Auto Express – August 07, 2019

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