40 7August2019 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk
ROADTESTS KiaCeedSportswagonvsrivals
MODELTESTED:Kia Ceed Sportswagon 1.4 T-GDi3
PRICE:£22,810 ENGINE:1.4-litre4cyl, 138bhp
THECeedhasprovedtobeyetanotherbig
evolutionarystepforKia,andthisSportswagon
estatepromisestoaddcompetitivepracticalityin
thisaffordable,smallestateclass.
Design &
engineering
THEfirst-generationCeedmadeKia
mainstream,thesecond-generation
modelprovedKiacouldcutitandbeatitsrivals,and
nowthisthirdgenerationpromisestoaddyetmore
upmarketappeal,evenatthiscar’saffordableprice.
That’sbecausein£22,8103trimyougetagoodlevel
ofequipment.WhiletheKiaisthemostexpensive
carontest,it’sonly£760morethantheRenault,yet
yougetmorekitin3trim(ourpicturesshowaFirst
Edition,withtheonlydifferencesdowntoequipment).
Thisincludesparkingsensorsandarear
camera,standardautonomousbraking,climateand
cruisecontrol,aswellasnav,bothAppleCarPlay
andAndroidAutoaspartofKia’slargereight-inch
infotainmentset-up.Someofthiskitisoptional
ontheRenault,whichwouldtakeitspricetoover
£23,000andthereforemorethantheKia,so
theCeedSWisactuallygoodvalue.
Qualityisacceptable,too.Noneofthesethreecars
getsleather,evenasanoption,buttheplasticsare
thesamethroughout.Asaresult,therearesome
softareasintheKia,butalsoharderareaslower
down.Themaintouchpointsaregood,though.
Allversionsofthethird-generationCeedare
basedonKia’slatestK2platform,whichmeans
thatthere’sMacPhersonstrutsuspensionatthe
frontandamulti-linkset-upattheback–which
isamoresophisticatedarrangementthan
eithertheRenaultortheSkodaoffers.
The1.4-litreturbopetrolenginehereisaknown
quantity,too.It’snotthesweetest,butproduces
138bhpandamaximumof242Nmoftorque,soin
apackagethatweighs1,352kg–splittingthelighter
SkodaandheavierRenault–itshouldprovetobe
competitiveintermsofperformance.
Thesix-speedmanualgearboxsendsdrivetothe
frontwheels,butthebigtechnicalaspecttofactor
inhereisthegrowthinbodysizeovertheprevious
Ceedestate.It’s95mmlonger,whichdoesn’tsound
likealot,butit’sgeneratedmuchmoreluggage
space,whiletheimprovedpackaging–asinthe
hatchback–hasmadeitamoreusablecar,too.
Driving
ALLthreecarsweresimilarly
matchedforperformance.TheKia
justtrailedtheSkodafrom0-60mph,
taking8.8seconds,butitrecordedidenticalin-
gearfiguresinallbutoursixth-gear50-70mphtest,
whereittrailedtheOctaviaby0.4seconds.Itshows
thatthere’sagoodlevelofpull,whichwillbe
beneficialwhentheSportswagonisloadedup.
Ofcourse,theKiadoesn’tfeelallthatfastandthe
enginedoesn’tseemquiteaseagerastheSkoda’s,but
refinementisokayanditcruiseswell,whichmakes
thedeficiencieswiththerideallthemorenoticeable.
Itneverseemstosettledown,jigglinggently
oncountryroads.It’sbetteronthemotorway,but
stillnotquiteascomfortableaseitherrival,and
ridequalitywillbemoreimportant,giventhat
Testers’ notes
“TheapostrophewasdroppedfromtheCeed
namebyKiatoimproveinternetsearchresults,
butwouldyoubuyacaronline?Letusknow
ononeofoursocialmediachannels.”
SeanCarsonChiefreviewer
thesecarsaren’texactlyaboutperformance.The
steeringisacceptable,asisthegrip,andwhilethe
manualgearchangeisfine,it’sanotchyshift.
Practicality
THATgrowthinsizemeansthe
SportswagonactuallytrumpstheOctavia
forbootspacewiththeseatsupby15litres.
TheOctaviaEstateisalreadyoneofthebiggest
carsinitsclass,sothisisabigplusfortheCeedSW,
withatotalof625litresofluggageroom.
Itdoesn’tcomeattheexpenseoflegroomin
therear,either,becausewhiletheKiacan’tquite
matchtheSkodainthisrespect,itstilloffersmore
thanenough.BoththeCeedandtheOctaviahave
roomiercabinsintherearthantheRenault.
Functionalityiskeytoanestate,andtheKia
succeeds,havingdecentcabinstorageontopofthe
foundationslaidbythebigboot.Twocup-holders,
atrayinfrontofthegearlever,gooddoorbinsand
thecentralcubbyaren’tquiteamatchfortheSkoda
(whichbolstersitsabilitywithitsthoughtfulSimply
Clevertouches),butthey’regoodenough.
Ownership
WITHaseven-year/100,000-mile
warrantyonallitscars,it’snosurprise
thatKiascoredhighlyinourownership
satisfactionsurvey,finishingthirdinDriverPower
2019–twoaboveSkodaand16aheadofRenault.
Safetyisstrong,too.TheCeedearnedafive-star
EuroNCAPsafetyrating,andin3trimitcomeswith
autonomousbraking,lane-keepassistandautohigh
beamasstandard.However,youcan’taddtheextra
safetytechthatcomesasstandardonhighertrim
levels,suchasblind-spotwarningorcross-traffic
alert,asanoption,whichisashame.
Running costs
THEKiaemitsonly1g/kmCO 2 more
thantheRenault,at132g/km,butboth
sitinthe30percentBenefitinKind
companycartaxband.TheCeedisslightlypricier,
soit’llbethecostliercompanycar:lower-rateearners
willpay£1,353ayear,whileit’s£1,307ontheRenault.
TheSkodaemitsmuchless,at124g/kmCO 2 ,so
comesintwoBiKgroupslower,ratedat28percent.
Asaresultthesamedriverwillonlyhavetoshell
out£1,262ayeartoruntheOctaviaEstate.
However,theKiacountersthisbybeingcheapest
foroursampledrivertoinsure(partlyduetoits
standardautonomousemergencybraking),at
£412ayear.TheMéganewillcost£430,while12
months’coverontheSkodaisfarsteeper,at£723.
ȎȎ4L 4 L
score
4.0
ȿȿ4L 4 L
score
3.7
ȱȱ4L 4 L
score
4.5
ȽȽ4L 4 L
score
3.9
ȑȑ4L 4 L
score
4.2
Rear seat spaceisgood, and so is cabin storage throughout
Ceed has the biggest boot, while floor rails areauseful touch
Kia Ceed Sports
Good value, along warranty and lots of
Running costs
36.4mpg (ontest)
£64 fill-up/£145 or 30% tax
Practicality
Boot(seats up/down)
625/1,694 litres
!
Braking
70-0/60-0/30-0mph
46.6/33.9/9.5m
Performance
0-60mph/top speed
8.8 seconds/130mph