#01#The Kia cee'd - just a daft name or a serious car? First, that daft name: Kia wanted to emphasise that the cee'd is a European car, rather than a Korean car adapted for Europe. So the company took the initials for the European Economic Community and added ED for European Design. CEEED was a case of too many Es, so they lost the third E and replaced it with an apostrophe - hence cee'd - and all in lower case to appeal to the younger market. It sounds just a little contrived, so let's hope the car doesn't give the same impression.
Kia is really trying hard with the cee'd - the aim is for the cee'd to be the first Kia car to be considered on its abilities first and budget price second. And just in case the buying public are still not convinced, there is the small matter of the warranty. Kia offer an unprecedented seven-year warranty on the cee'd, such is the confidence in its build quality and reliability.
As denoted by the ED part of the name, the cee'd was designed in Europe, in Kia's Frankfurt design office to be exact, with input from the main design centre back in Korea. The designers have done a good job. The
Ford Focus set the benchmark for design in this sector, so it's hardly surprising that many facets of the cee'd have echoes of the Focus in them, but the cee'd remains its own design and a fairly attractive one at that. Kia is proud of the fact that the cee'd is better aerodynamically than the Focus or the
VW Golf, the cars considered to be main competitors, with a coefficient of drag of just 0.33. Currently the cee'd is only available in five-door form as tested, but three-door and estate models are in the pipeline. And to further emphasise the European-ness, the cee'd is built in a new factory in Slovakia.
The Kia cee'd is available right now with a choice of two petrol engines (1.4-litre and 1.6-litre) and a pair of diesel units (both 1.6-litre, in 90bhp and 115bhp guises). Our test car was the higher-powered turbodiesel, which produces its 155bhp at 4000rpm, along with 188lb.ft of torque between 1900 and 2750rpm. This is sufficient for a 0-62mph time of 11.5 seconds and a top speed of 117mph. Not surprisingly, the diesel engine has the better Combined Cycle economy figure at 60.1mpg.
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Our car felt brisk enough, and while not particularly high-revving compared to some, the diesel engine was lusty and never felt lacking. As with many diesel cars, the gearing felt a little high - it's good for economy - so often it was better to drive maybe one gear lower than you might think - which kind of defeats the object!
At just £12,295 on-the-road for the Kia cee'd 1.6 CRDi S, buyers hardly need to break the bank. Even at this entry level trim, standard equipment includes an RDS CD-tuner with steering wheel mounted controls, air conditioning and front, side and curtain airbags. The GS and LS trim levels are not that much more expensive and add in alloy wheels (LS and GS) and climate control (LS) amongst a host of smaller, more cosmetic options.
So design, engineering and performance are up to scratch; Korean cars have traditionally been let down by not-so-European handling. Kia got this right as well; the cee'd handles well, almost up to Ford Focus levels. The ride is up to the best European levels too - Kia seems to have hit the mark with the cee'd. It's a significant step forward for the brand.
2007 Kia cee'd five-door hatchback range overview
Kia cee'd 1.4 SR: £10,495
Kia cee'd 1.4 S: £10,995
Kia cee'd 1.6 SR: £10,995
Kia cee'd 1.6 S: £11,545
Kia cee'd 1.4 GS: £11,795
Kia cee'd 1.6 SR Auto: £11,995
Kia cee'd 1.6 GS: £12,295
Kia cee'd 1.6 CRDi S: £12,295
Kia cee'd 1.6 CRDi GS: £13,045
Kia cee'd 1.6 GS Auto: £13,295
Kia cee'd 1.6 LS: £13,295
Kia cee'd 1.6 LS Auto: £14,295
Kia cee'd 1.6 CRDi LS: £14,295
