What's all this about?
Kia has announced a range of improvements for the cee'd range. Changes include updated styling, the addition of Kia's new 1.0-litre ecoTurbo engine and a range of extra equipment. The updated cee'd will go on sale across Europe from July 2015.
How do you spot the new model?
The cee'd retains Kia's corporate 'tiger nose' grille but gets a wider, more angular front bumper with chrome trim around the fog lamps plus oval-shaped grille mesh. Similar changes have been made at the back, with a re-profiled bumper and LED tail lights. A choice of new 16- and 17-inch alloy wheel designs is available for the range. For the sporting cee'd GT there is a new, 18-inch wheel design.
Changes inside have been kept to a minimum but there are new chrome highlights scattered around the cabin plus anti-scratch, gloss black trim for the centre fascia panel. Diesel models benefit from additional new sound and vibration absorbing materials to cut interior noise levels. The diesel engines are also fitted with sound absorbing material on the block, oil pan and particulate filter.
The cee'd and pro_cee'd GT models now also come with a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel, an aluminium engine start button and Recaro seats trimmed in suede. An electronic sound generator synthesises the sound of the engine when the driver presses the 'GT Mode' button on the steering wheel.
What's under the bonnet?
New for 2015 is a 1.0-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine; leading the way for a range of downsized engines from Kia. Two power outputs are offered, 100- or 120hp with peak torque of 172Nm in each case. Final homologation for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is still to be completed but it promises to be the lowest of any petrol-powered cee'd to date.
The 1.6-litre CRDi diesel has been upgraded with a new high-pressure injection system too. This is available with 110hp, which has CO2 emissions of 102g/km or 94g/km when fitted with stop-start. The more powerful version of the 1.6 diesel now produces 136hp, up from 128hp, and can be ordered with Kia's new six-speed double clutch automatic transmission.
GT models get a new turbo, which is said to improve mid-range acceleration and the official 0-62mph time is reduced by a tenth of a second to 7.6 seconds. The CO2 figure is also reduced slightly to 170g/km.
Anything else new?
Suspension changes are designed to reduce vibration and improve on-centre steering feel, while the power steering system is revised for more linear response. Further handling improvements come from the new torque vectoring system that is designed to reduce understeer.
John Lambert - 28 Jun 2015