Kia Pro_cee’d
Three-door brings sporty design to hatch class
Yes, the name is a bit daft, but we can understand Kia’s logic in giving the Pro_cee’d a badge as distinctive as the car itself. Make no mistake, the chief reason for visiting your local Kia garage and checking out the three-door is to see its styling in the flesh.
The rear three-quarters is the best angle from which to view the hatch. From here, you can take in the high shoulder line, small rear windows and nose-down stance.
While the standard five-door Cee’d is rather plain and sensible – and arguably aimed at more mature customers – this version successfully injects some youth appeal into the brand. It’s not as bold a step forward as the Honda Civic, but in the top-spec Sport trim of our car, there’s no denying that it’s striking.
That’s not to say this version would be our choice, though. While it’s currently possible to make a good saving over the on-the-road price of this model (see Can I get a discount? (right)), we don’t think the 2.0 CRDi shows the Cee’d at its best.
Instead, we would go for the 1.6-litre diesel. It’s not quite as punchy, but is just as smooth and refined. Yet whichever variant you go for, the Pro_cee’d doesn’t fall down inside. It’s smart and well built, ergonomically excellent and easy to get on with. We particularly like the neat and logical design of the digital climate control.
And this isn’t even the car’s most outstanding feature. That honour goes not to the bodywork, but the industry-leading seven-year warranty. This alone has increased sales, which in turn is allowing Kia to expand its dealer network.
The firm currently has 140 sites nationwide, and aims to increase that to 170 locations by the end of the year. Given this rapid growth, Kia’s sales targets for the new car appear modest – bosses expect to shift around 2,000 examples of the Pro_cee’d this year.
Around 200 of those are already spoken for, with more than half of buyers opting for the 1.6 CRDi. Nevertheless, you won’t have any trouble getting hold of one. Delivery times have fallen substantially due to the modern production techniques at Kia’s factory in Zilina, Slovakia. Order a Pro_cee’d today, and depending on colour and trim, you should have it within two to six weeks.
