There are a lot of Golfs in Europe. It’s no wonder, though. The Old Continent’s love for the nameplate that replaced the VW Beetle goes back a long time. For quite a few years now, the Golf is the undisputed leader in Europe as far as sales are concerned. The Kia Cee’d, on the other hand, wants a piece of the Golf’s pie.
Before the South Korean manufacturer introduced the Cee’d in 2006, the Cerato didn’t resonate with the European public. Hence, the first-generation Cee’d holds the title of Kia’s first European-designed and built car. The follow-up is much of the same, having premiered in 2012. Made in Slovakia, the Kia Cee’d challenges the VW Golf’s status quo with a concept everyone appreciates: value for money.
Even BBC Top Gear acknowledged the value-minded approach, turning the Cee’d into the show’s “reasonably priced car” at the beginning of season 15. But beyond that, does the Cee’d have what it takes to throw down the gauntlet to the big boys in the compact segment?
4,310 mm long, 1,780 mm wide, and riding on a 2,650 mm wheelbase, the Cee’d is also available with three doors instead of five. The 2016 minor update for the Cee’d follows a facelift operated in 2012. On the visual front, the hallmark tiger-nose grille is more dynamic than before, partly thanks to an oval-shaped meshed grille.
The fog lamps boast chrome trim, upping the appeal of the 2016 Kia Cee’d. In the case of the sporty Cee’d GT model, the car’s fog lamps are moved further down to create space for the daytime running lights, which are styled to resemble a cluster of ice cubes. The more modern front fascia is complemented by a redesigned rear end that sports LED taillights and a chromed exhaust tip at the right of the bumper.
From the profile, the most striking characteristic is the generous glasshouse. The Base model doesn’t look great from the side because the 15-inch steelies give the impression that they’re lost in the wheel wells. 16-inch alloys are more like it for the Kia Cee’d, offering the best compromise between good looks and ride quality.
Regarding customization, the top-of-the-line Cee’d can be had in eight colors. The range starts with white, a no-cost option. Other hues include a silverish white, red, two shades of brown, bluish indigo metallic, black, and gunmetal gray. Go for the GT Line and the configurator also shows a metallic finish called Yellow Flame, a color that’s also available on the GT.
Compared to the pre-facelift model, the 2016 Kia Cee’d promises an improvement in NVH levels and cabin refinement. That’s due to double-layer door seals, more foam-filling in the pillars, 14 percent thicker front door window glass, as well as vibration-damping engine mounts. The facelifted Cee’d in five-door hatchback flavor prides itself on 12 mm more headroom and 21 mm more legroom for the driver and front occupant, while rear passengers have 5 mm more shoulder room.
Cargo capacity stands at 380 liters with the 60/40 rear seats upright. When folded, cargo volume hikes to 1,368 liters. These figures make the Cee’d that bit roomier than the Golf and Focus. IKEA regulars should look to the Cee’d Sportwagon for better hauling proficiency, i.e. 528 and 1,642 liters, respectively. Roomy the Cee’d may be, but the cabin design can’t hold a candle to the more acclaimed opposition.
Everywhere you look, you’re surrounded by a sea of soft-touch matte plastic and a handful of gloss black and faux chrome accents. Right on top of the dashboard, the Cee’d sports a 1990s-like monochrome screen that shows the outside temperature, time, and who buckled up. On the upside, everything is laid out with ergonomics in mind, the Cee’d taking delight in large cubbies front and rear, plus a sizable glovebox.
As expected from a modern car, the thickness of the A-pillars may pose a problem for some drivers. Kia tried to negate this fly in the ointment with front quarter windows. The problem with those, however, is that they’re too small and too harshly angled to see through them. To the car’s defense, rear visibility is adequate.
The Cee’d may be cheaper than the more established competition, but Kia didn’t cut down on standard equipment. In the no-frills specification, the Cee’d comes with height adjustment for the driver’s seat, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, center console armrest, air conditioning, buttons on the steering wheel, electric front windows with auto up/down function, remote central locking, and much more.
Also as standard, the 2016 Kia Cee’d revels in a 6-speaker auto system with CD player, DAB Radio, MP3 compatibility, USB and AUX ports, as well as voice recognition and music streaming via Bluetooth. Safety features abound as well, with highlights such as hill-start assist, lots of airbags, ESC, speed sensing auto door locks, and tire pressure monitoring system. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a lot of equipment for the least costly configuration in the Kia Cee’d lineup.
High-spec models up the ante with things like a power panoramic sunroof with roll blind, Xenon adaptive headlights, electrically folding side mirrors with LED indicators, cruise control, auto-dimming rearview mirror, memory and power adjustable driver’s seat, and power lumbar support for the passenger seat.
A reversing camera is also available, as is a multifunction LCD color display for the instrument cluster and a 7-inch sat nav system with TomTom functionalities that include Traffic, Speed Cameras, Weather Updates, and Local Search. Only well-specced models of the Cee’d five-door hatchback come with an electronic parking brake.
The engine lineup starts with a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated four-banger mill that churns out 101 PS and 134 Nm. Above that, the Cee’d is available with a 1.0 T-GDI three-pot turbo with 99 PS and 171 Nm on tap. On the combined cycle, the NEDC consumption figure stands at 4.7 l/100 km or 60.1 imperial miles per gallon.
A more powerful version of the 1.0 T-GDI is also available (120 PS instead of 99 PS), as is a 1.6 T-GDI with 204 PS and 265 Nm of torque available from as little as 1,500 rpm. The most powerful of the two is exclusive to the Cee’d GT and Pro_Cee’d GT. On the turbo diesel front, the compact hatchback sports two powerplants: a 1.4 CRDi (90 PS / 240 Nm) and a 1.6 CRDi (136 PS / 280 Nm).
If you aren’t enticed by the six-speed manual transmission, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic is also available. The sole problem with it, however, is that it’s only available with the two uppermost trim levels of the 1.6 CRDi diesel engine.
The most fuel-efficient 2016 Kia Cee’d of the lot is the one with the 1.6 CRDi, start/stop, and a 6-speed manual transmission, which is rated 5.1 l/100 km (55.3 mpg) city, 3.7 l/100 km (76.3) highway, and 4.2 l/100 km (67.2 mpg) combined.
The last time the Cee’d was tested for crashworthiness was in 2012, when the Euro NCAP awarded it 5 stars. The rating also applies to the Pro_Cee’d and Sportswagon body styles. The European agency highlights that the Cee’d is most protective in the side barrier test, scoring maximum points. The Euro NCAP severe side pole test, however, showed that the Cee’d offers “weak” protection for the chest and “marginal” protection for the abdominal area.
According to dummy readings, dads and moms will be happy to find out that child occupant safety for 18-month infants and 3-year-old children is as good as it can be. Standard safety equipment includes six airbags, two ISOFIX seat mounts, braking assistance, as well as electronic stability control. Seat belt height adjusters and impact sensing auto door unlock are on the menu as well.
Further up the food chain, well-equipped models get lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, speed limiter, and rear cross traffic alert. The latter in the list warns the driver if a car is zooming by when pulling out of an end-on parking space. The 2016 update adds Speed Limit Information Function. This function uses a camera to identify speed limit signs and displays them beside the speedometer and on the 7-inch infotainment system when the sat nav is on.
Those who hate parking are recommended to tick Smart Parking Assist from the options list. Thanks to ultrasonic sensors and the electric power steering system, the Cee’d can identify a parking space, then park itself there. All the driver has to do is control the clutch and accelerator. And yes, the system can do parallel and perpendicular parking. SPAS also has a parallel exit feature.
When all is said and done, the 2016 Kia Cee’d makes plenty of sense. Yes, the interior design is far from inspiring, the engine lineup is nothing to write home about, and the Cee’d starts to show its oldness, but at the end of the day, it’s a reasonable hatchback for reasonable people and their rather reasonable needs.
Then there’s the industry-leading 7-year/150,000-kilometer bumper-to-bumper warranty. While some view this as an assurance to the Kia Cee’d’s reliability, there’s a hidden disadvantage to it. Other than the fact you’re tied to the Kia dealer for servicing and repairs, many things aren’t covered by the warranty.
The fine print lists don’ts such as “misuse of the Kia vehicle, such as driving over curbs,” which is a fair point, but it also tells that rubber parts, bearings, oxygen sensor, and the all-important catalytic converter are not covered. Yet another curious thing about the South Korean manufacturer’s warranty is that the audio and/or navigation system are warranted for 3 years.
