Kia Ceed - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Ceed is now a family of models, so if the standard Ceed five-door hatchback isn’t quite the right fit for your needs, there’s a more practical Sportwagon estate, sportier Proceed shooting brake and XCeed crossover to choose from. That said, the Ceed’s latest platform has increased space in the cabin, both for passengers and luggage.

Size

The Ceed measures 4,310mm long, 1,800mm wide (including the door mirrors) and 1,447mm high, making it a little smaller in every dimension than a Ford Focus. It retains the exact same wheelbase as the previous Cee’d, but some clever packaging means that space in the cabin is generally pretty good, with space for five adults at a push, plus an array of cubbies and pockets around the interior for oddments large and small.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Kia claims that rear-seat space has been improved, particularly for the shoulders of adult passengers, while there isn’t much of a centre transmission tunnel to speak of, meaning there’s a bit more foot room for a middle rear-seat passenger than in a VW Golf.

Up front, the driving position has been lowered a little when compared to its predecessor, too. However, this is actually better experienced on lesser models which don’t have the 10-way electrically adjustable seat – the manually lowered driver’s seat has a better range of adjustment and allows you to get a spot-on driving position. They don’t have a sunroof either, which is something that makes headroom a bit tight in high-spec models for taller people.

The seats and steering wheel offer comprehensive adjustment, and the view out front is good. However, the focus on perceived sportiness has included the design choice of very thick C-pillars, which compromise the view out of the rear.

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Boot

The new platform means a larger boot. All models, including the sporty-looking GT-Line and GT-Line S models, have the same boot capacity of 395 litres – more than a Focus or Golf. The boot is a useful size and shape, too, with the lip being almost 90mm lower than that of its predecessor to make it easier to load heavier items in the back. The Ceed also has a split-level boot floor, either giving a deeper load space, or allowing you to hide valuables below. The rear seats split-fold 60:40.

Towing

Buyers looking for their Ceed to perform towing duties should find the 1.5-litre petrol model capable enough as it's rated to tow up to 1,410kg.

Those are all competitive numbers, but if you need even more capacity, you’ll need either an Octavia or Golf in 2.0 TDI 150 DSG auto form, because both can lug around a 1600kg trailer or caravan.