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Kia XCeed 2019 Review

Kia is a motoring industry success story, having built its name on sensible products along with its reassuring seven year manufacturer’s warranty. Styling-wise, it upped its game with the Peter Shreyer (ex-Audi) designed Sportage in 2010 and hasn’t looked back since. Its cars are genuinely good to drive and UK models are well equipped. Now, perhaps questioning whether we have reached peak SUV, Kia has brought us the XCeed, a hatchback-SUV crossover.

Unlike the Ford Focus Active - its closest and only real rival - the XCeed has a new and different body to the regular Ceed. It is 26mm wider, 85mm longer and 44mm taller. It’s a looker too, with smooth lines and athletic stance. There are some other notable visual differences to the regular Ceed, with a softer grille shape, daintier headlights and particularly neat tail with very raked rear glass.

The XCeed delivers good ground clearance (172-184mm, depending on wheel size); aided by deep tyre walls, it makes sense for rough tracks and of course the dreaded speed bumps. The XCeed is not full all-terrain model, being front-wheel-drive only, but the mix of style and promise give it much kerb appeal.

Interior

Soft-touch matte finishes dominate the cabin and while not as roomy as an SUV, the extra dimensions do make it spacious right through. Seating is comfortable and ergonomics are good. We like the sensible number of physical buttons on the facia for quick and easy access to media and climate functions. The wide 10.25-inch infotainment display is simple to operate and offers a handy spit screen mode.

On our test car, we have the yellow colour pack, with cheery facia inserts and seat detailing, unique to the First Edition specification.

Engine

XCeed buyers have a choice of 1.0 or 1.4-litre T-GDi petrol engines (delivering 118 and 138hp respectively) and a 1.6 CRDi diesel (with either 114 or 134 bhp). The seven-speed auto ‘box is available on 1.4 petrol (‘3’ and First Edition trims only). A plug-in hybrid version of XCeed and Ceed models is due early 2020.

Specifications

Trim-wise. there is a choice of ‘2’, ‘3’ and First Edition and drivers won’t find any of them lacking in equipment. The ‘2’ trim has 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, keyless entry, LED headlamps and heated door mirrors. All models have a good set of safety kit, including driver attention warning and forward collision avoidance assist. We are also pleased to see they come with a space saver spare wheel instead of the less useful tyre foam and compressor kit.

‘3’ adds larger (18-inch) alloy wheels, auto wipers, navigation and rear parking sensors. Inside, there are heated seats and steering wheel, electronic parking brake as well as upholstery upgrades to include faux leather sections.

With a top end First Edition model on test, we are treated to all the luxuries, from JBL Premium audio to fully 12.3-inch digital driver display. Also included are front parking sensors, smart park assist, tilting/sliding panoramic roof, faux leather seats with bold yellow detail stitching, power tailgate and blind spot warning.

On the road

Fitted with the larger petrol engine, the XCeed feels lively enough and the software controlling the automatic gearbox makes sensible choices for change points. There are no steering wheel paddles but the gear lever can be used to override the gear should the driver desire.

Refinement-wise, there’s a little road noise transmitted into the cabin but otherwise it is composed and rides well. We found around 30 mpg was typical over journeys with a more heavily urban bias.

Summing up

The XCeed isn’t ground-breaking but is an attractive and practical take on the C-segment hatchback. It is well-equipped (the UK won’t receive a lowly ‘1’ specification) and of course being a Kia, it all feels well put together.

Any negatives? Only with the PR blurb referring to an ‘SUV-sized cabin’ which is a tad optimistic but the XCeed is still more than capacious enough for most families’ needs.