Kia Ceed review

Kia is no longer the budget brand it once was, so pricing is competitive rather than ultra-cheap next to rivals such as the Skoda Octavia and Seat Leon. The good news is that significant discounts have always been available on the Ceed, so make sure you check out our New Car Buying service for the latest savings, and resale values are also strong.

An area where Kia has become more competitive recently is in its finance deals, with the Ceed offering very reasonable monthly payments on a PCP deal; that's even next to the good-value rivals mentioned above. Leasing rates are also on the money, so to speak.

It's less good news of you're a company car driver paying benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax. Despite having relatively small engines, petrol versions of the Ceed aren’t particularly efficient, emitting more CO2 than many rivals and therefore pushing up your tax bill.

Fuel economy isn't amazing, either, with the 1.4 petrol managing a test figure of just 40.2mpg, whereas the Skoda Octavia 1.5 TSI managed 44.8mpg. If maximum fuel economy is important, the 1.6 diesel is the best bet, although you’d really need to do more than 15,000 miles a year to make it add up.

No Ceed is poorly equipped, and with the exception of metallic paint, Kia doesn’t really do options. That can be a bind, though, because it means an expensive upgrade if there's something specific you want that's available only on the upper trims.

Entry-level 2 models get air-con, cruise control, all-round electric windows, a 7.0in touchscreen with smartphone connectivity and a reversing camera.

We’d be tempted to upgrade to 3 trim, though. You get not only sat-nav with a bigger touchscreen but also dual-zone climate control, rear parking sensors and larger alloy wheels. There’s also a limited-run Blue Edition that’s good value if you fancy the 1.4-litre engine, along with 17in wheels and LED headlights, but the top-spec First Edition model is too pricey to recommend.

Kia has a great reliability record, finishing third out of the 31 manufacturers featured in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey. That's only just behind Toyota, better than Skoda and a long way ahead of Ford and Volkswagen.

Even if you do have a problem, Kia’s seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty is the longest currently available on a new car.

Euro NCAP hasn’t yet crash tested the new Ceed, but the closely related Hyundai i30 scored the full five stars. All models get automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, high beam assist and a driver attention warning. Upgrade to 3 trim and you get pedestrian detection with the AEB system, while First Edition cars gain blindspot monitoring and speed limit information.

Why it gets only three stars is because security expert Thatcham has shown the Ceed to be relatively easy to break into and steal, despite having a standard alarm and immobiliser.