choose the optional safety pack.

For this new model, more safety kit has been added, with driving assistance technology including driver attention warnings, lane-keeping assistance, auto-dipping headlights and autonomous emergency braking fitted as standard.

The Ceed is also the first Kia to get lane-following assistance, which not only matches the speed of the vehicle ahead on the motorway, but also detects road markings to help you stay in the middle of the lane.