Motors North

Kia cee’d 2 SW 1.6 CRDi

THERE’S a misconception about Kia cars. They’re not cheap – just good value.

When you check out prices against other mainstream family cars, Kia models do not necessarily look like the bargains you might think.

That’s because they are well-designed, safe and up-to-the-minute vehicles that just happen to be from a South Korean manufacturer still trying to make its mark in badge-conscious Britain.

Take the compact estate I’ve just had on test – the updated cee’d SW with 1.6-litre CRDi turbodiesel power.

It’s a fairly straightforward cee’d 2 that sits in the middle of the cee’d 1, 2 or 3 trim range and is one of five small estates built on the award-winning cee’d hatch platform.

Unusually my test car was finished in a solid colour – most test cars are metallic. It was a brave move by Kia press office staff but one that underlined there’s nothing wrong with solid, and it’ll save £404.

Mind you, with the return to 17.5 per cent VAT the car still costs £15,320. That’s not cheap – but think on.

Kia has a trump card up its sleeve that no-one in the industry can match – a confidence-guaranteeing seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty that covers every aspect of the car and can be transferred to a subsequent owner. Now that’s confidence!

What it points to is a manufacturer that has 100 per cent faith in its products, a car maker that feels it’s no gamble to tell the world "our cars won’t break down".

But does it rack up?

I’ve watched Kia cars closely for several years. I spotted their potential quite some time ago when, despite some dull models, it was obvious to anyone with a technical background that the manufacturing process, assembly and attention to detail on bodywork, electrics and drive lines was exceptional.

The cee’d is still not the most exciting compact front drive car in the world – and getting behind the wheel of a Golf, Focus or 308 will deliver a more rewarding and involving drive. But not everyone wants or needs that tactile element.

Let’s face it – the majority of people in this sector are looking for value, reliability, economy, practicality, low running costs, family protection and reasonable comfort.

The latest Kia cee’d family introduced last year has it all, and the SW (station wagon) estate is a handy family holdall to boot.

Cargo practicality is excellent. The estate’s loading area has a firm floor with four separate lidded underfloor compartments to secure items or place dirty boots.

Nearest the tailgate is a full-width and usefully deep and wide-lidded compartment with a larger, shallower area just ahead with handy sub-divided compartments for smaller items, plus two small flanking bins just behind each wheel arch.

With a rollaway security cover, the boot area is big and will swallow 534 litres of luggage. Better still, it expands to a huge 1,664 litres by dropping the rear seats – and easy operation with a split and fold set-up takes seconds to collapse or re-erect.

This is one well-appointed small estate. The rear seat squabs tip forward to allow the backs to lie flat with the load floor, and Kia builds in four tie-down points in addition to easily-accessed Isofix points for child seats.

The clever cee’d design extends to the outside where the tailgate is hinged well forward in the roof to maximise opening access but minimise the door’s height.

Up front it’s pretty impressive too. The latest cee’d has a better quality dash with some soft touch material and a great instrument layout.

The radio/CD generates good quality sound, and I was impressed by the signal-capturing ability of the roof aerial on a snowy drive down the A86 past Loch Laggan – a stretch with weak radio signals that really tests car receivers.

But the CRDi’s biggest feature is its sweet little diesel. It’s linked to a cracking six-speed manual gearbox with a top ratio that’s so long-legged that you really do need motorways to exploit its fuel-saving potential.

In the Highlands I found it better to stay in fourth or fifth to gain the best from the car’s remarkable economy and balance with easy cruising and overtaking power.

With 113bhp it’s man enough to haul a heavy load – it’s little wonder that the cee’d will tow 1.4 tonnes.

But there’s more to the 16-valve diesel. It’s responsive and extremely frugal.

Well-loaded when crossing from east to west coasts with a 1,300-feet summit in the way, the test car completed a 280-mile round trip at an average 55mpg. In less demanding driving along the A96 I averaged 59mpg.

That was a realistic test of the car’s ability and its easy-driving characteristics.

Front-wheel-drive means the car is predictable and corners brilliantly. There’s a touch of understeer on fast bends – but that’s good, and lifting the throttle easily tightens up the car’s line.

Ride quality is average, but the Michelin low rolling resistance Energy tyres with their shock-absorbing 55-section that Kia fits as standard smoothed out some serious frost-damaged surfaces.

And while road noise was not a factor for me or my front seat passenger, I have to say it was a different story in the back.

The rear wheels generate a fair amount of body and road racket – a shame when the rest of this 1.5-tonne compact estate is so refined.

The front seating is among the best I’ve experienced in this sector – supportive with excellent side bolsters for hip and back.

Visibility is good too, and the standard safety fit includes good ABS braking, front and side airbags but, sadly, no standard electronic stability programme. That costs an extra £383 and is well worth the expense.

My only other gripe about this impressive high value package is the positioning of the main interior light.

By placing it above the back of the front seats it may help to illuminate the back seat area, but it means the front has a very weak light that throws irritating shadows.

It would be far better if it had been in the conventional position just behind the windscreen brow.

This is an excellent family estate. It’s practical, packed with great storage options, will carry a serious amount of cargo, and is undemanding and easy to drive.

Add the exceptional turbodiesel engine and you may begin to realise why I selected the 1.6 cee’d CRDi as the best diesel in motorsnorth’s 2010 Car of the Year Awards.

Rating: 8/10

FINAL THOUGHT: Sensible compact family estate with a frugal turbodiesel engine and six-speed gearbox. Great cargo space for its size and well built. Rear wheels generate some road noise, but the car has an unbeatable seven-year or 100,000-mile all-encompassing warranty that no-one else in the industry can match.

Kia cee’d 2 SW 1.6 CRDi

Price: £15,320
Capacity: 1582cc
Power: 113hp
0-62mph: 11.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 117mph
Economy: Combined 61.4mpg; Urban 52.3mpg
CO2 emissions: 122g/km
ESP: £383 option
Insurance: Group 6

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Kia cee’d 2 SW 1.6 CRDi