2019 All-New Kia ProCeed Review

The 2019 edition of the ProCeed is a far cry from the previous incarnations. Gone is the small, sporty hatchback look of its predecessors. That has been replaced by a sleek, longer and lower “shooting break” style body. Somewhere between an estate and a coupé, this body style has only really been seen on the Mercedes-Benz CLA prior to Kia’s new offering, and so comparisons are bound to arise between these two.

The ProCeed does share some features with its condensed sibling; from the front, the family resemblance is apparent. But from the rear, the ProCeed has more in common with the Porsche Panamera than the rest of the Kia range. Its elongated, full width LED lights add to the low and long feel of the body, furthering the impression that this is a classy vehicle.

Inside the ProCeed you’ll notice some familiar traits from other Kias, many of the features are carried through from Kia’s other models. A notable difference from the rest of the Ceed family is the black cloth roof lining, which though it may seem like a small change, does add to the feeling of being cocooned and increases the sporty ambience. With the lower height of the car the seats have been sunk lower to provide extra headroom, being seated lower to the ground is again something that increases the sportiness of the drive. There is plenty of space for the driver and front passenger, and sporty bucket seats provide a good mix of support and comfort when you’re driving. Depending on the height of the diver (and how far back they have adjusted the seat), adult rear passengers may feel a little cramped though.

There are some nice features included as standard on the model available in Ireland, wireless phone charging and a navigation system that has full integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Kia are offering three models of the new ProCeed across Europe, though for now, the Irish market is having to make do with just the one. The 1.4 T-GDi outputs 138 BHP, has a maximum speed of 130mph and will do 0-60 in 8.8 seconds. This isn’t the end of the story though, this car is surprisingly nippy and putting your foot down gives a satisfying boost in speed.

Kia have a reputation for reliability, with the older model Cee’ds regularly scoring highly in consumer surveys, and of course Kia offer their standard 7 year warranty on all new cars. That goes a long way to showing the firm’s confidence in their workmanship.

At current average fuel prices, filling the tank of the new ProCeed will set you back €67. Kia advertise that the car can get over 45 mpg, and its CO2 output places it into the €280 tax bracket.

The suspension and controls make for an easy long-distance drive, and it has great balance in the corners. In town, it handles traffic well with the steering-wheel mounted, alloy gear shift paddles making life a lot easier.

The ProCeed comes as standard with 6 airbags and includes some under-the-hood tech to keep you on the straight and narrow when it comes to road safety.  Lane detection and keeping assistance, driver attention detection, warning if the car senses you’ve become drowsy, pedestrian detection and collision warnings, are among the features included.

Euro NCAP haven’t rated the new ProCeed yet, but the previous generation received a 5 star rating, and with Kia making improvements to the design and adding a host of new safety features, there isn’t any cause to believe the new generation will lose its 5 star rating.

Kia have designed the ProCeed so as to be almost unrecognisable from previous generations. It retains the fun sportiness of the older hot hatches whilst building in a ton more space, more sophisticated safety features and a look that will definitely appeal to a wide market. They may be saying goodbye to some of their younger admirers but are welcoming in a group of buyers that long for a fun drive whilst knowing that sometimes driving has to be about practicality as well.