Kia Ceed

FIRST DRIVE We’ve tried the petrol version of Kia’s VWGolf rival and now we give our verdict on the diesel-engined hatch.

- Alex Ingram

THIS is Kia’s new family hatchback. But don’t call it the Cee’d any more; it’s now Ceed. The rather confusing apostrophe placement found on the previous two versions has been axed.

We first drove the new Ceed in June (Issue 1,529), in turbo petrol form. Now, we’ve driven the frugal CRDi version to see if the diesel is the pick of the range.

With 114bhp, it’s well matched against the Volkswagen Golf’s 1.6 TDI, but the Kia has more torque, so it feels more brisk on the road. It’s on par with the VW for smoothness, too; both in terms of noise and power delivery. We’ll have to wait for a full road test to assess fuel consumption properly, but an indicated result of nearly 60mpg was impressive based on our varied route.

The diesel is offered with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed auto gearbox. Unless you really need an auto, the manual is the one to have: the twin clutch box can be a little unresponsive at times, and costs £1,100 more.