The new Kia Ceed has been revealed ahead of its public debut at the Geneva motor show on 6th March, the Korean brand describing it as ‘one of the most innovative cars in its class.’
Kia aims to move the Ceed upmarket and to take a larger slice of the family hatch market, targeting top sellers the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf. Efforts to make its car more recognisable include changing the name, Ceed replacing the previous and often mis-spelt cee’d.
Two of the three planned Ceed body styles will be unveiled at the Geneva show, the five-door hatch and an as-yet unnamed model which is expected to be the estate. A range-topping shooting brake variant is likely to join the range in 2019 and is expected to be based on the Proceed concept displayed at the Frankfurt show in September 2017.
Kia is heavily promoting the European credentials of the new Ceed, the car having been designed at the brand’s European design centre in Frankfurt, Germany and engineered exclusively using European roads as the benchmark.
Wider and lower
The car is built on Kia’s new ‘K2’ platform, and is 2cm wider and 2cm lower than the outgoing model. Its wheelbase remains at 2.6m, the front overhang shortened by 2cm and rear overhang extended by 2cm. The boot is larger at 395 litres and Kia promises more front headroom, a lower driving position and an increase in shoulder room for rear passengers.
Describing the launch of the original cee’d in 2006 as a watershed moment for the brand, Kia Motors Europe CEO Michael Cole says that the all-new Ceed offers a truly contemporary and recognisable design, and advanced technologies to enhance comfort, convenience and safety.
“Its new engines and suspension will make it more enjoyable and engaging to drive, and will continue to offer the same high quality that customers expect from Kia,” Cole adds.
The Ceed will be the first Kia to offer ‘level two autonomy’ through its ‘Lane Following Assist’ technology and Kia adds that a comprehensive range of advanced driver assistance systems will be available for the car.
The engine line-up will also be new, and will include a 140hp 1.4-litre petrol engine and an efficient new 1.6-litre diesel.
The new Ceed will go on sale first in left-hand drive European markets, in the second quarter of the year. Kia is yet to announce when the first right-hand-drive versions will arrive in showrooms.
