Kia Ceed 2012-2018 review | A sound used family car purchase

What is the Kia Ceed?

The introduction of the second-generation 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.

How practical is it?

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.

What's it like to drive?

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 98bhp 1.4-litre four-cylinder MPI petrol engine and a 134bhp 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.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Standard equipment levels on the Ceed were generous. Even the entry-level 1 got air-conditioning, six airbags, Bluetooth connectivity with music streaming, and small niceties like steering wheel controls for the stereo and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

2 was, somewhat unsurprisingly, the next step up in the Kia range, and it came with alloy wheels, LED rear lights, cruise control, and Kia’s Flex Steer system.

3 then gained a touchscreen sat-nav system, as well as a reversing camera, dual-zone climate control, and automatic headlights and wipers.

4 was a more luxurious specification, with leather upholstery, heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. You also got air vents for the rear seats, an upgraded centre console with a sliding arm rest, and a stop-start system. Sportswagon models also got a net barrier between the boot and back seats, and a luggage rail system in the boot itself.

But there was more: if you wanted, you could upgrade further to the 4 Tech, which got a panoramic sun roof, Xenon headlamps, and an electrically adjustable driver’s seat.

Then there was the GT version, which sat somewhere between 2 and 3 in terms of its specification, but also got sports front seats, red brake calipers, and a bodykit.

GT Tech then sat between 4 and 4 Tech, with satellite navigation, a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, and Xenon headlights all coming as standard.

Also worth noting is that there were a couple of special editions along the way – such as the value-oriented SR7 and insurance-friendly VR7 – which had slightly tweaked equipment levels compared with the standard models on which they were based.

The Ceed was always sold as something of a budget offering – and to be fair, interior quality isn’t quite up there with rivals like the Volkswagen Golf. Having said that, it’s not bad – it’d give a contemporary Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra a run for its money – and it all feels well screwed together.

Kia are good at making super-usable, hassle-free interiors, and the Ceed is no exception. All the buttons and switches are where you’d expect to find them, all work intuitively, and the dashboard instruments are clear and easy to read.

The only real usability flub is the steering wheel in pre-facelift models, which has so many buttons on it you might struggle to work out which one you want in a hurry. When the Ceed was facelifted, a new steering wheel design sorted even this issue out.

There’s even a bit of flair to the instrument binnacle, with the main gauges located at the ends of three rather lovely deep cowlings. Meanwhile, the touchscreen – where fitted – now looks rather dated, and it isn’t the fastest thing in the world either – but it works.

Kia Ceed running costs

The most fuel-efficient version of the Ceed is the 1.6 CRDi diesel, which can achieve around 55mpg on average. The 1.4-litre diesel will fall slightly short of that, but should still get north of 50mpg in everyday use.

If you’re after a petrol, the 1.0-litre turbo is likely to be the most fuel efficient – reckon on around 40mpg in day-to-day use. 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol versions won’t quite match that, but should average around 35mpg or so.

While you probably won’t be choosing the powerful GT version for its fuel economy, it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s pretty thirsty, even by the standards of hot hatches. Owners reckon 40mpg is do-able with careful driving on a long run, but around town fuel economy falls off drastically, so don’t bank on much more than 30mpg on average.

It’ll be quite pricey to insure, too. The GT sits in Insurance Group 29; that isn’t too far off a full-fat hot hatch like the Focus ST, which sits in Group 29.

Thankfully, the rest of the Ceed range is reasonably affordable to insure. The cheapest is actually the 1.4-litre diesel version of the VR7 special edition, which sits in Group 6, but even the top-spec 1.6 GDi 4 Tech isn’t too costly to insure, sitting as it does in Group 15.

Servicing and repair costs are very reasonable, meanwhile, and Kia even offers service plans which enable you to pay for a few years’ worth of services at once, which can help guard against price inflation.

Kia Ceed reliability

All of these second-generation Ceeds will now have fallen out of their warranty periods, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because they have a solid reputation as reliable cars.

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.

Headlights are known to start flickering, which remains replacing the whole unit. And 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.

Diesel engines can also suffered from failed swirl flaps at higher mileages. This can be potentially disastrous if the plastic flaps get sucked into the engine, but they can be removed relatively easily, which is a form of preventative maintenance worth considering.