Kia Cee'd SW car review

Model tested: Kia Cee’d SW 120bhp 1.6 diesel
Price as tested: £14,995
Range price: £12,995-£14,995
Insurance group as tested: 6
Insurance group range: 5-6
Date tested: March 2008
Road tester: Adrian Higgins

Auto Trader Ten Point Test rating: 81%

The Kia Cee’d SW offers style, safety and practicality PLUS a rival-beating seven-year warranty with the estate version of its acclaimed five-door hatchback.

That’s quite a debut for the Korean’s manufacturer’s first estate car.

We drove the Kia Cee’d SW to find out what it was like to drive.

Looks | Looks Inside | Practicality | Ride and Handling | Performance
Running Costs | Reliability | Safety | Equipment | X-Factor

1. Looks

The European-built Kia Cee’d has impressed UK buyers and journalists alike as a stylish rival to established five door hatchbacks. Its high waistband, subtle wheel arches and tapering front end have combined to form a fresh, modern design which has forced badge-snobs to rethink. This is also true of the Kia Cee’d SW. The estate version of the car is identical to the parent vehicle from the front to the rear doors aside from a 10mm height increase topped by roof rails. The big difference behind the back wheels comes in the shape of the 235mm addition to the car’s length which has done nothing to damage the car’s good looks.

8/10

2. Looks inside

The Kia Cee’d SW is pretty much identical to the non-estate version inside too. Again the model marks a big step up in quality and design. The integrated CD/radio, white dials, pleasing orange information display and two-tone dash combine to create a nice environment for drivers and passengers alike. We would have preferred a more grippy steering wheel than the smooth one supplied but the multi-function wheel had all the controls in the right places.
 
8/10

3. Practicality

As the Korean manufacturer’s first estate the Kia Cee’d SW is a superb effort. The hatch-style opening is set further forward to reduce the space needed to access the boot. It can swallow 534 litres of luggage up to the window line – nearly 200 litres more than the Kia Cee’d hatchback. Flatten the rear seats and this boot space expands to 1,664 litres. Storage is available under the boot floor too. Space in the cabin is generous with loads of headroom helping create a spacious environment. Roof rack rails come as standard.

8/10

4. Ride and Handling

The same long wheelbase, stiff chassis and independent front and rear suspension as the Kia Cee’d make for good handling and a comfortable ride. The steering is good with different settings for low and high speeds.

7/10

5. Performance

There is a choice of a 120bhp 1.6-litre petrol and two 1.6-litre diesel engines – offering 89bhp or 113bhp. Both diesel models have a top speed of 117mph with the 89bhp model covering 0-62mph in 14.1 seconds and the 113bhp version achieves needing just 11.7. The 120bhp petrol model covers 0-62mph in 11.1 seconds with a top speed of 119mph. A manual five-speed gearbox is standard with a four-speed automatic gearbox available now on the petrol engine and planned for the more powerful diesel model. We drove the 113bhp diesel model and found it combined good pulling power with a decent turn of speed in a better package than the petrol version we drove at the European launch of the Kia Cee’d SW. Kia has said it will produce a 2-litre diesel if demand warrants it.

7/10

6. Running Costs

The Kia Cee’d is priced competitively and the Kia Cee’d SW adds only a £700 premium. Buyers also get great value for money from the seven-year/100,000 mile warranty which, along with the car’s popularity should mean the car will retain more of its value when you come to sell it. The diesel models return 57.6 mpg compared with 43.5mpg from the petrol. The diesel model produces 128g/km to come into car tax band C (£120) while the petrol model’s 154g/km put it into car tax band D (£145)

8/10

7. Reliability

It’s a new car but that seven-year/100,000 mile warranty will give peace of mind to buyers, as will the build quality of a car which has really seen Kia raise its game.

9/10

8. Safety

The Kia Cee’d attracted a five star EuroNCAP crash test result in 2007 and the same level of safety is offered with the estate - including six airbags. Anti-lock brakes, electronic brake force distribution are standard with electronic stability program incorporating brake assist offered as an option on range-topping LS models.

9/10

9. Equipment

The Kia Cee’d SW is available in GS and LS trims. The GS trim features body-coloured bumpers, 16-inch alloy wheels, electric, heated door mirrors, roof rails, air conditioning and cooled glove box, six-speaker CD/radio, tinted glass, leather pack, six airbags, anti-lock brakes and electronic brake force distribution. The LS trim level adds front fog lights, body-coloured door handles, reversing sensors, full climate control and cruise control on the diesel model.

9/10

10. X-Factor

There’s a lot to like about this car but one feature still stands out – the seven-year warranty. No-one else offers it, and now it comes with a good-looking, safe, practical family estate which is good to drive too.

8/10