Kia Cee'd
Kia's Ford Focus rival comes in three guises: standard five-door hatchback, sporty three-door Pro_cee’d and practical Cee’d SW estate. The names may sound unusual, but all three are very impressive rivals to the VW Golf and Ford Focus. All models feature spacious interiors that have plenty of standard features and big boots. The Cee’d range features decent petrol and diesel engines, and while the model doesn’t handle as well as a Golf or Focus, it's cheaper to buy than its more obvious rivals.
Watch our overview of the Kia Cee'd range
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- pros:
- Seven-year. 100,000-mile warranty
- Soft-touch feeling of quality
- Cabin space front and rear
- cons:
- Not as exciting to drive as a Focus
- Not as visually arresting as other hatchbacks
- Cee'd 1 feels too basic
The five-door Cee’d is Kia's best-ever family hatchback. It proves that the Korean company can compete with the best on offer from Europe and Japan's car makers, and in some respects even exceed them – particularly in terms of value for money. While the cabin materials feel as good as those in the Vauxhall Astra and Honda Civic, the Cee’d undercuts both on price and has lots of space and standard equipment. The driving position could be better, though.
- pros:
- Seven year warranty offers peace of mind
- Large, spacious boot is easy to access
- Good to look at, comfortable to drive
- cons:
- Volkswagen Golf offers better handling
- Second hand values could be better
- Noisy at motorway cruising speeds
Designed in Germany, and built in Slovakia, the Kia Cee'd SW is as focused on UK drivers as the likes of the Volkswagen Golf Estate and Vauxhall Astra Sport Tourer. At 4.5 meters long, it's 235mm longer than the standard hatchback, and has a much larger boot. With 534 litres of space on offer, plus split and fold rear seats that boost that number to an impressive 1664 litres it's a seriously practical boot. Not only is the Kia's load area one of the biggest in class, but it's easy to use too, thanks to its huge hatchback and flat load area.
There are no prices & specs for this edition
- pros:
- Lots of space inside
- Comfortable and easy to drive
- Strong on value
- cons:
- Depreciation will be higher than rivals
- Steering is overly light
- Not as nice to drive as a Focus
The new Kia Cee’d is more of a rival than ever before for the Ford Focus and VW Golf. It's a stylish, spacious small family car with a quality interior, lots of equipment and economical engines. And, of course, there's Kia's excellent buying package that includes a seven year warranty. The ride errs on the side of comfort rather than sportiness, which is no bad thing, but there is a slightly firm edge to it on poor road surfaces. Engines available are two petrols and two diesels – a 1.4 and 1.6 in both – while there's only the one five-door body style at the moment.
