Kia Ceed Mk2 Review (2012-2018)
Kia ceed cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Good value
Decent standard equipment
Long warranty from new
Cons
Boring to drive
Interior design trails best in class
Ceed GT lacks thrills of a proper hot hatch
The CarGurus verdict
If what you’re looking for in a car is dependability, a reasonable driving experience, a modicum of style, plenty of space for the family and a high level of standard equipment, then the Kia Ceed is well worth popping along to a used car showroom to check out.
Keen drivers may bemoan the fact that it’s not faster or more fun to punt down the road, but most of us will be satisfied that the Ceed is quiet, comfortable, brisk enough to keep pace with the rest of the traffic, and thanks to its warranty and reliability, makes an excellent ownership prospect.
But beyond its practical virtues the Ceed has the looks and all-round ability to be a credible alternative to mainstream rivals. It isn’t as good as a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf, but it’s close enough for you to feel proud to have it sitting on your driveway.
The introduction of the Ceed in June 2012 marked a big change for Kia’s mid-sized hatchback family car. The original version sold primarily on the double strengths of being very good value for money and its seven-year warranty.
The newer Ceed also enjoyed those twin attributes, but was much better looking inside and out, well equipped, decent to drive, and could withstand direct comparison with some of the big players in its sector, such as the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf. The Ceed was now a properly desirable car – not just something to justify as the sensible, budget-conscious choice.
Three-door versions of the hatchback were officially badged Pro_Ceed, and the estate car was known as the Ceed Sportswagon or SW, but for the purposes of this review we’ll stick with the five-door’s simple Ceed name for all of them.
The Ceed is spacious enough for five adults, although the central rear passenger might not want to be perched there for long journeys. It is generally comfortable, but some drivers have complained about a lack of lumbar support for the front seats.
Longer and wider than the original Ceed, the second-generation model has a 380-litre boot, which is bigger than that of many rivals of the time, including the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf, and can be expanded to 1,318 litres by folding down the 60:40 split rear seat.
If you need more space, then the Ceed SW estate has a 528-litre boot, which expands to 1,660 litres with the rear seats folded flat.
Except for the GT model, the Ceed isn’t the most enthralling car to drive. Its steering is a little bit over assisted and the engines lack verve, but it cruises along quietly and the ride is comfortable, so it makes for unfussy daily transport.
It was initially available with a 99bhp 1.4-litre four-cylinder MPI petrol engine and a 133bhp 1.6-litre GDi unit, which were joined in April 2014 by a turbocharged 1.6 for the five-door GT model, producing 198bhp.
Two diesel engines were available – also a 1.4 and a 1.6 – with 89bhp and 126bhp, respectively, while a more powerful 134bhp version of the 1.6 arrived in 2015, when the Ceed received a facelift. That also heralded another petrol engine: a turbocharged three-cylinder unit with outputs of 99bhp and 118bhp, known as the T-GDi.
Most models featured a six-speed manual gearbox, but a seven-speed automatic gearbox was offered with some engines.
For as long as your Ceed remains within its seven-year warranty period – and provided previous owners serviced the car according to Kia’s servicing schedule – then it makes sense to continue to have it serviced at a Kia dealer to maintain that warranty. Yes, it will be more expensive than taking it to an independent garage, but the price difference tends not to be outrageously large, and it is possible to make savings by shopping around between Kia dealers.
It really is worth keeping that Kia warranty intact, because although the Ceed is generally very reliable, like any car it can have problems and Kia is usually fair and swift to sort out warranty claims. To clarify your thinking on whether it might still be worth going outside the dealer network come service time, an oil service at an independent is (at the time of writing) around £138 against £164 at a Kia dealer: a full service is around £175 compared with £225. There is a bigger gap for a major service, though, £228 versus £305. Service intervals are approximately every 12 months, although the on-board service indicator may vary that depending on how your car is driven.
Older examples of the Ceed are reaching the point where certain components are reaching the end of their natural lives. A replacement clutch costs between £290 and £500, depending on where you get the work done, while a new stop/start battery will set you back between £100 and £190. A full set of brake discs and pads costs about £600 at a Kia dealer, although you should be able to get the job done much cheaper at an independent garage, and because brakes are ‘consumables’ this shouldn’t affect your warranty. Premium brand tyres range from about £54 to £80 each.
In terms of fuel economy the 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine gives the best mpg, up to 78mpg for the 134bhp version, while the 1.4 diesel isn’t too far behind at a quoted 67 mpg. However, real world consumption is more like 48-55mpg. Similarly, the 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine is claimed to give 57mpg, but owners report that, in mixed driving, a figure in the mid 30s is more realistic. The other petrol-engined Ceeds give slightly less than that.
The reason that Kia is prepared to offer a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty is that its cars tend to be extremely reliable, the Ceed included. The car has won several reliability and customer satisfaction awards, helped by the fact that Kia is generally prompt to sort out those few warranty issues when they do arise. The Ceed has never been issued with a recall notice, which speaks highly of how thoroughly it has been engineered.
However, all this isn’t to say that the Ceed is perfect. The problems it suffers tend not to be widespread, but are common enough that you should be aware of them. On some examples, for instance, the clutch starts to bite almost as soon as the pedal comes up off the floor, usually a sign that a new clutch will soon be required (£290-£500). Headlights are known to start flickering, which remains replacing the whole unit. As some owners have discovered when their Ceeds have failed their MoTs, the LED daytime running light units can fail. Some garages suggest replacing them at a cost of £600, but if you’re lucky then it might just be a case of a dodgy LED driver unit or damaged circuit board, which are a much cheaper fix.
Strange noises from the brakes can be caused by a build-up of corrosion on the outer edges of the discs rubbing against part of the brake calipers. Any competent mechanic should be able to file away the rusted lip and bring peace back to your brakes.
Many owners report that the stop/start system on their Ceed works only randomly and sometimes not at all. Typically this is because the car’s battery can no longer hold sufficient charge to operate the system (although other factors are at play here, too), even after a long motorway run. Some owners aren’t concerned that they’ve lost the stop/start capability, but can be startled when it unexpectedly comes back to life after weeks of inactivity.
As diesel engines reach higher mileages there are reports that the swirl valves on the intake system are starting to fail, with Kia starting to quietly replace them under warranty if the car has less than 100,000 miles on the clock.
- There are five conventional trim levels, and they’re called 1, 2, 3, 4 and 4 Tech. There are also the sporty GT version and GT Tech, models, which then inspired the GT-Line (the good looks without the performance and insurance implications). Later in the car’s life there was the oddly named SR7, which sits between the 1 and 2. Even the entry-level Ceed 1 is equipped, while the Ceed 3 features automatic lights and wipers, dual-zone climate control and a touchscreen infotainment system including satnav.
- Kia’s seven-year/100,000-mile warranty is pretty well known these days, but its used approved scheme is less well publicised and it’s extremely generous. If you buy a car from Kia’s approved network then that clock is reset, and you get the full seven years and 100,000 miles of cover on a second-hand car. There are two caveats, though: the car must be less than 18 months old and have less than 18,000 miles on the clock. You pay more for an approved used Kia at a dealership, but this warranty extension is well worth having.
- As part of the 2015 facelift – which introduced redesigned front and rear ends, together with some new engines – the Ceed was treated to some interior enhancements. Among these was a ‘connected’ satnav system sourced from TomTom, which gives drivers live traffic updates and the option of automatic re-routing around congestion, speed camera alerts, local points of interest (parking, fuel stations, shops, train stations, etc) and weather reports.
- If you want the best value Ceed: The 1.4-litre petrol engine in the Ceed isn’t the world’s quickest, but if you’re in no great hurry it’s brisk enough and smoother than the 1.6. Marry that engine to a Ceed 2 trim package and you’ll enjoy aircon, electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors, electric windows all-round, 16-inch alloy wheels, DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control and reversing sensors.
- If you want the best fuel economy: Although not class-leading, all of the Ceed’s engines are reasonably economical, but it’s the 1.6-litre diesel that will take you furthest on a gallon of fuel; it’s Combined figure is 76mpg. You’re unlikely to achieve that in real world driving, of course, but low emissions go hand-in-hand with that quoted economy meaning that some 1.6-litre diesels are free from road tax.
- If there’s a bit of boy racer in you: The Ceed GT is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine good for 198bhp: this gives the GT the potential of 0-60mph in 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 143mph. Kia has done a great job with the Ceed GT’s external visuals, while inside Recaro sports seats reinforce the fact that this is the sporty model in the range. However, for all its get-up-and-go and macho looks, the Ceed GT isn’t characterful enough to drive to be considered a top-notch hot hatch.
- If your family travels with a lot of ‘stuff’: While both the three- and five-door versions of the Ceed are generously equipped in the boot department, the Sportwagon, or SW, can swallow most of the clobber associated with family outings: it’s larger inside than a VW Golf estate. As for engines, if you’re running the length and breadth of the country visiting relatives then the 1.6-litre diesel has the torque to haul along heavy loads. But if you’re mainly a city dweller then the turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol unit is punchier than its capacity suggests.
