Hiding behind these two lovely presentations at Kia's Geneva Motor Show stand is the all-new, second generation Cee'd.The South Korean firm's entry in the compact hatchback category with rivals like the Opel Astra and Ford Focus is larger, more stylish and promises to offer improved quality throughout over the outgoing model.
“Just as the original cee’d represented a major step forward for Kia in 2007, this second-generation model represents a further leap for the brand – both in terms of the capability and sophistication of the vehicle, and what it will do to drive further momentum in our European sales," commented Paul Philpott, Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors Europe.
The new Cee'd was designed and engineered in Europe with manufacturing taking place at the company's Zilina facility in Slovakia.Compared to the previous model, the overall length of the new car has been is increased by 50 mm to 4,310 mm while overall height has been reduced by 10 mm to 1,470 mm by lowering the ride height.
Even though it is based on a completely new platform, the 2012 Cee'd carries over the 2,650 mm wheelbase from its predecessor. The bodyshell is 10mm narrower but the front and rear track have been increased by 17 mm and 32 mm, respectively.
Kia says that front seat occupants have 12 mm more headroom and 21 mm more legroom, while rear passengers gain 5 mm of shoulder room. Boot space has been boosted by 12 per cent to 380 liters (up by 40 liters) with the rear seats up.
The Cee'd uses a fully-independent, subframe-mounted suspension with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear axle.
The standard steering system employs electric power-assistance but Kia also offers an optional, all-new Flex Steer system that introduces three operating modes – comfort, normal and sport, which allow the driver to vary the level of steering assistance and the weight of feedback.
In most European countries, the new Cee'd will be available with two gasoline units, a 1.4-liter with 90PS (89bhp) and a 1.6-liter with 130PS (128bhp), and two diesel engines, a 1.4L with 90PS (89bhp) and a 1.6L with up to 128PS (126bhp).
All engines will be offered with a choice of manual or automatic six-speed transmissions, while the 1.6L GDI petrol will also be available with Kia’s six-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT).
The Korean company anticipates that its top of the range 126bhp 1.6-liter diesel will be the most popular choice in Europe.
It is offered with either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions and will accelerate the 2012 Cee'd hatch to 100 100km/h (62mph) in just under 11 seconds.
It returns a combined fuel consumption of 4.1lt/100km (57.4mpg US or 68.9mpg UK) in standard trim and 3.7lt/100km (63.6mpg US or 76.4mpg UK) when fitted with Kia's EcoDynamics technologies, and CO2 emissions of 97g/km.
European sales of the five-door hatchback model will start before this summer.
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