Kia Ceed review

It’s fair to say that anyone looking for a family-friendly set of wheels is somewhat spoilt for choice these days – so how does the Kia Ceed stand out?

Well, for starters it comes with an industry-leading seven-year warranty, along with pretty competitive pricing and a decent equipment list, especially as you move up the range. So, if you’re looking for something sensible, the Ceed seems to tick a lot of boxes on paper already.

If the promise of a long warranty and reasonable pricing doesn’t quite set your heart alight, there's more. The current Ceed is available with a line-up of engines that includes a diesel with mild hybrid technology and the eye-catching 201bhp GT model, which is a warm (not quite hot) hatch variant.

Kia offers you a choice of body types, too. If you’re looking for more practicality, there’s the Ceed Sportswagon estate version, or if it’s all about style for you, there’s the swoopy and svelte Proceed (also an estate). There’s even an off-road aesthetic available with the slightly jacked-up XCeed.

Here, though, we’re focusing on the hatchback version. The Ceed already sounds like a worthy contender, but it’s got some strong foes to see off in the family car class. So does it have the talents to triumph over more established rivals, including the Ford Focus, Seat Leon and Vauxhall Astra?

That’s something we’ll investigate over the next few pages (we have full separate reviews of the Ceed Sportswagon, the Proceed and the XCeed). We’ll also tell you which engines and trims are the ones to go for.

Remember, if you are thinking of buying a Kia Ceed, or any new vehicle, we can help you make big savings on the brochure price with the free What Car? New Car Buying service, where you could save hundreds of pounds with one of the tempting Kia Ceed deals.