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By Jonathan Crouch

Kia has added a bit of extra polish to its third generation Ceed family hatch. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 51

This improved version of Kia's third generation Ceed has further sharpened its proposition in the Focus-class family hatchback segment, with smarter looks, extra technology and stronger standards of safety equipment. As before, value continues as a strong suit and there's an industry-leading warranty. Potentially then, there's a lot to like here.

Backgroundword count: 201

If you want to better appreciate just why Kia is one of the world's fastest growing automotive brands, you've only to look at this car, the Ceed family hatchback. The Slovakian factory that builds it only opened its doors in 2006 yet already, way over a million Ceed models have been built. Automotive historians will look back at the original version of this car (then badged 'cee'd') as a landmark design, the first to take on the European and Japanese market leaders on their own terms in the volume Focus and Golf-dominated Family Hatchback sector. Built in the heart of Europe, it was targeted at the heart of the European motor industry, hence the unusual name, a combination of the French abbreviation for European Community (CE) and this car's project title (ED). It shamed the established players by matching their quality while massively undercutting their prices and offering an astonishingly long 7-year warranty. But times change - and so do market segments. So in 2018, Kia re-designed this MK3 'CD'-series model with a more athletic look and added more efficient engines and extra technology. Then enhanced the whole package three years on, creating the car we're going to look at here.

Driving Experienceword count: 251

There's always been plenty of potential here for a class-leading dynamic performance. The Ceed has, after all, long had a more sophisticated suspension system than most rivals offer in their mainstream guises. Instead of the crude old torsion beam rear-suspended set-up you'd find on an ordinary Focus or Golf, this Kia gets the kind of more sophisticated multi-link rear damping system that Ford and Volkswagen Group rivals reserve for pricier, more powerful versions of their family hatchback contenders. And here, it's embellished with the kind of bespoke-engineered handling set-up you might not expect in this corner of the market. The brand has slimmed down the Ceed powerplant range in recent times to the unit that it's found most customers want, a 158bhp four cylinder 1.5-litre T-GDi powerplant mated to 6-speed manual transmission. It can also be had with a DCT automatic if you stretch to top 'GT-Line S'-spec. In terms of handling updates for this facelifted third-generation model though, Kia's largely left the set-up alone, which is fine by us, as that was one of this model's strongest aspects. The Ceed is built on a stiff 'K2'-series platform and garnished with feelsome power steering aided by a torque vectoring system that helps to get the power down through the bends. The result is a car we think you'll genuinely enjoy driving. Plus this is still one of the most refined cars in its class, something helped by the emphasis the Korean brand has put on reducing vibration from its latest engines.

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