Motors North

Kia pro_cee’d 2 1.6i manual

KIA has forgotten something on its 1.6i petrol-engined pro_cee’d coupe – a sixth gear.

After a week with the niche-market three-door hatch the cheeky South Koreans call a "coupe", I’m convinced there’s a warehouse full of lonely sixth gear cogs that someone failed to fit.

Why? Because this modest sporting three-door has such a smooth and able 1591cc 16-valve engine that it could easily pull a sixth gear and make cruising in fifth a less frenetic experience.

It’s not that the 1.6i is noisy or rough – it just sounds and feels that it could pull a higher gear.

The only reason for not making a six-speeder standard in this top-value coupe version of the outstanding cee’d five-door hatchback can only be an oversight, or cost.

Come to think of it, Kia is not in the "oversight" game. A more careful and calculating car builder you will not find anywhere else on the planet. It plans everything down to the last detail – and that’s why all of its latest generation models are so exceptionally good.

So it’s cost.

It certainly is not because the sweet-revving 124bhp four-cylinder engine is not up to the job – far from it. With an energetic 6300rpm at maximum power and a 114 lb/ft of pulling power seeping out at 4200rpm, there’s plenty of push for a sixth gear. Do the sums and you’ll see third is good for 80mph and when I probed the performance in second I managed 55mph before I was anywhere near the rev limiter. It was as sweet as a nut!

Smooth throughout its entire range, it is spinning at a brisk 3300rpm in fifth at motorway speeds and would benefit from losing 500rpm or so with a longer sixth cog.

But let’s face it, there’s nothing really wrong here.

The petrol power plant manages a satisfying 44mpg average and I couldn’t get it below 36mpg around town. It’s a great little engine that blesses this European-built hatch with great agility and makes it fun to drive.

Kia has hit the jackpot with the cee’d family. A modern, efficient, high-value family range that is a standard bearer for practicality and reliability. But the manufacturer has gone one better and anointed it with the car buyer’s holy grail – ultimate peace of mind.

No other car maker hands out a no-quibble, fully transferable seven-year or 100,000 mile warranty and a 10-year anti-perforation cover with every new cee’d or pro_cee’d. Just Kia.

The firm also manages to inject a little chutzpah into the proceedings. The pro_cee’d takes up the sporting slack with a chunky, ground hugging style while realistically being nothing more than a spacious three-door.

The only thing Kia needs to reconsider in my book is the daft model spelling. Everything else in the range makes grammatical sense, so why antagonise the English language pedants with underscores, lower case initial letters and pointlessly-placed apostrophes?

The answer is that it helps notarise the car and gives you something to get irritated about. It’s a brilliant promotional ploy.

But, the pro_cee’d is worth taking notice of – it’s an excellent example of a modern and well-built world car. Roomy, great fun to drive, good to look at, efficient, reliable and comfortable.

In fact there’s little to get concerned about here – unless you are a sad badge snob. Say what you like, that’s the only reason why some people shy clear of this fine family car – and it’s an invalid reason.

It’s not perfect, no car is. But where the pro_cee’d falls short is minimal stuff that you can live with without being inconvenienced. The dashboard plastic looks a bit cheap and cheerful and the tailgate is on the narrow side with a high sill. The loading floor has a well-braced cover but because the main cushion is fixed the seats can’t fold completely flat so there’s always a small ridge to negotiate if you are pushing a long item into the surprisingly roomy cargo area.

This coupe is a very practical car. With all five seats in place it leaves you with a useful 340 litre boot that extends to 1210 litres when you fold the seats down. Splitting the rear seats allows the loading to be flexible so you can carry extended loads and a rear passenger easily.

On the road the coupe rides firmly, but it’s supple. That’s thanks to 16-inch alloys shod with bump and noise absorbing 55 section tyres. That’s a sensible approach that gives the pro_cee’d a sharp sporty feel at the wheel without the jittery ride of some rivals.

Power steering is electric – it’s lightly weighted and delivers precision with good feedback and a tight 10.8 metre turning circle that is not robbing the engine of power like fuel-sapping conventional hydraulic systems.

At 2.65 metres long it is the same length as the five-door cee’d. But crucially it’s 30mm lower and that’s what gives the pro_cee’d its sporty style. To reinforce its elongated look the doors have been made intentionally long and help give an impression of lean, low style which also makes getting in and out easy.

Not only that but the doors have a three-stage opening step at 25 degrees, 50 degrees and will swing out to 70 degrees to aid access.

Intelligent design also means that whatever position you leave the front seat back in a memory function returns it to that position even after sliding it forward to allow passengers to climb in or out.

And a simple "traffic light" system for the rear seat belts gives the driver an easy visual check on the dashboard for 30 seconds after a stop to ensure all occupants in the back are belted up. However, those long doors make stretching for the front seat belt on the B-pillar a real strain.

My test car was the base model – a pro_cee’d 2. It is priced exactly the same as the equivalent five-door cee’d model with Kia avoiding the premium trap for a sporting coupe. And even though the pro_cee’d 2 is at the bottom of the five-model 1.6i line-up and a lot cheaper than the solitary two-litre CRDi Sport model with 138bhp, it still comes with a generous standard specification.

You get air conditioning with a cooled glove box, a superb MP3 compatible RDS/CD audio system, iPod connection cable, USB and auxiliary power sockets, 16-inch alloys, stylish black bezel headlamps, electric windows and mirrors, deadlocked remote central locking, six airbags, active front headrests, steering wheel mounted audio controls, headlamp levelling, tinted glass, trip computer, rake and reach steering column adjustment and some tasteful chrome trim on the steering wheel and around the interior.

And remember, we’re talking about the base model.

Kia has come a long way in a relatively short time. But a visit to its South Korean headquarters let me see how big and advanced this Far East car builder really is – it is massive and knows a lot about efficient car construction.

The pro_cee’d goes one better by being designed and built in Europe. It’s stunning value, great to drive, comfortable, affordable, safe and good looking.

What more could you want?

RATING: 8/10

FINAL THOUGHT: You know you’ve got a good car when the maker delivers it with a seven-year/100,000 miles warranty. The pro_cee’d may have an awkward name to spell, but it’s letter-perfect when it comes to value and build quality. It may not be the world’s most exciting coupe, but none can match it for budget buyer appeal.

Kia pro_cee’d 2 1.6i manual

Price: £13,745
Capacity: 1591cc
Power: 124bhp
0-62mph: 10.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 116mph
Economy: Combined 44.1mpg; Urban 35.3mpg
CO2 emissions: 152g/km
ESP: Not available
Insurance: Group 6

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Kia pro_cee’d 2 1.6i manual