Kia Pro ceed 1.6 CRDi 3 (113bhp)

Had a Ceed for a week as a work's hire car to cover 100 motorway miles per day. The car was good on the motorway and so decided to buy one thinking the 7 year warranty and respectable on paper economy figures would suit my 50 mile per day commute. The reality of owning the car for 20 months and 25,000 miles of motoring has been to put it politely 'unpleasant.' I would strongly urge anyone to read my honest review and think very carefully before buying Kia.

My car was a Kia Direct car (translated means ex-hire car). Kia topped the warranty back up to 7 years, gave 2 years free breakdown cover and offered interest free credit up to £7000 of the purchase price. Harbour Kia in Whitstable were very polite and straightforward during the sales process. However once I had bought the car it took me several months and a complaint e-mail to Kia UK to obtain the warranty top up and breakdown paperwork.

I lost count how many times the car went to the main dealers - at least 7 times. Problems started straightaway. Trim inside the boot tailgate was hanging off. The driver's seat had to be replaced due to loose components inside. The radio decided when it wanted to turn off and on. The injectors / glow plugs started to fail causing blue smoke on start up. The car ate tyres. I bought 7 tyres in total, with the Continentals lasting only 12,000 miles at £130 each.

The biggest problem was the rear suspension not able to cope with the factory fitted 17 inch wheels, causing horrendous road noise and uneven tyre wear. The wear was consistent with that on an old car running on failed shock absorbers. This problem was never sorted and cost me £50 as Kia Technical insisted they wanted the tracking checking but wouldn't refund the cost even though the tracking was fine. Kia UK Customer Services attitude was appalling. Kia Technical are even worse.

The car was dull to drive. Very nose heavy, noisy and unrefined. It is badly geared - can't use 4th at 30mph but can be in 5th at 40. Gearbox rough - feels like an old car which has had a hard life. Economy was shocking averaging only 42 to 45 - long way short of the claimed 60+mpg.

I ended up putting two budget tyres on the car and selling it, losing

£4000 in 20 months.

Kia Pro Ceed 1.6 CRDi 2010. I am really impressed with this car. I bought it as a 3 door because it is easier to access for my now disabled wife as the doors on this car open nearly 90 degrees and the high point of the roof line is at the entry/exit point. So provided you have the space to open them, OK as a blue badge holder, access to the front seats is excellent. Access to the rear is typically 3 door car standard so it's adequate, the front seats don't remember their positions when gaining access to the rear and the rear seats don't fold flat so its only 4 stars here.

Economy is great also and if you drive it carefully you can get what the manufacturer claims. Drive it normally and it keeps up no problem and its a capable motorway cruiser.

Overall it looks good, it's quiet, very comfortable, the handling is excellent,the brakes are good and it's exceptional value.

So far absolutely nothing to complain about.

An excellent car, bags of torque and nippy too. Seems well put together with good attention to detail. Fuel economy is also a strong point. Far more quiet than I anticipated at the outset. I like the coupe shape, however, this does make it a little difficult to access the rear seats easily. But that afterall is a matter of taste.