Motors North

Kia cee’d 2 1.6 CRDi ECOdynamics

FOR a manufacturer traditionally assumed to be a “budget” producer, Kia manages to generate some gold-plated surprises.

Take the five-door cee’d hatch – not exactly a costly item in its standard guise and still a snip with a 1.6-litre CRDi turbodiesel.

But add environmentally friendly credentials, badge it as an ECOdynamics model, and still include the marque’s outstanding seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty – and you have a surefire hit.

I’m a bit of a motoring “eco” sceptic. Making cars lighter, skinning them to the bare bones, adding a few aerodynamic tweaks and making them so underpowered that they stretch a gallon at the expense of performance does not fool me for a second.

Give a car the “eco” label and they are all generally a political statement designed to impress unrealistic tree-huggers and allow respective manufacturers to reduce their overall carbon footprint.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the latter – even I want cleaner air. But not at the expense of a car that has arthritic performance and has the sound and feel of a galvanised dustbin.

Well, here’s a surprise – the Kia cee’d ECOdynamics is NOT like that.

It may be low-powered at 89bhp and be fitted with what I consider to be irritating “stop/start” technology, but it’s a superb effort that feels competent and practical with an appetite for diesel that makes me wonder if it’s heading for the car equivalent of bulimia.

It hardly uses any fuel.

The first thing I did was switch off the Kia ISG start/stop system. At least I didn’t get irritated with the constant shutting down and restarting of the diesel at junctions and lights.

Kia, and the rest, say it saves fuel. I’m not convinced. Perhaps in a congested stop/start city – but not in the north of Scotland.

And the downside is that it generates additional wear and load on the starter motor and engine with unnecessary stops and starts.

So, fully in control of my engine’s rotation, I sauntered around towns and cities before heading for the north-west Highlands in a bid to empty its 53-litre tank. It defeated me.

Hundreds of miles later, the frugal cee’d 2 ECOdynamics was still awash with diesel. I managed to average an incredible 66.1mpg after single track and mountain driving and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing in urban areas.

There were times on the A87 Achnasheen road, cruising at the legal limit, that I must have been averaging more than 70mpg – and not once did this willing wee five-seat family car appear particularly underpowered or lacking guts.

True, it’s not fast. Top speed is just 107mph according to official figures – and acceleration to 62mph from rest takes 13.5 seconds with the wind behind you.

But this “eco” candidate is fitted with a well-ratioed six-speed manual gearbox and, by making best use of its cogs and using the “change up” and “change down” indicators on the dash, I was able to hustle the cee’d 2 along past slower traffic.

It even tackled the infamous 2,000-feet-plus Bealach na Ba climb into Torridon without me having to get out and push!

Considering its modest output and near-1.5 tonne kerb weight, the car performed perfectly. That could have something to do with the fine 1582cc common rail turbodiesel’s 173lb.ft of torque that flows from 1750rpm and stays in peak delivery until after 2500rpm.

Perhaps, in “eco” car terms, this unlikely South Korean (that’s built in Europe) is the “green” cee’d that will lead to a harvest of proper non-hybrid family cars that are useable and environmentally friendly.

Several aspects contribute to the cee’d’s efficiency. It’s not particularly light but it is well built.

Body shut lines are tight to air aerodynamics and its shape, though hardly in F1 territory, is sufficiently slippery to make a difference in the cruise.

Take a look underneath and there’s another aerodynamic clue – an undertray that smoothes the airflow over the mechanical gubbins that dangle down in most cars and cause a lot of drag.

But what helps best are the tyres. Kia fits Michelin Energy Savers to 16-inch alloy rims – a fine low rolling resistance cover with a hard mix that has a cushioning 55-section profile to minimise road noise.

That’s not to say the cee’d is a paragon of silence, ‘fraid not! There’s a fair amount of road surface racket transmitted to the roomy cabin, but it’s acceptable in a car like this and never became intrusive.

Wind noise is average for the sector and, considering there’s a diesel knocking away under the bonnet, mechanical thrash is reasonably well subdued.

Like every cee’d, the ECOdynamics model handles predictably and safely. It comes with a five-star occupant safety rating, front and side airbags, ABS brakes, body crumple zones, and front belt tensioners.

But I was disappointed once again to find a mainstream family car where electronic stability programming is an option.

It may be affordable at around £383, but ESP ought to be on every car as a standard feature. Safety should not be an “option”.

As a family mount this is a fine five-door. The boot swallows 340 litres, and drop the split/fold rear seats and you’re left with an almost perfectly flat floor and 1,300 litres of cargo space.

And as a practical tug it has an impressive towing capacity too – 1.4 tonnes, which is more than sufficient for a small caravan or large garden trailer.

I make no secret of the fact that I like the cee’d. I’ve persuaded friends and readers to consider them.

Those who have overcome the British tendency to head only for “known” brands are glad they did and are delighted with their purchase. So they should be – the cee’d is a well-sorted family transport.

But, even though the ECOdynamics impressed me, I doubt I’d urge them to rush out and buy it.

I don’t like the “eco” nonsense that surrounds cars, because it often does not stand up.

My advice here would be to try the cheaper 89bhp cee’d 1 1.6 CRDi that does just about everything the “eco” model does at the expense of 1.8mpg less – and you don’t have irritating “start/stop” technology to raise your blood pressure

Alternatively, throw caution to the wind and buy the perky 113bhpp version of the cee’d 2 with the same 1.6 CRDi turbodiesel.

It’ll cost you same as the “eco” model, deliver more grunt and still give you an average of 62.8mpg overall – that’s 5mpg a gallon more than the “tree hugger special”.

Rating: 7.5/10

FINAL THOUGHT: Modest-powered budget hatch from Kia is no road burner – but it is very economical, impressively practical and meticulously assembled. But its crowning glory is Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty – a sales catcher that the industry envies and one you should not ignore.

Kia cee’d 2 1.6 CRDi ECOdynamics

Price: £14,500
Capacity: 1582cc
Power: 89bhp
0-62mph: 13.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 107mph
Economy: Combined 67.3mpg; Urban 60.1mpg
CO2 emissions: 110g/km
ESP: £383 option
Insurance: Group 14 (New 1-50 grouping)

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Kia cee’d 2 1.6 CRDi ECOdynamics