We review the Kia Cee’d (2008) from price to economy and all its features

KIA may not be the most exciting motor brand, but the new Cee'd change all that

Looking bright ... Kia's future looks better thanks to the Cee'd.

THE winds of change are sweeping through Kia. Like Skoda before them, the Korean giant has suffered from a motoring prejudice that is as easy to pinpoint as it is to fix and with their latest creation, The Cee’d, they seem to have saved me a lecture.

Of course, the difficulty with producing low cost motors is that while one of the main objectives is to keep the price down, cheap-looking materials, minimal spec and cuts in the design department are likely to put a large cross-section of buyers off.

The decision makers at Kia have obviously had a good long think about everything but the name of their impressive Cee’d - I’ll come to that later – and the result is a car that you really can’t ignore.

A first glance tells you that style has become a much more important part of Kia’s strategy, indeed, the design duties have been shifted to their European Design Centre in Russelsheim, Germany, just so the new model would appeal to the European market - an essential move if they want to take sales from the big four.

There are better-looking small family cars out there, but the Cee’d is certainly no motoring munter and if you’re not totally put off by the style, there’s a whole treasure trove of goodies waiting for you inside.

There are four trim levels - S, GS, LS and TS. Even the most basic spec comes equipped with air con and a cooled glove box, MP3 compatible CD player with four speakers and steering wheel audio controls, plus a trip computer! Now, that little lot puts some ‘higher class’ manufacturer’s efforts to shame

For the GS add electric and heated door mirrors, 16 inch rims, remote central locking, leather steering wheel and gear knob, two more speakers, plus an Aux and USB port to plug in your MP3 player.

The LS enjoys full climate control, rear electric windows, fog lamps and part-leather seats, while the range-topping TS gets 17inch alloys, a six-CD changer, alloy pedals, electric folding door mirrors, mats, black bezel headlights and leather sports seats.

There’s plenty of room inside too - Kia claims a class-leading interior length, while there's also a decent 340 litres of space in the boot, which increases to 1,300 litres when the 60/40 split rear seats are folded.

You’re well protected inside too, all models come with six airbags, plus ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, while the TS comes with ESP as standard, although it’s a shame Kia couldn’t have fitted this essential safety aid as standard across the range.

Kia aren’t afraid to ‘borrow’ the odd idea and while the Cee’d shares the same MacPherson struts on the front and 'in-wheel multi-link' rear suspension found on its stable mates, it’s been tweaked to recreate the ride of a Focus. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite reach the heady heights Ford have achieved, although the Cee’d handles well both around town and on open roads.

The same is apparently true of the steering, although it was VW’s Golf which provided the inspiration in this case. But once again, it probably would have been better not to mention this, especially as the electric power steering has about as much feedback as a Girls Aloud concert, which isn’t much.

The Cee'd comes with five engines: 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0-litre petrol units and 1.6 and 2.0-litre diesels. You can choose from both five and six-speed manual transmissions, while for an extra grand you can have a four-speed auto box.

The diesel engines are likely to prove more popular and despite lagging behind the petrol alternatives in the 0-62mph dash, the increased torque drags you up to cruising speed in a more satisfying style.

When you take all that in to account, the Cee’d does start to look like a attractive proposition, but here’s the killer blow – each one comes with a seven-year, 93,000-mile warranty!

Yes, you read it right. There’s five years on the entire car, plus another two for the powertrain, which means that should anything go wrong, it won’t cost you a penny to fix! What’s more, it's transferable, which will come in extremely handy when it comes to selling these cars on.

So, with this new model Kia are certainly sowing the seeds for a brighter future. Yes, I know it’s a rubbish joke, but it’s obviously what they had in mind when they came up with the name, which is in itself a bit rubbish, but at least it’s only the name that is!