What is it?          

The Kia Xceed is the vehicle you end up with after you adorn your normal Ceed with some chunky black bumpers and wheel arch protectors, raised suspension and a sprinkling of style.  You’ve then transformed your conventional family hatch into a small SUV, as is the trend these days, and one which here at Muddy Towers we really enjoyed.

Within the space of a month I had the pleasure of borrowing both the GT-Line S 1.5 T - GDi (the grey one), and PHEV ‘3’ 1.6 GDi (the green one).

On the road

With numerous long journeys planned during our time with both XCeeds, I was glad to see mpg figures in 70s popping up on screen on the PHEV, and mid to high 40s on the GT-Line - both were proving to be frugal without much effort on my part.

Our first proper drive in the PHEV was from Bolton to Sheffield via the Snake Pass, and that set the tone for the rest of week.  The weather was grim with mist, rain and flooded roads, but the Xceed handled itself exceedingly well (sorry).  Though Muddy Madam wasn’t overly impressed when I selected Sport mode from the auto ‘box and began throwing it around corners!

The extra height does mean you get a softer ride over the Ceed hatchback, and maybe a bit of extra lean around tighter corners.  That said, if you have a big 4x4s and want an Xceed as a second car, then it’s something you won’t really notice.  The steering is not only precise but well weighted, therefore giving you the confidence to drive a little quicker than you perhaps should.  Remember though, the Xceed is still a 2WD vehicle, despite its looks.

The 6-speed manual ‘box in the GT-Line was slick and fun to use, as you can imagine, and with 158bhp on tap it’ll put a smile on your face.  Of course there are faster vehicles out there, and although I enjoyed throwing the Xceed around twisty bits of roads, I did get the impression that it would much rather I calmed down a bit as the ride promotes a more relaxed style of driving.

When it comes to fuel consumption, after 658 miles the PHEV gave me 56mpg - this was without using external charging points, and the GT-Line S returned 44mpg after just over 200 miles.  I’m not saying I drove them hard, but you’ve gotta give them a proper test, if you know what I mean!

You would expect the plug-in hybrid with its 1.6 litre petrol engine and 8.9kWh battery to have a bit more punch over the 1.5 litre, but it doesn’t.  The former has 139bhp and a 0-62 time of 10.6 seconds, whilst the latter has 158bhp and will get you to 62mph in 8.7 seconds.

Interior

Lovely, actually. The interior has been given a minor update recently, and the latest version of Kia’s infotainment is very good and easy to navigate, as is the rest of the layout.

Kia deserve a 10/10 score for not following the silly trend of moving the heater controls to the infotainment screen, instead they are where they should be, in the centre with easy to read and use dials, and actual physical buttons - well done Kia.

Up front both driver and passenger have plenty of space to relax, but due to it’s sloping rear roof-line, tall passengers in the back might feel a tad cramped.

There is still decent amount luggage space, the GT-Line has 426 litres with the seats up. but because of the battery in the PHEV, that drops to 291 litres - yeah, that’s a lot to lose.

Conclusion

Okay, one annoyance, and it’s the same with all modern cars these days, the lane keep assist re-engages every time you start the car, but thankfully there’s a simple button to switch it off as opposed to navigating a complicated system.  Again, nice one Kia.

Sat in both Xceeds whilst they were waiting to be collected I couldn’t actually think of anything I didn’t like about them. With Muddy Madam’s words echoing around my mind;  “I would quite happily have one of the these.” I found myself agreeing with her.

At the time of going press prices are £33,495 for the PHEV and £30,770 for the GT-Line S.

For more details visit: https://www.kia.com/uk/