Kia ProCeed drive by Steve Rogers
This is a bit mean but the first thing I do when
reviewing a car is try and find a fault.
In years gone by you could draw up a list but it is
not so easy now. There are no bad cars these days and so there shouldn’t be after
more than 120 years trying to get it right.
My old English teacher gave us a good piece of advice:
Make sure you get the simple things right. That mantra could be applied to the
ProCeed, all the bases have been covered, although I did come across one niggle
but you will have to wait until the end to find out what it is.
ProCeed is part of the Ceed family and started life as
a slightly sporty three-door hatch only to be replaced in 2019 by this rather
sleek estate, or shooting brake as it is badged. Its job was to add pizzaz to
the range. Box ticked.
It is longer and lower than Ceed Sportswagon with a
coupe style roof and steeply raked tailgate. A more dynamic chassis has spiced
up handling but this is no flaming hot hatch. A Volkswagen Golf GTI it ain’t,
yet it will fly around bends faster than will ever be need on public roads but
at the same time road surface damage is well cushioned so this is very much a
car the family can enjoy.
A midlife upgrade has seen cosmetic surgery to the
front end, new light signature, snazzier grille finish and large air intakes
either side of the bumper. The range has been paired down to two models and one
engine, a 1.5 litre petrol turbo.
Although the emphasis is semi-sport ProCeed is a
practical family car but still cool enough for the kids to quite happily pile
into for a lift to school. With no boot lip and lower ride height it is
arguably more practical than Sportswagon.
These days the major upgrades are centred on
technology and that is the case here, from the 10.25in central touchscreen to
the 12.3in digital driver’s binnacle. Drivers will enjoy the simplicity of the
displays in the eyeline which impart loads of information via rotating steering
wheel buttons.
Other tech upgrades bring in Kia Connect telematics
with live weather updates, while journey directions can be pinged to the on
board navigation from a mobile phone app, or they can be relayed to the screen
using smartphone integration.
The spec is good across both models but go all in for
GT-Line S and it is pamper time with heated seats front and back, powered
tailgate, along with a host of other features and, of course, a safety list as
long as your arm. Highlights are adaptive cruise control and cross traffic
alert which can stave off a rear end shunt pulling out of a parking bay and
should be a standard fitting on all cars.
Kia has not knocked it out of the park with ProCeed
but nearly five years on it is still a car that is almost flawless. It is worth
recording that Ceed has made Kia, even though it is no longer its top seller,
but has helped the brand double sales to more than 100,000 a year since first
appearing in our showrooms way back in 2006.
So what was the flaw I found in the goody two shoes
ProCeed? Your thinking the name, which I agree is a naff. No, my niggle is the
brake auto hold which has to be switched on every time the car is started.
Okay it is minor and hardly a deal breaker, but lots
of other makes have it sorted so, just for me, put it right.
Fast facts
ProCeed GT-Line S
£32,270 (starts £26,665)
1.5 T-GDi; 157bhp. 7sp auto
0-62mph 8.8secs; 130mph
46.3mpg combined
138g/km. First tax £255
Boot: 594-1545 litres
Insurance group 19
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