The Kia Ceed compact cars personified?

For the past nine years, Korean manufacturer Kia have had a popular selling compact vehicle on their hands in the form of the Ceed. 2006 seen the arrival of the very first model and was then followed up six years later by the launch of the second generation model. The Ceed was aimed solely at European markets and is known for its smart design and safety features aswell as a few more added bonuses. The Ceed has gone down as one of the best selling European vehicles from Kia and has received a huge amount of positive feedback from European customers. We have seen performance also focused on with additions such as the Pro_Ceed GT and the Ceed GT models which were also launched in both 2013 and 2014. Today though we are going to focus on the latest 2012 hatchback version of the car.

What kind of specialities help the Ceed to stand out?

So regarding some of the features that the Ceed has used to help it be Kia's biggest seller in Europe we have seen a good range of power,comfort and technology all come into play with the car. A range of both petrol and diesel engines are available to the customer with 1.4 and 1.6 petrol engines up for grabs with the standard hatchback and two 1.6 litre diesels coming in either CRDi form or GDI. The petrol setups have proven to be the popular choice amongst a range of customers. An estate version of the car can also be purchased aswell as the hatchback and sports Pro_Ceed model.

There are a total of five trim levels available with the standard Ceed which range from the 1,2,3,4 and 4 Tech. Entry level models are not massively equipped but we would see ranging from the mid range 3 trim and onwards is where the excellent pieces of kit come into play. A built in sat nav and reversing cameras come fitted with the '3' trim. Take a step up to the '4' and '4' Tech and you see even more excellent features like stop start technology and leather seating all find a special place inside of the cabin.

What vehicles offer the biggest threat to the Ceed?

There are three big selling vehicles on the road right now that we see to be the biggest competitors for the Ceed. These are the Focus from Ford, the Hyundai i30 and the Volkswagen Golf. Ford and Volkswagen may top these charts due to the Focus ST and the Golf GTI which have brought the fight to the enhanced power version of the Ceed, the Pro_Ceed. Prices for the Kia Ceed range kick off from £14,305.