Kia XCeed review

Song mashups can end up more popular than the individual songs they’ve drawn from, and similar things can happen in the car world. The Kia XCeed is a product of this thinking – it’s a mashup of a family hatchback and an SUV.   

So while the XCeed is based on the (now-discontinued) Kia Ceed family car, it’s slightly longer, sits on tweaked suspension that’s 44mm higher and looks bulkier, courtesy of some smart plastic wheelarches, heftier bumpers and a stout set of roof rails.

Is this coming together of worlds just a gimmick or can it help the XCeed compete with some of the best family cars, such as the Toyota Corolla and VW Golf, as well as small SUVs like the Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc?

There are two engines available with the Kia XCeed. Both are petrol units and, so far, we’ve tested the 113bhp 1.0-litre option – the entry-level choice. Acceleration is respectable enough, even on the motorway: the 0-62mph sprint takes 11.9sec with the manual gearbox. An automatic gearbox is also available.

We believe the 1.0-litre is punchy enough to satisfy most buyers, but if you’d like more oomph, there’s a 177bhp 1.6-litre alternative. It’s only available with an auto’. 

The XCeed is fairly settled on the road and it deals with large, soft-edged undulations well. However, it fails to iron out sharper pockmarks and ridges as effectively as the best-riding family cars – the Toyota Corolla and VW Golf for example – or smaller SUVs, including the Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc.

Push its limits on a twisty country road and you’ll find the XCeed leans more than your typical family car, and the steering is rather numb. In other words, the XCeed is nowhere near as confidence inspiring or as fun to drive as a Seat Leon. 

Around town, there’s little to take issue with, though. The light steering makes it a doddle to park, plus it’s no bigger or heavier than the average car in its class – despite what its SUV styling might have you believe. 

The XCeed is not available with four-wheel drive – every version has front-wheel drive. If you live up a muddy lane and want the extra reassurance of 4x4, you could consider versions of the Skoda Karoq.

At low revs and around town, the XCeed’s 1.0-litre engine is pretty quiet, but it gets a little thrashy when pushed hard. It's certainly not as refined as a Karoq with a 1.5-litre petrol engine.

The standard manual box is light and feels good to use, but it has a vague clutch pedal so setting off from stationary takes some getting used to. We haven’t tried the automatic yet. 

All versions have strong and progressive brakes. At motorway speeds, the XCeed has a bit more road roar than a VW Golf but not too much wind or suspension noise.

“To drive, I was struggling to find anything remarkably impressive about it.” – Dan Jones, Reviewer

We reckon you should be able to get comfortable easily enough in the Kia XCeed. You can move the steering wheel up, down, fore and aft by a good amount, and the driver’s seat is comfortable on a long trip. Every XCeed gets adjustable lumbar support, too. 

The analogue speedo and rev counter are simple to read and supplemented by a 4.2in digital screen, which adds additional information, including the trip data. Top-spec GT-Line S gets a 12.3in digital driver's display that’s bright and clear, but doesn't really offer many advantages over the normal dials. 

We like that you get physical buttons for the air-con because they make it far easier to adjust settings on the move. In contrast, the touch-sensitive pads in the VW Golf are distracting and frustrating to use.

Thanks to its narrow front window pillars, you get good visibility out of the front of the XCeed, meaning you won’t struggle when pulling out of junctions. It’s not so good when you look over your shoulder, with the thick rear pillars reducing what you can see.

For that reason, you’ll be glad that every version comes with a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors to help with manoeuvring. Upgrading to GT-Line S trim makes things even easier, with the addition of front parking sensors.

Even when the sun sets, you’ll be able to see well in the dark thanks to the standard-fit LED headlights, which deliver a bright white light to help you see more clearly.

No matter which XCeed you go for, you’ll find a 10.3in infotainment touchscreen on the dashboard. The screen is clear, the system reasonably responsive to your prods and the menus intuitive. You can even split the screen three ways, meaning that, for example, you can use the radio, sat-nav and vehicle settings all at the same time. 

Speaking of which, the XCeed’s infotainment system comes with plenty of useful features, including sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring.

A good seven-speaker sound system comes as standard, but if you want to upgrade, you’ll need GT-Line S trim with its eight-speaker JBL system. That also adds wireless phone-charging.

Despite being cheaper than many rivals, the XCeed feels well built and features a good mix of soft-touch surfaces and gloss-black trims to lift its look.

That said, the Mazda 3 Hatchback has a near-identical price tag and is plusher. The best family cars for interior quality include the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series but they also cost a lot more.

“As someone who enjoys their music on a long commute, I found the eight-speaker JBL system on the GT-Line S pretty impressive. Even with the volume set reasonably high, the quality is still good.” – Dan Jones, Reviewer

If you or your passenger stand at more than six feet tall, no problem: you'll fit in the front of a Kia XCeed just fine. Head and leg room are generous, and the space on offer is similar to what you’ll find in a Ford Focus or VW Golf. 

When it comes to storage, the front door bins are a reasonable size, plus it has a couple of cupholders and some useful cubbies for wallets and phones, including a decent-sized one below the standard front armrest. If you go for GT-Line or higher, the armrest slides so you can adjust it for comfort.

Rear leg room is average while head room is unexceptional – going on tight with the panoramic sunroof fitted on GT-Line S. It’s a lot less roomy in the back than a Skoda Scala.

It’s not all bad news, though. Getting in and out through the fairly wide door openings is easy, and the rear seat is well shaped and comfy. The near-flat floor (there’s a very small central floor hump) means there’s plenty of foot space for the middle passenger.

There are storage nets on the backs of the front seats, a door cubby large enough for a bottle and two cupholders integrated into the fold-down centre armrest.

Ordering the top-spec GT-Line S trim is the only way to get 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats in the XCeed, an arrangement that makes it far easier to load long items into the boot while still having two usable rear seats. The rest of the trim levels – and most family hatchbacks – provide a less useful 60/40 arrangement.

You can’t get sliding or reclining rear seats in the XCeed. Those features are available on some SUVs, including the Skoda Karoq and VW Tiguan.

At 426 litres, the XCeed has a pretty big boot – bigger than a Toyota Corolla’s but not as vast as the Skoda Octavia’s. Certainly a buggy or couple of large suitcases will fit in the XCeed without any issue. 

You get a height-adjustable boot floor as standard with every XCeed. When raised, it irons out the step that’s created when you fold down the rear seats. It also reduces the load lip and the effort of lifting heavy items in or out.

“Rear head room really isn’t very impressive in the XCeed and six-footers won’t enjoy a long drive sat back there. My friends found that out the hard way!” – Dan Jones, Reviewer

If you stick to the entry-level Kia XCeed, the cash price is very competitive. It aligns well with the Mazda 3 Hatchback and Skoda Kamiq, undercutting most other rivals with equivalent petrol engines, including the Seat Ateca and VW Golf. 

The XCeed is predicted to lose its value at a similar rate to most of those rivals, helping to keep PCP finance payments competitive. 

You can expect the 1.0-litre XCeed to average around 47mpg, while the 1.5-litre isn’t far off that (around 45mpg). If you’re after a plug-in hybrid or fully electric car (EV) – perhaps you’re a company car driver – unfortunately you’re out of luck here.   

If you buy an XCeed, we’d recommend sticking with entry-level Pure trim, which is reasonably well equipped and keeps costs down. You get touchscreen infotainment and parking aids, 16in alloy wheels, keyless entry, automatic lights, air-con and cruise control.

Next up is GT-Line, which adds 18in wheels, sportier styling, heated front seats with adjustable lumbar support, dual-zone climate control and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.

Top-spec GT-Line S adds electrically adjustable leather seats with a memory function, 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats, wireless phone-charging, an upgraded stereo and more. 

GT-Line S is the only trim available with the 1.6-litre engine, but it’s already too expensive to recommend. 

In our 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, the XCeed placed towards the top of the family car table. Kia placed eighth out of 30 car makers featured – that’s above Hyundai and Skoda but below Toyota.  

That’s all very confidence inspiring, and even if you do have a problem, Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty is one of the longest available as standard on a new car, and is beaten only by Toyota’s 10-year warranty (if you regularly service at an approved dealer).

The XCeed has a full five-star rating from Euro NCAP. All versions have automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, a driver attention alert system and traffic-sign recognition. The top GT-Line S trim gets blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic assist.

“I think it’s a shame Kia has dropped the plug-in hybrid version of the XCeed because it made a lot more sense for company car drivers than petrol versions.” – Dan Jones, Reviewer

Buy it if…

- You like your family car to have a bit of SUV in its styling

- You like petrol power (that’s your only choice)

- You want a decently big boot

Don’t buy it if…

- You want a class-leading driving experience

- You regularly carry tall people in the back

- You want a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric car

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