All-New KIA ProCeed – Shoots For The Stars.

Following on from the launch of the third generation Kia Ceed last year, comes the all-new Kia ProCeed, complete with a svelte ‘Shooting-Brake’ bodystyle for the first time. With the previous model having been available with a 3-door-only bodystyle, the new ProCeed opens itself up to a much greater audience.

Shooting-Brake Bodystyle;

Shooting-brake is the term used for a car body style, which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn vehicle used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game. During the 1960s and early 1970s, several high-end European manufacturers produced two-door shooting-brake versions of their sports cars, but more recently, manufacturer’s such as Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, have created five-door shooting-brake versions of their CLA/CLS and Panamera, respectively. Ironically, in my opinion, the rear end of new Kia ProCeed has a similar look to the rear of the Porsche Panamera – and this contributes to the sporty profile of Kia’s newest offering.

‘GT Line’ Specification;

Available in just one trim level, the Kia ProCeed ‘GT Line’ merges stunning design with the space and versatility of an estate car in a five-door shooting-brake body, making it the sportiest version of the Kia Ceed family. The ProCeed is sold exclusively across Europe, and is covered by Kia’s quality promise, with the brand’s industry-leading 7-Year/150,000km warranty as standard. Designed, developed and engineered in Europe, the new ProCeed is a product of Kia’s European design, product development, and research & development (R&D) teams in Frankfurt, Germany. It is manufactured at Kia’s factory in Slovakia, to the extremely high build quality standards that we have come to expect from Kia of late.

New, Frugal Petrol Engine;

The new ProCeed is powered by Kia’s new 1.4-litre T-GDi (petrol) engine, with no diesel option presently available. Producing 140bhp and 242Nm of torque, this four-cylinder, turbocharged engine is capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 9.1-seconds, on its way to a top speed of 210km/h, when fitted with a standard six-speed manual gearbox. A slick-shifting seven-speed DCT (automatic) gearbox is available as an option, at a very reasonable premium of €1,500. In manual guise, the new ProCeed will consume as little as 4.9-litres of petrol for every 100km’s driven on an extra-urban driving cycle, with this figure reducing to as low as 4.7l/100km when fitted with Kia’s DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) gearbox. Annual road tax is just €280 no matter what transmission option is chosen, making the new ProCeed an attractive financial proposition.

Test Car;

My test car was finished in striking ‘Infra Red’ metallic paint, and is one of just three colour options available in the ProCeed – with the other two being ‘Deluxe White’, and ‘Blue Flame’. Standard ‘GT Line’ specification is very impressive, and includes items such as 17” alloy wheels (with a space saver spare wheel), satin-finish beltline, high glossy black mirror covers, glossy black and satin chrome front grille, LED headlamps, LED daytime running lights, LED front fog lamps, rear spoiler with an LED high-mounted stop lamp, LED rear combination lamps, leather-trimmed multi-function steering wheel (flat-bottomed), metal pedals, centre armrest with storage facility, 60:40 split-folding rear seats, rear centre armrest with cup holders, cloth & artificial leather seating material, DAB & RDS radio, Bluetooth™ with voice control, 8” LCD touchscreen infotainment system, rear camera, parking distance warning, Android Auto™ and Apple CarPlay™ compatability, TomTom navigation with WiFi, electric parking brake, manual air-conditioning, along with many more comfort and convenience features.

Advanced Safety Systems;

The ProCeed also comes with a range of Kia’s advanced driver assistance technologies, supporting the driver to make each journey as safe as possible. These features include High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Lane Keeping Assist with Forward Collision Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Recognition. Kia’s Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) is also standard, ensuring stability when braking and cornering by controlling the car’s Electronic Stability Control (ESC) if it detects a loss of traction.

Interior, And Boot Space;

The interior of the new Kia ProCeed is one of the sportiest that Kia has ever produced. The cabin is characterised by high-quality soft-touch surfaces, metallic trim, and a ‘floating’ touchscreen infotainment system at the centre of the dashboard. A black cloth headliner, metallic door sill scuff plates and a D-shaped steering wheel are fitted as standard, enhancing its sense of sportiness. Build quality is faultless throughout the car, with all major controls located within easy reach of the driver. The ProCeed offers luggage capacity of 594 litres – more than many larger cars. In addition, it is fitted with split-fold rear seats, and underfloor storage for smaller items. A bag hook, and luggage net, stop items rolling around the boot for added practicality.

On The Road;

On the road, the new ProCeed handles with pose and precision. The car’s suspension is 10mm lower that that of the Ceed and Sportswagon, with spring and damper rates tailored to accommodate its dimensions. It fully-independent suspension had been adapted to enhance its agility and responsiveness, and this is very much evident when driving the car on any road surface. Kia’s engineers have made the rear axle firmer, to increase body control under heavy cornering, and this provides the driver with great confidence when entering, and exiting, a series of bends in the road. The new ProCeed’s excellent road manners, swift acceleration, and strong brakes, all contribute to make the car a joy to drive, while generous internal dimensions ensure that passengers are well accomodated too.

Pricing;

With its confident & sporty good looks, impressive list of standard equipment, versatility, and practicality, the new Kia ProCeed ‘GT Line’ represents terrific value for money at just €28,945 (ex-works).

Visit www.kia.com/ie for further information.