The Kia XCeed GT-Line S
(Picture: Handout)Kia’s Ceed has been with us for 13 years now, and to celebrate its third generation the company has refreshed its XCeed variant, which is a slightly jacked up version of the hatchback.
To be honest, the changes are minor. It gets LED front lights, and a new grill and front bumper, plus a new rear diffuser and rear lights, but at a casual glance you probably wouldn’t even notice it had changed.
What is new is a plug-in hybrid version with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and a battery pack which together give it 139bhp.
The good news is that this adds up to a theoretical combined fuel consumption of 201.7mpg and 32g/km CO2 figure. The bad news is that the extra electrical gubbins are heavy, giving it a gross vehicle weight of 2,030 kilos, which means it’s no ball of fire and at £32,945 it is quite expensive.
You also lose quite a bit of bootspace (thanks to the 117-kilo battery under the boot floor), down to 291 litres with the rear seats in place, as opposed to 426 litres in the new 1.5-litre T-GDi GT-Line S version – but more about that later.
Civilised
On the road the PHEV is pretty civilised. It is quiet and rides well but couldn’t be described as exciting. It is there to do a job and it does it very competently. Its EV range is 36 miles and it is pleasant if unremarkable to drive. The steering is accurate and it can be chucked around corners with confidence if the mood takes you. Although it probably won’t. The gearbox is a six-speed automatic which swaps cogs smoothly.
Equipment levels are good and the cabin feels well made, with decent-quality materials. Safety tech on all variants includes High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Assist with Forward Collision Avoidance Assist for pedestrians and cyclists.
There is a 10.25-inch touchscreen sat-nav system, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an eight-speaker JBL premium sound system and a reversing camera on all models.
If the hybrid version isn’t for you, you could save a bit of cash on the GT-Line S, which costs £30,345. This has a turbocharged 158bhp four-cylinder 16-valve petrol engine which can propel it to 60mph in 8.7 seconds – still not ball of fire territory but peppier than the 10.6 seconds the PHEV takes.
The GT-Line S is available here only with a six-speed manual gearbox which is pleasant enough to use, although it would take more than that to make the car particularly involving. Kia claims combined fuel consumption of 44.8mpg.
Body control
Rear legroom is reasonable but if you are over six feet your head will be brushing the roof lining. The GT-Line S has slightly firmer suspension than the PHEV and the ride suffers a little by comparison, but it still has decent body control.
This is an important car for Kia. It is the company’s third best seller after the Niro and Sportage, and is responsible for 10 per cent of their sales. The changes in this refresh are not enough to frighten the horses, but are enough to keep it fresh and competitive. It may not be exciting, but it remains highly competent.
The Facts
Kia XCeed 1.6 GDi PHEV “3”
Price: £32,945
Top Speed: 99mph
0-60mph: 10.6 secs
KiaXCeed 1.5T-GDi GT_Line S
Price: £30,345
Top Speed: 129mph
0-60mph: 8.7 secs
