Kia decided that it would be a good move for the brand to first sell only the three-door Pro-Cee’d GT in the hot hatch-loving UK market, and now it’s completing the sporty range with the addition of the more practical five-door.
Priced from £20,495, it’s £500 more expensive than the previously released coupe, but looks nowhere near as sharp and hot hatch-ish as the former, despite having been given the exact same visual treatment.
Not designed to compete with the most powerful in class, the Cee’d GT features a 201 hp engine that also puts out 265 Nm – both average figures for the class, and a long way away from Peugeot’s close to 270 hp 1.6-liter turbo; the sprint to sixty takes a leisurely 7.4 seconds.
It should prove easy to drive day-to-day, as 80 percent of the maximum torque comes in from under 1,500 rpm, so progress can be made without thrashing the unit – if you’re gentle, the manufacturer says you could see 38.2 mpg UK (31.8 mpg US/7.4 l/100km) on the trip computer.
But don’t worry, this is not your average Cee’d, benefitting from a sport-tuned chassis (not an aggressive setup, though), firmer suspension with stiffer antiroll bars and bigger brakes. The 18-inch wheels come with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tires, and those help cornering and steering feel too.
Visual changes are multiple and mirror those of the three-door: the unique front fascia with those striking LED foglights/DRLs, the red trim all around the body and, of course, a smattering of GT badges. Inside, “the driver and front passenger are gripped by Recaro sports seats” with contrasting red stitching that’s also visible on the steering wheel and gear lever and door cards – the steering wheel even gets perforated leather on the grips at quarter to three.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
