2010 Kia Cee’d facelift spied at Ring
June 24, 2009 by George Skentzos
While some cars like the Corvette ZR1 and Nissan GT-R were bred for the Nurburgring, others just enjoy the spotlight with the facelifted Kia Cee’d spotted on the famous circuit.
Due to make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, it will arrive in Europe just before Christmas with the Volkswagen Golf set squarely in its sights.
While keeping its new design under wraps, the camouflage does gives away the features Kia has focussed on for the new version, with changes to the front grille, headlights and taillamps.
The interior is also expected to receive a subtle refresh with an emphasis on quality in order to make the new model a more appeasing prospect for European buyers.
Under the bonnet, the engine line-up is expected to remain identical with a range of 1.4-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines along with two 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engines.
Despite the growing popularity of Kia’s hatch and the brand’s success locally, it is doubtful that the Cee’d will be introduced into Australia.
Print it: 
Kia is really improving. Not just in the over all design but also in performance. It’s a good move and can attract buyers. Kudos Kia!
If the title didn’t say ‘Kia’ I would think that this is a Golf. The side profile looks very close like the the Mark V/VI Golf.
I have seen a few of these C’eeds in Europe. I remember when I first saw pictures of them I thought “wow, Kia have really built a car equal to a Focus/Astra/Golf”. However, seeing one in the metal left me unconvinced. Don’t get me wrong; Kia have come a long long way and should be applauded for their amazing progress. However, there’s something still a little cheap looking about the interior, and the styling (like that of some of the newer Hyundais) is more of a tribute to European design than anything that could properly resemble it. Many Asian brands like Toyota and Mitsubishi are producing some nice looking cars that still look like Asian cars. But Kia/Hyundai are doing the Chinese thing and just producing European rip-offs.
i have to agree with you there. There interior of the i30 and the Ceed both look a little odd to me. I like the base model all black. I’m not a fan of the sprayed silver plastic of both in the higher end models.
The Ceed is actually designed solely by Germans (yes… sad but they have a studio in Cologne and their head design guy is a German who used to head Audi… and the car is made in Slovenia).
You have to look at it in this light. The Ceed and i30 are $19,990 cars. They are cheap hatches no matter how much bloody crap you shove into them to make them $30k.
You make it sound like Japan and Korean should deliver you a $19,990 VW Golf GTI as if you are entitled to it.
By the same token you buy a Skyline GTR because you want one and not a knock off Porsche 911 GT2.
If I pay $19,990 driveaway do I cry like a girl it doesn’t look or drive like a $26,990 Golf?
Some people do. Examine a car on its own merits. If you want a Golf pony up the $7,000 instead of driving a Korean car every day and having Teutonic envy every day.
They are Japanese and Korean cars, nothing more. To give you an idea, I regularly drive my dad’s Mercedes E-class. I drive a XR6T. Do I cry that I can only afford an XR6T (a shitty aussie car) when I ’should’ be a driving an E-class?
No it’s a good-ish car in itself and that’s enough. The Merc is a special car to some people and worth the money. That’s not me.
Tony – you basically summed everything up in a nutshell!
Many people do not understand this perception.
Cheers
Hyundai’s afraid this is a better car than the 130…hence no introduction to Aus..
We will never see the Cee’d arrive on Australian shores. Unless they decide to start making it in South Korea. The cost is too high to get it to Australia. The Cee’d would end up in the wrong price bracket and would directly compete against the cheaper i30.
^^^^^SALESMAN
Any news of the Cerato Hatch? [No need for Ceed]
Is a 5 speed auto going to be offered?
Why no trip-computer and std safety pack on the base model?
Cheers
F-0
No Cerato hatch that i know of for Australia, i did see some in Korea at the factory. Two door Coupe in the third quarter this year. Six speed auto in Cerato but who knows when?
Why no trip-computer and std safety pack on the base model?
So we can up sell and increase profit.
Besides the Ceed I like the Toyota Aygo but the reality is these cars were designed for the market they were made in and unless they want to move their lines from the Czech Republic to Korea you’ll never see them here.
I don’t think even the Koreans or the Japanese get the Ceed or Aygo so you can be almost 100% certain we’ll never see both these cars.
Why is a car from a cheap and cheerful car maker running around the ‘Ring? The track schedulers must have pissed their pants when they got a call from Hyundai/Kia asking if they could test their latest supercar LOL!
I just find it alarming that Korean manufacturers are being mentioned on the same sentence as Japanese, when in reality its still about 5-6 years before they match refinement… outside of “STYLING”… they are still not there… not taking away that Koreans have improved… kudos to that.
I disagree with that assessment. I’ve driven a few Korean cars from minivans to SUVs to sedans to hatches.
I can honestly say they are no better or worse than japanese cars.
Put it this way… having driven a Camry/Aurion extensively I can say these are certainly not cars to be emulated to any degree.
The Camry in particular is a horrible pusbucket. Here’s a car with no acceleration, almost scary handling, brakes with no feeling. This is no car to be emulated by anyone.
Having driven a turbo Supra, Chaser and Aristo these are cars of a completely different league.
At the hatch end I put the Japanese/Koreans in largely the same low bucket. The Golfs and A3s go on a higher plane.
^ Tony, isn’t the Camry made in Oz though? Regardless, I sort of agree with Lukaas, although you probably can’t generalise it to a Korea v Japanese argument. I would take a Honda (albeit made in Thailand?) over a Hyundai if I was choosing. Why? I just would. And I would take a Mazda over a Hyundai or Kia any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But a Nissan or a Mitsubishi – I don’t think it’s such a clear cut argument.
Speaking of “horrible pussbuckets”, I would place the korean made Holden Epica neatly in that category. God-awful car.
Car is made in SLOVAKIA, not in SLOVENIA.
http://www.slovensko.com/slovakia/slo.htm