Kia: Pro_Cee’d GT the “hero car we needed”

The three-door hot-hatch was unveiled this week at the 2013 Geneva motor show and has been confirmed for Australia.

It's set to be priced in the vicinity of low to mid $30,000, making it a natural rival for sister company Hyundai's Veloster three-door coupe-hatch.

"There's been an acknowledged need for a hero car in the [Kia] range," said Kia Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth. "We've been looking at options such as a turbo Optima but this car seemed to fit the bill.

"The look of the car is excellent, and there wasn't a three-door version of the Cerato."

The Pro_Cee'd is the three-door version of the Cee'd small car that's sold in Europe while Australia takes the Cerato.

The Hyundai Veloster starts at $31,990 for the turbo version that would be the natural match for the Pro_Cee'd GT that's powered by the same 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder with 150kW and 265Nm.

Kia Australia, which admits volume for the Pro_Cee'd GT is going to be small, stressed that the GT wouldn't be a stripper model but a single model with plenty of kit.