Kia XCeed gets a light facelift, upgraded tech and the addition of the sporty GT-line trim line to the range
Not XCeeding Xpectations
Kia has unveiled a facelifted version of its XCeed compact crossover with a few modest styling tweaks inside and out, upgraded tech and the addition of the sporty-looking GT-line trim to the range.
The XCeed, with its larger wheels, slightly taller stance and crossover styling, acts as a sort of halfway point between Kia’s Ceed hatchback and the Sportage SUV. As the underpinnings are basically unchanged from the outgoing model, the new XCeed will feature a broad range of petrol, diesel, mild-hybrid and plug-in powerplants.
Styling updates to the XCeed are subtle, with the front-end featuring new LED headlamps, a revised grille, front bumper and a reworked air intake design. With the fog lamps now integrated into the headlights, where once there were lights there are now air curtains that channel air around the XCeed’s wheels to reduce drag.
New at the rear is a revised airflow diffuser, gloss black skid plate and refreshed lower bumper area, with the whole car sitting on a set of either 16in or 18in alloy wheels.
New GT-line specification
Adding a little sportier flair to the XCeed is the addition for the first time on the model of GT-line trim, which brings with it some sharpened design cues, including a different grille and lower air intake, air curtains trimmed in dark chrome, new hexagonal taillights and a body-coloured lower diffuser. Other styling tweaks setting GT-line models apart from the rest of the range include body-coloured sills, gloss black roof rails and gloss black door mirrors.
Changes to the interior are similarly minor, with the centre console now slightly more oriented towards the driver and the addition of a new (optional) 12.3in driver’s configurable driver’s instrument cluster.
The design of the central touchscreen and the lower instrument panel with its buttons, dials and switches to control audio volume, heating and ventilation has also been redesigned to better enable drivers to make adjustments without having to divert their eyes away from the road.
The interior also receives the option of the GT-line treatment, with a few little sporty touches including a new steering wheel, black headliner, a gear knob wrapped in perforated leather and a special GT-line seat design.
Top-of-the-line XCeed models receive a 10.25in touchscreen navigation system with Android Auto/ Apple CarPlay functionality as standard. Slightly lower down the pecking order, there’s also the choice of a DAB radio system with a 5in screen or an 8in audio display touchscreen system.
Live sports updates via the touchscreen
One rather novel touch to the infotainment offering is the new Sports feature that, according to Kia, “means that customers will never miss out on the action from their favourite team while on the move”. This feature relays live scores and highlights from ongoing games to the central screen with the ability for users to add favourite teams to the list for quick access. The display can also show where the team currently stands in their league.
Other optional features available on the XCeed include dual-zone air conditioning, heated electric folding door mirrors, a heated steering wheel, a heated windscreen, heated/ventilated front seats and heated rear seats. There are also now more USB-C ports throughout the cabin than before.
Boot space with the seats in place is, incidentally, 426 litres, expanding to 1,378 litres with the seats folded down.
Petrol, mild hybrid petrol and diesel, and plug-in hybrid power
The XCeed’s choice of powertrains is reasonably expansive with a 118bhp three-cylinder 1l turbocharged petrol engine opening the range followed by a 158bhp four-cylinder 1.5-litre unit. The most powerful of the petrol-only models comes with the same 201bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre engine under the bonnet as some versions of the Kia Ceed and Proceed GT. It offers brisk performance with the 0-62mph dash dispatched in 7.5 seconds.
As well as a mild-hybrid petrol model utilising the 1.5-litre petrol engine, there’s also a mild-hybrid diesel option with a 1.6-litre 134bhp engine to deliver a fairly frugal 46mpg depending on whether the six-speed manual or the seven-speed automatic gearbox is chosen.
Adding a chunk of battery power to the range is the plug-in hybrid model powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine and a 44.5kW electric motor, drawing its power from an 8.9kWh battery pack, to achieve 139bhp and an electric-only range on the combined WLTP cycle of up to 30 miles. This is the option likely to be most popular with company car drivers due to tax breaks but could make sense if you mostly drive short distances each day.
Pricing and on-sale date
The updated XCeed is due to go on sale before the end of the year. Pricing has yet to be announced, but given that the prices for the outgoing XCeed start from £21,835, expect something a bit north of that for the updated model.
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