Kia Cee'd

It's not every day that you get to build your own car! Normally, the ownership process starts at a showroom, but as the Cee'd is so critical for Kia's European expansion plans, we thought we'd find out how things are shaping up at the firm's brand new plant at Zilina, north-west Slovakia.

It would also mean we could drive our car all the way back to the UK - one of the toughest first tests any of our long-term cars has ever been put through.

But first, we had to build LB56 TNV. And in order to get past security so I could help out on the assembly line, that meant getting togged up in bright red dungarees. I reckon they made me look more like an Oompa Loompa from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory rather than a technician ready to build a car!

My first task inside the state-of-the-art plant was to get the sheet steel pressed to form the side panels of our very own Cee'd. It was then welded by hundreds of robots to form the model's smooth shape. At this point, every 12th car is given a quality check by a team of inspectors (wearing yellow overalls), so it's no wonder the build quality is so impressive.

Next, the technicians installed all the interior fittings, after which the car proceeded to the final production line, where every component is tested indoors and out. The factory even has its own track, where each vehicle is put through a range of acceleration, cornering, ABS, ESP, suspension and hill start assessments.

After 17 hours, I finally got the keys, ready to drive the Kia the 1,100 miles from Zilina to London.

I soon appreciated the attention to detail that goes into the creation of all Cee'd models. Even fresh out of the box, the 1.6-litre diesel engine is very quiet, with little clatter. In fact, it performed faultlessly on our drive home, which took in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. Since then, I've added another 3,200 miles with fault-free trips to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

And the Kia has been attracting a surprising amount of attention along the way - we even had a police officer ask us what it was like! LB56 TNV is now with our product-testing department, ensuring it'll be put through its paces to assess the latest car gadgets at every opportunity.

View the video here