Kia pro_cee'd Review

Kia pro_cee'd

Safety and Security

The five-door Kia cee'd hatchback achieved an NCAP rating of five stars. Currently the Kia pro_cee'd has yet to be tested but there is no reason to believe it won't be awarded five stars.

Standard features include all-disc anti-lock braking with electronic brake force distribution, ensuring that the stopping power is distributed to the wheels with most grip. Twin front and front-side airbags plus full-length curtain airbags are standard across the range. The front passenger airbag has a cut-off switch so that a rear-facing child seat can be safely mounted. Intelligent active headrests are standard across the range for the two front seats and help to minimise the risk of whiplash injury if the Kia cee'd is shunted from the rear. In a rear-end collision they move forward to restrain the rearward movement of the occupants' necks.

Two ISOFIX child-seat mounting anchors with top tether points are fitted to the two outside rear seats.

It is a shame to see that the Electronic Stability Control (ESP) or as Kia calls it ESC is an option on the series 2 and 3 models we feel it should be standard throughout the range. ESP detects potential loss of grip at either the front or rear and returns the car to a safe course by braking a wheel, reducing engine power or both thus preventing a skid.

To ensure the Kia pro_cee'd is as secure against theft as it is in an accident, deadlocks are fitted to the doors and an engine immobiliser is standard. On-the-move security it taken care of with speed sensing auto-locking which is selectable at the time of the PDI (pre-delivery inspection).

Comfort and Refinement

The standard specification is quite high across all the models with air conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels, black bezel headlamps, a RDS radio-CD player that is compatible with MP3 players or iPods, USB and auxiliary power sockets and an iPod connection cable, rake and reach steering adjustment and driver's seat height adjustment, active headrests on both front seats, front electric windows, remote central locking with deadlocks, six airbags and headlamp levellers.

The doors automatically lock once the car is on the move, there are steering wheel-mounted audio controls, tinted glass, a trip computer and leather garnish on the steering wheel, gearlever and handbrake grip. There are also chrome accents on the door strips and handles, the transmission lever and the steering wheel.

The Kia pro_cee'd 3 model that we tested added 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control, cruise control, cloth-and-leather seats and the sports pack which includes a chrome-insert grille, aluminium door scuff plates, alloy pedals and silver stitching on the seats, armrest and steering wheel.

The climate control never really seemed to be that happy and rather than offering a seamless operation it seemed to step the system up and down a lot. The glove compartment has a duct from the air conditioner, so that you can keep your stash of chocolate cool.

The Kia pro_cee'd 3 is equipped with cruise control but we would have preferred to have seen ESP as standard we very much doubt that the average driver uses cruise control in this class of car.