Sector: Lower Medium Price: €20,280–€27,660 Fuel: 3.6–7.4l/100km CO2: 94–170g/km

It may be an upgrade, but Kia has packed a lot into the tweaks to the latest Kia cee’d, including subtle changes to both interior and exterior, a new GT Line specification and several new engine options. All three body styles – three-door, five-door and four-door Sportswagon remain in the range.

Externally, the differences are quite subtle with the same grille treatment – ‘tiger-nose’ in Kia-ese. Other changes are in the front bumper – more angular and wider with chrome trim around the fog lamps and a new oval shaped grille mesh. At the back, there are re-shaped bumpers too, revised reflectors and LED rear lamps. New 16 and 17-inch alloy wheels designs are also available.

Inside the instrument binnacle gets chrome trim around it, as do the fascia vents and the central section of the fascia is now finished in anti-scratch gloss black. Diesel models get more sound deadening material in the carpets and ventilation system and around the dashboard panel.

Diesel models also gain additional sound absorbing treatment for the engine block, oil pan and diesel particulate filter. Kia is not alone in introducing a downsized one-litre turbocharged direct injection petrol engine (1.0 T GDI) to a C-segment car. 100hp and 120hp options will be on offer when the engine becomes available later this year. Preliminary data suggests 4.7/4.9l/100km fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of 109g/km.

Fleet buyers are likely to focus on the diesel models, which include 1.4CRDi and 1.6CRDi versions as before but with some revisions to the 1.6CRDi engines. A 110hp variant is introduced and the power output for the more powerful version has been raised from 128 to 136hp. This is now available with a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission replacing the previous six-speed automatic. For both 110hp and 136hp variants, friction reducing measures cut fuel consumption to 4.0l/100km or 3.6l/100km when fitted with Kia’s Idle Stop/Go ISG Stop/Start system. That translates into CO2 emissions of 104g/km or 94g/km. For DCT equipped models, CO2 emissions fall to 109g/km compared with 145g/km for the previous six-speed automatic model. A six-speed DCT is also available with the 1.6-litre GDi petrol engine.

Other changes include a new torque vectoring system, which reduces understeer by braking the inner front wheel under cornering. The electric power steering has been re-calibrated, the front wheel geometry revised to improve steering feedback while changes at the rear have been designed to improve ride comfort.

Driver assistance systems now include a speed sign recognition system shown by the speedometer and the navigation screen. Blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert are also available to warn the driver when a car is in the blind spot and when there is traffic while reversing out of a parking bay. The smart parking assist programme has also bee upgraded, a new navigation system with Kia Connected Services is available. The TomTom based system features live traffic updates, speed camera alerts, local search and weather forecasts.

It may be based on the same cee’d but the raft of changes give the car a different feel, altogether sharper in handling and road holding while the additional sound deadening in the diesels improves refinement. The new 1.0-turbo petrol engine is another refined and impressive 3-cylinder design, which could appeal to low mileage fleet users. The diesel models are undoubtedly impressive and the new DCT would be a good choice for those who prefer automatics.

The interior has a better quality feel to it while the digital instrument pack in the cars we drove offered a high-quality display that looks very like conventional instruments, with the flexibility of adding navigation information to the display in front of the driver.

Verdict: 

If this is the upgrade, how good will the next new cee’d be? Anyone who thinks that Kia still builds budget models needs to look again. The latest cee’d is a competitor for some of the sector leading rivals, while the broad range of engine choices and the new DCT provide something to suit a very wide range of drivers and uses.