Practicality 4.0/5

MODEL TESTED: Kia Cee’d 1.6 T-GDI GT PRICE: £23,610 ENGINE: 1.6-litre 4cyl, 201bhp

WITH its 434-litre boot, the Mégane serves up strong practicality, as well as decent performance and agile handling. However, fold the rear seats down and the 1, 237-litre load bay this creates is actually the smallest of our three test cars. There’s also a pronounced loading lip that you’ll have to lift cases past, while our test car didn’t have any underfloor storage as it featured a space-saver spare and a Bose subwoofer.

Inside, you get lots of cubbyholes up front, and the air vents in the rear are a nice touch. However, while the front seats are supportive, they eat into legroom in the back slightly.

At least the four-wheel steering, parking sensors and camera make it easy to manoeuvre in tight spots.

THE facelifted Kia Cee’d range arrived in late 2015 to boost the car’s appeal against newer rivals. Sitting at the top of the tree is the GT model, which is only available with a six-speed manual box; its rivals have twin-clutch transmissions. But at £23,610 it’s also much cheaper than the Renault or Skoda, and it still offers five-door practicality.

Styling 4.0/5

AS part of the updates to the Cee’d range last year, Kia’s design chief Peter Schreyer gave the family five-door a nip and tuck. Chrome surrounds for the headlights and new LED taillamps featured among the minor alterations.

The GT was always a sharp-looking car, and this latest version teams Kia’s trademark ‘tiger nose’ grille with ‘ice cube’ LED running lights mounted low down in the deep front bumper.

Plenty of black inserts contrast with our car’s bright red paintwork, although the colour means the Gt-specific red accents aren’t as noticeable. The chrome trim for the grille and window line makes it a match for the taut, upmarket Mégane.

New 18-inch graphite alloy wheels for the GT were part of the gentle redesign, while Schreyer’s team also turned its attention to the cabin.

There’s more chrome and gloss black plastic inside, and on the whole, quality feels good. The materials are soft in the main areas you touch, except for the cheap-feeling indicators, while there is a mix of textures, which lets the image down next to the more premium-feeling Renault.

Despite the facelift, the basic cabin layout of the Cee’d – first launched in 2012 – is feeling dated now. But at least the upgraded seven-inch infotainment touchscreen carried over from the flagship Sorento SUV features sharper graphics, while the digital dashboard is almost a match for the Mégane’s.

The infotainment system is good, but it doesn’t quite have the impact of the Renault’s large portrait touchscreen, and as it doesn’t incorporate the climate controls, they sit underneath in their own pod.

A new flat-bottomed steering wheel adds a sportier touch inside; it features a GT button that changes the Kia’s driving mode.

Sat-nav is standard, as are Bluetooth, DAB, all-round parking sensors, a reversing camera and heated partleather Recaro sports seats. But the Cee’d makes do with xenon lights where the Mégane gets full LEDS.

At £23,610 the Kia is cheaper than its rivals for cash buyers, and has a competitive level of kit. Buy on finance and if you put down an identical £3,300 deposit to the Renault – and take into account the £1,500 deposit contribution – over three years you’ll pay less per month for the Cee’d GT, at £355, based on the same 6,000mile yearly limit as the Mégane with 4.9 per cent APR interest. The £8,024 final payment is also lower.

Driving 3.7/5

WHILE the Mégane features a hi-tech chassis and dual-clutch box, the six-speed manual Cee’d takes a more old-school approach to driving. But there are definitely positives to draw from this.

The 201bhp 1.6-litre turbo isn’t the cleanest around, but it’s a gutsy engine that performed well on test. It was faster than the Skoda from 50-70mph in fifth and sixth, while it beat the Mégane’s times in the lower gears and near enough matched it in the higher ratios, despite having one gear fewer. Higher cruising revs at 70mph also help the engine feel snappier than those of the Renault and Skoda, but it doesn’t impact refinement at motorway speeds, as our noise readings show.

The ride is firm, but the Kia still absorbs road imperfections well. Just like the Renault, more severe bumps jar the chassis, but the faster you go the better the Cee’d GT gets. With speed the suspension flows more, letting the Kia move with the road rather than smashing into it.

Push the GT button on the steering wheel and you’ll revel in the relatively strong reserves of grip available. Ultimately, it’s not as playful as the Mégane, with a default balance of understeer, but the steering lets you place the car accurately, even if the limited feel removes you from the driving experience slightly.

However, the six-speed manual puts you right back at the heart of it. The throw isn’t especially short and the action is light, but it’s still nice to manage changes yourself – and although there’s no launch control, it edged the Renault from 0-60mph, taking 7.6 seconds, highlighting the slow shifts of the Mégane’s EDC box.

GT mode also fires up the sound generator, with fake engine noise piped into the cabin. It’s not exactly authentic, but the Kia’s system does a much better job than the poor, artificial rendition in the Renault.

Ownership 4.1/5

KIA’S 100,000-mile warranty will be a big draw for many buyers, and while Renault also offers coverage for the same distance, its package lasts only four years compared with Kia’s seven.

However, the Korean brand couldn’t match its rivals’ customer satisfaction scores, finishing 14th in our Driver Power 2016 survey, with its dealers ninth.

The Cee’d was awarded five Euro NCAP stars when it was crash tested in 2012. There’s enough safety kit to keep everything in check, with six airbags, upgraded brakes and ESP as standard, but it lacks the latest aids like autonomous braking, even on the options list.

Running costs 3.2/5

RATED at group 26, the Cee’d is the cheapest car on test to insure for our sample driver, at £611. This is £14 less than the group 27 Renault; a year’s cover on the more powerful group 29 Skoda will cost £755.

The Kia’s advantage evaporates when you see its fuel economy, though. On test the Cee’d GT managed only 25.9mpg, whereas the Mégane returned a much stronger 30.7mpg in our hands. The Octavia was the victor at the pumps, however; an average of 33.4mpg will save you around £160 a year in fuel.