Efficient Cee’d given the green light

Bosses at Kia have confirmed that the firm will build an eco-friendly version of the Cee’d – but buyers will have to wait more than a year for the first models to arrive!

All the technologies seen on the Eco_cee’d concept at last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show will make it to the roadgoing car. Yet production at Kia’s Slovakian plant won’t start until December 2008, with deliveries expected a few months later.

The eco model will be available in a choice of three-door, five-door and estate bodystyles. Power comes from a 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine that returns fuel economy of 60mpg and emits only 104g/km of CO2.

This impressive efficiency is ach­ieved partly by a raft of aerodynamic enhancements. These include lowered suspension, a flatter underbelly and wheelarch linings to smooth air flow around the rims. In addition, low-rolling-resistance tyres are fitted.

Reduced turbo boost pressure on the engine, along with improved fuel injection timing and low-friction internals, also helps maximise effi­ciency. The green Cee’d will ditch the standard model’s five-speed gearbox for a set-up with six ratios, the top three of which have been lengthened to improve consumption on motorways. Stop-start technology is included, too. Called Idle Stop and Go, it cuts the engine when the car comes to a halt, and incorporates regenerative braking for charging the battery under deceleration.