It wasn’t that long ago when Kia made dumpy-looking SUVs and people carriers with ornate front grilles that looked like your granny’s 1970s gas fire. Look at them now in their black-gloss and satin-chrome finery.
Kia’s design revolution has been underway for more than a decade but recently it has hit its stride and for proof look no further than the freshly updated Ceed family. A three-pointed star on the front of the latest models would hardly look out of place.
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The Ford Focus-rivalling Ceed has always been a crucial car for Kia, its first model to be designed, engineered and built for Europe and today single-handedly responsible for more than a quarter of all Kia sales throughout the continent. You wouldn’t want to get it wrong…
Understandably then Kia has taken a less-is-more approach to keeping its big seller looking fresh. It may not be an extensive facelift but it does appear effective. There is a nose and tail styling update for all three Ceed variants – hatchback, Sportswagon estate and ProCeed shooting brake – along with new wheels, new colours and new sporty styling accents. The changes come together to maximum effect in the ProCeed GT.
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If you were a fan of the no-longer-made Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake you will see the appeal here. The arching silhouettes are similar, as is the idea of an estate that puts style first, load space second; if you want more load space, go for the more conventionally styled Ceed Sportswagon.
As well as the restyled front and rear, the GT gets red accents – lots of them, front, back and side and right down to red centre caps for the new 18-inch dark metal alloy wheels. Red is the feature colour inside too for this range-topping version.
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JBL sound system, heated seats back and front, smart power tailgate (you just have to stand behind it with the key in your pocket for it to open automatically), plus enhanced connectivity and more driver assist systems of the lane-keeping and crash avoidance variety also feature.
As before the ProCeed GT is spowered by a 204PS (152kW) petrol 1.6-litre driving the front wheels, while elsewhere in the range options include Kia’s latest 1.5-litre GDi petrol engine and, the sole electrified variant, a mild-hybrid diesel.
Prices and full specs are promised for nearer the on-sale date later this year.
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