Kia has given its popular Cee’d a facelift, complete with a subtle exterior update, new engines and a new seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Inheriting the bold styling and the current model, the slight facelift adds reshaped front and rear bumpers, chrome trim around the fog lamps and LED rear lights, plus new alloy wheel designs.
On the inside, the Cee’d features a redesigned dashboard with a new anti-scratch gloss black fascia, along with chrome details and the option of a new Brown Pack, which adds brown seat and door upholstery.
All engines available with the Cee’d are now Euro 6-compliant, while an all-new 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine will debut with the launch of the updated range.
Engineered for improved fuel consumption and emissions while offering strong performance, Kia says that this is the first in a new range of downsized engines due to go on sale in Europe.
The new engine will be available in a choice of two power outputs, with the basic version producing 99bhp with 172Nm of torque, while the hotter model produces 118bhp with the same torque rating.
Performance figures have yet to be released, though Kia claims that the new three-cylinder engine will yield “the lowest CO2 emissions of any petrol-engined Cee’d to date.”
With diesel engines proving popular among buyers, the 1.6-litre diesel option has been upgraded for smoother running, while a lower-powered 109bhp version is available across the range.
Alongside the new power options, the upgraded Cee’d range marks the debut of Kia’s new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, available exclusively on models with the 1.6-litre diesel.
Developed in-house by Kia, its engineers claim that it offers faster gear changes that a traditional automatic, plus lower running costs and a reduction in both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Other updates include an improvement in noise insulation, a new torque vectoring system to reduce understeer and additional safety features like parking assist, a speed limiter and blind spot detection.
