Kia’s new XCeed crossover is here

Ahh crossovers. People keep buying them, so manufacturers will carry on making them. This is the latest of the bunch, the Kia XCeed.

Kia says that it’s an ‘urban crossover utility vehicle’ that sits between the standard five-door Ceed hatch and the much larger Sportage SUV – although surely that’s where both the hybrid and all-electric Niro comes in too...

Anyway. It’s not a bad looking car by any stretch, but we can’t help feeling that they could have just jacked up a Ceed and put proper plastic bumpers all around to make it look rugged. Was the complete re-design really necessary?

Inside then. If you’ve ever sat in a Stonic or anything else from the Ceed family, you won’t have any trouble finding your way around the interfaces. There’s decent luggage space despite that sloping roofline too – 426 litres with the seats up, swelling to 1,378 litres once the back row is down. 

The XCeed’s engines are all turbocharged. Base spec is a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol with 118bhp, but you’ll also be able to choose a four-pot in either 138bhp 1.4-litre, or 201bhp 1.6-litre flavour. Then there’s the two diesel engines, which are both 1.6-litres and come with either 113bhp or 134bhp. All will be front wheel drive, because nobody will want to take an XCeed off-road anyway, and all but the 1.0-litre petrol will have the option of a 7spd auto to replace the standard 6spd manual.

It’ll go on sale in Europe in the next few months, while plug-in hybrid models will arrive in early 2020. So, given the choice, would you go for this, the Ceed hatchback, Ceed Sportswagon estate, ProCeed shooting brake or something else entirely? Let us know below…