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Kia

Friday, 25th of July 2008

The 1.6CRDi 16-valve unit is one the best diesel engines I’ve ever driven. It may only have 113bhp but it has bags of torque. It’s as good as many premium cars on a day-to-day experience. However when you drive it enthusiastically there are criticisms like the light steering and it can get fidgety at high speed but you’ve got to remember this is a diesel family car. It has an official top speed of 116mph, but we had it at 115mph on a German Autobahn. The Cee’d 1.6 diesel will get from zero to 62mph in 11.7 seconds.

On the motorway, this is the ideal car to have – it will do about 400 miles on a tank if you drive sensibly and the actual drive is pretty much effortless. Again we go back to the engine – the 1.6-litre CRDi is a real gem. It’s responsive when you need it to be as well as refined. It’s very smooth at motorway speeds and the engine noise is very quiet which allows you and your passengers to travel in comfort. The Cee’d is impressive when it gets on to B-roads, unfortunately the steering is very light but the car does respond well to driver input.

The build quality and reliability is impressive from the Korean maker. The doors shut with a nice thud, which is always a good sign while the trim both on the exterior and interior is nicely packaged. Reliability has been close to perfect with all the hi-tech gizmos on the vehicle working perfectly. The only downside has been the handbrake. It had been poorly adjusted which meant the car rolled slightly before being held, this was however fixed at a local dealer and the Cee’d is perfect once more.

Safety is good on the Cee’d as it has both driver and passenger airbags fitted as standard. The car has also been fitted with ABS and ESP to help you get stopped quicker. Another good feature is the seatbelt warning light. If you start the car without strapping up either in the front or the rear the light will illuminate. On the security level, the Cee’d has been fitted with central locking while there’s also a button on the driver’s side to lock the car from the inside when you’re driving on your own.

Space and practicality are massive in the Kia. The rear seats fold flat to open up the boot for them awkward household goods. There’s plenty of room when the rear seat is in place for three average sized adults. You can get five in the car on long journeys without too many complaints. Perfect for the entire family. The controls on the steering for the stereo make the car very user friendly. While the Cee’d is loaded with standard equipment like the USB socket so that you can play an MP3 player while on the move plus aircon which is a real boon in the summer.

This is one for the head not the heart on the looks side of things. The price from new will set you back £14,245 but it does however come with that phenomenal seven-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. Our car would cost you to run 43p per mile after calculating the whole life costs. While the insurance taken from the AA would work out at £204 as the car is in Group 6 for a 42 year-old male who lives in Banbury, Oxford with three penalty points.