Costs & verdict
Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is
Costs, insurance groups, MPG and CO2
Kia is no longer the budget brand it once was, so pricing is competitive rather than ultra-cheap next to rivals such as the Ford Focus, Skoda Octavia and Scala, especially as you move up the trim and engine ranges. If you stick to our favoured 1.0 T-GDi in 2 trim, it works out comparatively decent value, though. Significant discounts have always been available, so make sure you check out the Kia Ceed Deals on our free What Car? New Car Buying pages.
Kia has become more competitive in its finance deals recently, with the Ceed coming with very reasonable monthly payments on a PCP arrangement – even next to the good-value rivals mentioned above. Leasing rates are also on the money, so to speak, although residual values aren’t likely to be as good as those of the Seat Leon or VW Golf.
If maximising your miles per gallon on short journeys is important to you, you’d be better off looking at the hybrid-powered Toyota Corolla.
Equipment, options and extras
No Ceed is poorly equipped, and with the exception of metallic paint, Kia doesn’t really offer options. That can be a bind, though, because it means an expensive trim upgrade is necessary if there's a specific feature you want, but the same is true of the Seat Leon.
Entry-level 2 trim gets 16in alloy wheels, automatic headlights, a leather trimmed steering wheel and gear lever, air-con, cruise control, all-round electric windows, electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors, plus the rear-view camera and infotainment package we mentioned earlier. We’d stick with 2 trim to keep the price down, because there are better cars for the same price as higher trims.
According to Euro NCAP, you can make it potentially safer by adding the Advanced Driving Assistance Pack, which includes traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring and an upgraded AEB system that includes pedestrian and cyclist detection. It's standard on the higher trims but optional on the lower ones, and bumps the Ceed’s overall rating up to five stars. While it could help you to avoid an accident, the same weaknesses described above still apply if you do have one. On top of that, security expert Thatcham has shown the Ceed to be relatively easy to break into and steal, despite having a standard alarm and immobiliser.
