What's all this about?
Kia is pulling off a trick that many manufacturers do - creating a new trim line that offers the sharp looks of the top model but without the performance.
In this instance, what is this trim called?
It's for the cee'd/pro_cee'd/cee'd Sportswagon range and it's called GT Line, after the hot GT versions of the hatchback variants.
Right, so it has the body kit and interior from the GT, but not the engine?
Correct, with such signatures as the ice-cube quad LED daytime running lights at the front, dual exhausts at the rear (which are centre-exit and teamed with a diffuser on the Sportswagon GT Line) and a set of specific 17-inch alloys all part of the exterior treatment. Inside, it gets the GT's steering wheel, an aluminium start/stop button on the dash, some GT-inspired architecture and trim fripperies and new grey, black and white upholstery.
Is it some old, wheezy motor in the GT Line, then?
No, this is where things get really interesting. The GT Line will see the debut of two new bits of technology for the Korean firm, although (sadly) at the moment you can't team them up. The first is Kia's all-new 1.0-litre T-GDI three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which returns 120hp and 172Nm. Equipped with 'Idle Stop & Go' fuel-saving tech and a six-speed manual gearbox, Kia is aiming for better economy and emissions from this 1.0 than from the 1.6-litre GDI (petrol) found elsewhere in the range.
And the other piece of tech?
It's a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT), replacing the antiquated six-speed torque-converter auto used previously. Available on the 1.6-litre CRDi diesel-engined GT Line cee'd, this can handle up to 300Nm torque and will naturally offer both faster shift times and better economy/emissions figures than the old auto. Kia has developed both the T-GDI and the DCT in-house.
Anything else I should know?
That 1.6-litre CRDi engine has been upgraded for the GT Line models, with power up from 128- to 133hp and torque also increased, now standing at 285Nm where previously it was 265Nm. The Kia cee'd GT Line will be available across Europe in the latter quarter of this year, following on from a debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, with the models all offered with the seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty as standard.
Matt Robinson - 20 Feb 2015