Kia Cee’d 4 1.6 CRDi Auto DCT ISG review:
What is it?
The face-lifted, five-door version of Kia’s Focus and Volkswagen Golf rival – the Cee’d, fitted with an all-new 134bhp 1.6 CRDi diesel and seven-speed automatic transmission, that’s designed to bring emissions down to more competitive levels
What’s hot?
- Kia sell more Cee’d diesels than petrol models, so a new heavy oil burning engine is going to be key to this model’s continued success. This new four-cylinder 1.6-litre boasts 134bhp (up 1bhp over the old engine), but where this engine scores is that it’s mated to Kia’s own developed seven-speed automatic gearbox which proved to be slick in operation – it also sees a drop in CO2 from 145g/km to just 109g/km, but fuel economy is still an impressive 78.5mpg. Top speed is 124mph, 60mph comes up in 10.2 seconds and the 300Nm of torque means it never feels short of go either.
- With the 109g/km emissions, this Cee’d falls into the 19% company car tax band.
- This is a sharp, modern car and even though it has been face-lifted, Kia have wisely left the styling alone, well almost. We say almost, as if you look closer, there’s a revised grille, plus new bumpers and alloy wheels.
- The sporty exterior style of the Cee’d is matched by a modern, spacious and well-equipped interior. The range-topping 4 specification we have here includes heated leather seats and steering wheel, front and rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels, 10-way adjustable driver’s seat, LCD instruments, keyless go, plus front and rear parking sensors for £23,730. Build quality isn’t quite up to Focus and Astra rivals, but Kia have come a long way in a short time and this car feels built to last.
- There is enough room for four to travel in comfort in the Cee’d hatch and the 380-litre boot is practical.
- We tried a pre-facelift Cee’d Sportswagon diesel earlier this summer on a foreign trip and whilst we liked the car a lot, the Cee’d’s original navigation system was difficult to input destinations and threw up some odd routes that meant that we missed our train! Well, another worthwhile Cee’d facelift upgrade has seen the Koreans work with Tom Tom to produce an update that solves these problems. We’ve yet to try it properly, but the maps are certainly easier to read.
