Car review: Kia Ceed

As far as sales are concerned, some models matter more than others to car-makers.

Kia, for example, is not too concerned about selling large numbers of its Stinger GT. The car’s purpose is mainly to show people what the company is capable of.

But the Golf-sized Ceed (note the change of spelling from cee’d) is another matter. This and the Sportage SUV make up 50 per cent of Kia’s UK sales, so a new version has to be good.

In some ways the new Ceed succeeds brilliantly. It is very well equipped and is groaning with safety equipment and new driver assistance technology.

It is also impressively economical. At the car’s launch we drove a 1.6 litre diesel CRDI version the 80 miles from the hotel in the Slovakian mountains where we were staying, to the company’s factory at Zilina.

For the first (Iargely downhill) 40 miles its computer showed 98mpg. For the next 40 miles, through towns and traffic jams etc, the figure slipped a little but still read 83mpg when we arrived – comfortably beating Kia’s claimed combined figure of around 70mpg.

This new third-generation car – the first version arrived in 2006 – is new from the ground up and is certainly the best equipped and most economical Ceed (or cee’d) we have yet seen. It is comfortable and roomy and rides very well. But in one regard it falls a bit short. It both looks and feels remarkably bland.

This is not a criticism of other Kias. The tiny Picanto, Sportage, Rio and especially the rather brilliant Stinger, all have truckloads of personality, but it is just not there in the Ceed. This may not matter a jot for many buyers, who are much more concerned about sheer practicality and a seven-year warranty than fun. But the fact remains that all other Kias would be more enjoyable to live with.

The Ceed is in a hotly contested segment of the market, with some extremely good opposition. To send it out into the world with looks which echo so many other designs and fail to surprise or delight from any angle, seems a bit like sending Kyle Edmund out onto the Centre Court without a racquet.

With diesel being unfashionable for small cars, the major seller is expected to be the 1.4-litre T-GDi petrol version. This is a nice smooth engine but being so tall-geared it lacks torque and you frequently find yourself in one gear lower than you would expect. It also falls off the cam when starting from rest on even mild gradients and can stall too easily. Not an ideal choice for driving schools.

There are plenty of engine options, from a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol unit with 118bhp, through the 1.6-litre diesel and 1.4-litre petrol with 138bhp, a choice of manual or auto gearboxes and four trim levels.

The cee’d was always a likeable car and the new model will probably do very well. But it seems a shame that some of its likability has been lost en route.

Details: Kia Ceed First Edition 1.4 T-GDi 6-speed manual

Top Speed: 130mph

Combined mpg: 48.7

0-60 mph: 8.6secs

CO2: 132g/km

Price: £25,750