THE FACTS
Europe – like its predecessor
– the Ceed uses a completely new platform that sees the length of the car increase by 95mm and the width by 20mm. The wheelbase is the same as the old car’s but the cabin has shifted back by 69mm. This is to improve performance in front-end crashes and to give improved visibility around the windscreen pillars.
Several engines are offered – a 1.6-litre diesel plus 1.0-litre and 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol units.
We’ve chosen to test the Kia Ceed 2 1.0 five-door hatchback
Price: Engine:
0-60mph: Fuel consumption:
smallest petrol version which has three cylinders and produces 118bhp. It’s got a nice character, is powerful enough and offers an interesting soundtrack.
As well as growing lengthways and in width, the Ceed now has wider front and rear tracks plus heavily revised suspension settings to give sharper responses. It’s no hot hatch but the Ceed is surprisingly good fun to drive. An