Auto Trader

On the road price: £13,245 & £14,245

Range price: £10,995 - £14,245

Insurance group: 4-6

Tested: January 2007

On the road: February 2007

Road tester: Stuart Milne

The Cee'd, says Kia is the most important car it's ever launched.

And operating in an ultra-competitive part of the car market which is dominated by the Focus, Golf and Astra, it's probably right.

Kia is a brand on the up – moving away from its cheap-and-cheerful image, the Korean giant is aiming to shift around 100,000 of its cars a year in the UK alone.

The Cee'd is the car it says will help them achieve it.

To illustrate its serious about its success, the Cee'd is the first car to receive a fully transferable, seven year, 100,000-mile warranty.

Its clear Kia has pulled out the stops to achieve this. The Cee'd is the first Kia to be designed in Europe, exclusively for Europe – and it shows.

Gone are the boxy, uninspired and anonymous looks of old, and in comes a curvy new style which has hints of Focus and Seat Leon.

And the Cee'd has a fair bit of verve on the move too.

Sitting in the shadows of palm trees outside Nice airport in Southern France, the row of UK-spec Cee'ds Kia had laid on for the assembled journalists looked every bit as stylish as the local population.

Confirming its European credentials, even the name pays tribute to its Euro feel – Community of Europe, European Design.

From a side profile, the Cee'd looks well proportioned, and not at all awkward like previous models, and with a curved front end and a pair of headlamps a-la Ford Focus, it really does look the part.

The rear elevation is framed by the large rear light clusters, with a swirling pattern in the tail/brake lights which gives an effect unlike any other. Kia's boffins have even designed them to deflect water and dirt.

As we climbed inside, it was clear we were sitting in a Kia, but brought up to date. The acres of hard plastic we expected to see were replaced by a far more tactile material, and there were some features rarely seen on £80,000 cars – let alone one weighing in at a little over £10,000.

One such feature was a USB socket – which was accompanied by a headphone-sized auxiliary input – to plug MP3 players in. Full iPod integration will be coming around summer 2007 too.

We drove the range-topping LS models, which count automatic climate control, rear electric windows, front fog lamps and half leather seats among the kit list.

This is in addition to the base 'S' model's MP3-ready CD player, six airbags, a steering wheel which adjusts for rake and reach and front electric windows; and the SE's 16-inch alloys, remote central locking and colour-coded bumpers.

All models come with whiplash-reducing intelligent headrests, which move forward in a collision to support the occupants heads, a passenger airbag deactivation switch (to enable the use of child seats in the front) and front driver, passenger, front side and full-length curtain airbags.

There's no EuroNCAP crash test result at the moment, but Kia hope the Cee'd will achieve a full five star rating over the next few months.

On the move, there's good all-round visibility, helped by large wing mirrors, and a high roof line provides plenty of headroom for rear passengers.

In fact, Kia says it's got more interior space than any of its rivals.

We found it simple to get a comfortable driving position, and on our twisty test route around the Cote d'Azure, we were held firmly in place.

Of the four engine configurations available – a 1.4 and 1.6 petrol and two 1.6 diesels in 90bhp and 115bhp guises – we drove the 1.6 petrol and 115bhp diesel, which is tipped to be the best seller. A 2-litre diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox will be available around the middle of 2007.

The 1.6 petrol, despite only packing 122bhp and 154lb/ft of pulling power feels lithe on the bends, and its rev-happy demeanour means wringing the power from it is a reasonably pleasant experience.

It can dispatch the benchmark 0-62mph dash in 10.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 120mph. All with an average fuel consumption figure of 44mpg.

Its steering offered more feedback than expected, and meant the Cee'd could be thrown into corners, with only a touch of twitchy understeer - when the car wants to go straight on with the wheels turned mid corner - becoming apparent when driving hard.

Although falling short of the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, which set the standard in this class, the Cee'd offers competent handling and decent ride comfort.

The 1.6 petrol was generally refined, unless driven hard.

At our lunch stop in Fragonard – the world's centre of perfume production – we swapped into a 1.6-litre diesel.

Almost immediately, the Cee'd felt more alive, with a far larger reserve of pulling power. The figures stand at 115bhp and 255lb/ft of pulling power, meaning it has a 0-60mph time of 11.5 seconds and a top speed of 116mph.

The trade-off is a loss of refinement, with the engine becoming noisy at high revs. But with it being capable of more than 60mpg, it’s a cross we're willing to bear.

Later in 2007, the five door version will be joined by an estate version and a sporty looking three-door variant to cover all the bases, while depreciation – traditionally a worry for Kia owners – will be kept to a minimum with the seven year warranty.

Although the waters are muddied by its seven year cover being a combination of a five year comprehensive warranty, followed by more limited cover for the next two years, it will still appeal to many buyers.

With the top five models accounting for almost three quarters of the segment, it'll take a lot for Kia to make big inroads; but in the Cee'd it has a quality product – if lacking in ultimate pizzazz – which makes an interesting alternative.

That seven year warranty will help too.

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