Kia cee’d, 1.6 CRDi (From York Press)

Kia cee’d, 1.6 CRDi

11:40am Friday 30th October 2009

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It’s the afternoon rush-hour in Liverpool, and no one is going anywhere very quickly.

To my right are the Albert Docks, to the left are the shopping cathedrals of the revitalised Liverpool One area. Lots of tourists and business people are pouring in, but they don’t stray past the stores, hotels and offices.

Only scousers can be found in the areas beyond, where boards announce the coming regeneration, but where for now only decay and poverty are evident. The houses in street after street are boarded up.

Hardly the environment, you would think, to try out the latest offering from Kia, a revised version of the best-selling cee’d hatchback that took the company into the mainstream of UK motoring after the initial offerings of budget superminis and and SUVs.

But the Kia people have put me in the middle of a traffic jam with good reason.

This is the new 1.6-litre diesel version with so-called Intelligent Stop & Go, the company’s tag for its version of stop-start technology.

It works in the same manner as systems offered by other manufacturers: when the car comes to a halt, slot the gear lever into neutral, take your foot off the clutch and the engine cuts out. Simply depress the clutch pedal and the engine starts up in a jiffy.

The usefulness of such technology was demonstrated by a colleague, who took with him a stopwatch for his stop-start journey into Liverpool’s nicer bits.

What he discovered was quite remarkable. For 11 minutes of his 45-minute voyage he was at a standstill, and without Intelligent Stop & Go he would have been needlessly burning fuel for a quarter of the time he was on the road.

Leaving aside the green benefits of Stop & Go, there are serious benefits to your pocket. The figures are impressive: CO2 emissions for the 1.6-litre CRDi are 110 g/km, while the official average fuel consumption figure is 67.3 mpg.

But the new cee’d is about a whole lot more than saving fuel. It’s 30 months since the original car was launched and it has been refreshed from top to bottom, inside and out, to incorporate the new Kia family look.

There’s an elegant slim grille, pinched in the middle to frame the Kia badge, changes to the lights to make them appear more dynamic, sharper creases in the bonnet and new lamp clusters at the rear creating an LED effect.

Inside, I first noticed the sporty four-spoke steering wheel housing audio and trip controls. It is a joy to handle. A quick look around reveals a spacious interior that utilises higher quality materials and feels both modern and functional. The centre console is especially well re-designed, making it easier to use the controls.

In the UK, Kia has a model line-up based on three trim levels and four engines – a revised 1.4-litre 89bhp petrol unit and a 1.6-litre petrol engine with 124bhp or 113 bhp or a 1.6-litre diesel with either 89, 113 or 124bhp. Prices start around the £11,000 mark.

Delivering a more sophisticated driving experience, the cee’d is now comfortably on a par with its more established mainstream rivals. It’s also a more enjoyable car to drive and, while not designed to thrill the keenest of drivers, it’s a willing companion over a stretch of flowing country road and more than capable of dealing with the streets of Liverpool or any other British city.

The various upgraded trim materials do much to boost the car’s appeal and help position it closer to the usual European suspects.

The same should be true of Kia’s decision to be more generous with standard equipment. Although never lacking in this department, there’s been a general improvement for this second generation car.

Airbags aplenty, electric windows, keyless start, a new audio unit which allows you to connect an iPod or MP3 player, plus parking sensors, hill start assist, air-con and high gloss interior trim all feature, depending on the model.

One thing that has not changed is the warranty. Kia is still the only manufacturer to offer a seven-year 100,000-mile peace-of-mind deal.

Kia cee’d, 1.6 CRDi

Price: £14,195.

Engine: 1.6-litre turbo diesel unit developing 89bhp.

Transmission: 6-speed manual transmission as standard, driving the front wheels.

Performance: Maximum speed 107mph, 0-62mph 14.0 seconds.

Economy: 67.3mpg.

CO2 Rating: 110g/km.

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