A Complete Family
by Richard Dredge (25 Jan 08)

The three-door pro_cee'd is the final member of the family to reach the market; we already have a cee'd five-door hatch plus the SW estate; the pro_cee'd is the model that's tasked with taking the brand into previously uncharted territory by offering something that focuses on sportiness rather than practicality.

First impressions are certainly favourable; the rakish lines look far less frumpy than those of some rivals, although that small rear side window can make it feel a tad claustrophobic in the back. The proportions are definitely better than the five-door's though; this car sits 30mm lower while also being 15mm longer, even though the wheelbase is identical between three and five-door editions.

To demonstrate the pro_cee'd, Kia took us to Turkey, which was nice for all concerned but didn't exactly highlight the car's strengths because the country's roads are generally appallingly surfaced. The only major mechanical difference between the pro_cee'd and it's five-door sibling is the suspension; sporty settings have been brought in to go with the looks, and I reckon they got a bit carried away.

Everything has been stiffened up while the rear anti-roll bar has been thickened to reduce understeer; it all sounds promising enough but on Turkish roads the car's ride was too harsh. On UK surfaces it would feel less jarring, but at times it felt as though there was a beam axle at the back, the car hopping about on really bad craters in the tarmac.

The suspension work means the pro_ceed rolls less through the bends, but this is no hot hatch. To be fair, Kia doesn't claim it is one, but the ride appears to be biased towards hard-core drivers, and that's just the sort of person who won't be buying a pro_cee'd, although Kia hopes that its first true enthusiast's car may not be that far away.

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