ON THE ROAD- IAN LYNAS DRIVES A SPORTS VERSION OF THE KIA PROCEED

Amidst a seemingly sea of EVs, Kia will continue to offer hybrid and plug-in-hybrid vehicles up until the date when it will be no longer possible to buy a conventional powered vehicle. The South Korean carmaker certainly like so many others has a focus on introducing further EVs and by 2027 we can expect up to nine in this sector. Kia is very much a global car producer and of course models will vary from market to market.

Recently, I spent some time with a ProCeed GT-Line S, which Kia describe as a shooting brake, a term I have not heard for quite some time; however I did come upon a Mercedes A-Class badged Shooting Brake. The ProCeed has been designed, developed and engineered in Frankfurt by Kia’s European design, product development and R&D teams and it is manufactured at the brand’s production facility in Zilina in Slovakia, alongside the hugely popular Sportage, which remains one of my favourites from the Kia stable.

Engineered and developed for European roads, the ProCeed has been tuned to offer greater dynamism, driver engagement and confidence, and cruising comfort than earlier models and its ride height is 5mm lower than the Ceed. The eye-catching sleek design and agile and immediate handling responses, close body control under cornering, and a blend of comfort and unwavering stability at high speeds, adds greatly to drive pleasure; however I did endure quite high road noise and this could have been to the tyres fitted to my test vehicle. The body of the ProCeed is longer and the suspension has been tuned to accommodate this; the result a sporty drive. Under the bonnet a 158bhp 1.5litre T-GDi (Turbocharged Gasoline Direct injection) engine allied to a seven speed double clutch transmission; the GT-Line model relies on a six speed manual transmission. Looking at performance, rest to 100kph (62mph) in 8.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 209kph (130mph). Useful performance combined with surefooted handling made for me an enjoyable experience with this Kia. All versions are fitted with Kia’s Intelligent Stop and Go (ISG) stop-start system to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in traffic. No surprise to report that the ProCeed GT-Line S is one of the most high-tech cars in its class; the excellent appointed cabin features a wide range of new technologies to enhance comfort and convenience for all who journey in this vehicle. The model I had on test benefits from additional technology, there is a 12.3 inch TFT supervision cluster which displays vehicle information to the driver, rather than the 4.2 inch supervision colour cluster display on the GT-Line model. Something which caught my attention and a feature I thoroughly enjoyed; when you engage Sport mode the instrumentation changes colours, a combination of silver and red- very sporty. Another nice touch with this range topper was  an eight-speaker JBL premium audio system.

You have to hand it to Kia, they deliver the full package and no doubt along with a seven year warranty, these are the things which people want from their car. Worth noting that there are GT-Line and GT-Line S versions of the Ceed, however not available in all markets. Like the ProCeed GT-Line and GT-Line S they feature distinct dynamic design features.

Ian Lynas