Kia ProCeed Review

With our crystal ball out, we can sense that your favourite part of the Kia ProCeed is the way the windowline slopes down after the rear doors. We’re not mystic, unfortunately, but if it’s not your favourite bit then surely you’d just get a Kia Ceed Sportswagon instead.

If you were to describe the Kia ProCeed to someone who’d never seen one, it wouldn’t really make sense. A cross between an estate and a coupe, but less practical than the ‘proper’ estate version – and based on perhaps the most sensible family hatchback money can buy.

And yet, the ProCeed really works in the metal. The swoopy shape and full-width rear light bar make the ProCeed feel a bit more exotic than the common-or-garden Ceed hatch. That the ProCeed only comes in sporty trim levels surely helps, as does the ProCeed’s relative rarity.

Not that the engines are particularly sporty. The standard engine is a 1.5-litre petrol producing 158hp – enough for a nippy 0-62mph time of eight and a half seconds – and yet it’ll manage almost 50mpg if you drive carefully. The only other choice is a 1.6-litre petrol that’s exclusive to the warmed-up GT model, but its 201hp output isn’t exactly enormous for something that’s meant to be fast and racy.

The ProCeed GT is a hot hatch for the indecisive. It’s a halfway house between normal traffic and a halo fast estate. While it’s considerably less powerful than something like a Volkswagen Golf R estate, it’s noticeably cheaper to run at the same time.

We think the ProCeed looks expensive, but value for money is really strong. The entry-level – but still fully equipped – GT-Line trim is cheaper than a basic Ford Focus hatchback, and a used ProCeed gives you the balance of Kia’s seven-year warranty.

It’s fair to say the ProCeed’s interior doesn’t have the same visual flair as the outside. Compared to newer Kias like the Sportage, the ProCeed’s button-heavy cabin isn’t the last word in modern design.

However, all those physical buttons make it very easy to use, which is still important when you’re controlling a 1.4-tonne machine. It should also make the ProCeed easy to live with, because you’re not going to get frustrated by slow touchscreen responses or confusing menu layouts when trying to adjust the air con temperature.

While the 10.25-inch touchscreen’s graphics fall behind the class best, the system is intuitively laid out with a main menu of apps that’s a bit like how your smartphone would be laid out. Each icon is a good size and there are shortcut panels at the base of the screen, including a star button that can be customised to your preferences. We also like the search function in the settings menu, which stops you having to hunt around for the right thing for ages.

There’s a decent mix of materials on show, with a perforated leather steering wheel and lots of chrome-effect trim to brighten the place up a bit. Elsewhere, the plastics are harder and scratchier but, remember that you’re not paying Mercedes CLA prices and they’re fine. These hard surfaces should shrug off mud and grime easily, too.

Because the ProCeed only comes in high-spec GT-Line and GT-Line S trim levels, standard equipment is very strong. GT-Line gets heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, LED headlights, part-artificial-leather upholstery, privacy glass and a reversing camera. Upgrade to GT-Line S and you’ll get bigger wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charging, blind-spot monitoring, a powered bootlid and even heated outer rear seats.

One minor omission is that manual cars don’t get automatic emergency braking, which is a bit surprising when safety features like intelligent speed limit assist and lane-keep assist are both standard.

You might look at the ProCeed’s almost Porsche 911-like roofline and think it’ll be massively compromised, but in terms of boot space it’s not far behind the straight-laced Ceed SW estate. Measured to the parcel shelf, there are 594 litres to fill (compared to 625 litres for the Ceed SW), so it’s still a really useful space. You’ll only notice the difference when you need to load above the load cover, for example for family holidays.

The sloping roof does make rear headroom a bit tight for some adults, and access probably isn’t quite as easy as in the Ceed SW. By the same token, it’ll be slightly easier to load kids into the Ceed estate or the XCeed crossover. But there’s enough legroom for two six-foot-tall adults to sit one behind the other, and the Isofix points are easily accessible if you are putting child seats in.

Since the range-topping 1.6-litre GT was discontinued in 2022, there’s now just one engine available in the ProCeed. Luckily, the 1.5-litre T-GDi petrol engine should be enough for most buyers, with an appealing blend of performance and fuel economy. Its 158hp output is enough to make the ProCeed feel quick on an open road – quick enough to match the sporty looks. Perhaps more impressive is that it’ll return 50mpg when driven more sedately.

Hunt out a red-accented GT and you’ll get warm performance, with 0-62mph taking 7.5 seconds compared to the 1.5’s 8.4 seconds. There’s a bit of a makeover with sports seats and more red trim on the inside, but it’s not as fast as something like a Skoda Octavia vRS or Cupra Formentor.

There’s a manual gearbox option on entry-level GT-Line cars, while higher-spec models come with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. On the used market, there’s a good mix of manual and automatic versions – we’d recommend the manual to keen drivers because the DCT automatic can be a bit sluggish to swap gears, and it’s not always smooth in low-speed manoeuvres. You can use the steering wheel paddles to change gears yourself, if the mood takes you. The manual gearbox is tight and snicky, so it’s a little bit of a shame that the faster GT can’t be had with this option.

With its sporty looks and lower suspension than a regular Ceed, you might expect the ProCeed to give laugh-out-loud excitement. Hope you’re not too disappointed, but it’s not that sort of car – Kia knows that ProCeed buyers will still use the car like any other, for mundane journeys and daily commutes.

Having said that, the ProCeed is quite good to drive. Its steering is responsive and accurate, and the ride is firm and tied-down but still comfortable. Body roll is perfectly controlled, so the handling feels tight and confident. Grip is good, too, so the Kia doesn’t mind being flung down a winding country road. Besides the slurring automatic gearbox, the whole package feels very well sorted.