..........they look stylish, and the 7 year warranty sounds appealing.........Anyone have any comments...

They look ok and can't argue with the warranty.

I imagine the interior doesn't feel as solid etc though?

The problem is theres no way I'd keep a car for that long, 3 years is long enough!

Also, its 5 year warranty on the car, 7 year on the engine and drivetrain.

I'd imagine as a 2nd buy (3 years?), with the warranty and probable depreciation it'll be a very good "practical" car.

It's a cracking car for the money and don't take any notice about the quality of plastics on the interior, not quite VW Golf standards but not far off. I was really impressed with it and tried to convince my parents that this would be a great choice for them but they let the 'name' get into the equation and that killed it! :(

I'd say it would be a great buy, particularly a pre-reg or ex-demonstrator along with any decent second hand examples you might find.

Watch out, the Koreans ARE coming!

My brother worked for Kia through his apprenticeship and theyre nice cars, the 1.6 diesels are mercedes sourced too. The only thing with the seven year warranty, it means they get 7 years of lovely servicing bills out of you.

Yeah, I can see them getting fat on that, at an average of £130 a year plus a cambelt at maybe £200.

I've had a couple to drive as hire cars via work. They are aweful. The diesels are noisy and slow. The interior is ok for the cost of the car but not that great.

The worst thing though is on my three trips to Telehouse from York and back... everytime I've ended up up bad lower back ache because the seats are useless.

That may, repeat may, just be you though. I've one mate who loved Hydropneumatic Citroens as much as I do, but his last was a BX, because 2 hours in a Xantia gave him backache. I've driven a Xantia from Weymouth to Dumbarton in a day, taking only comfort stops and a sandwich stop, and felt fresh enough to have a shower and go out for a curry with some friends.

If I was still doing 30k a year I think I'd seriously consider one even if they are a bit plastic.

I've not been in one but I think they look ok. Definitely worth a look. As said would probably make a very good buy 2yr old.

Very true.... but it's the only car I've ever driven that has done it on each and every occasion. Still the 1.6D is a useless engine IMHO.

driven 130 miles in a Ceed LS crdi today and apart from the total anonymity and lack of character i've been really impressed.

Not sure what the problem with the engine is. I thought it pulled well and is significantly better than the 1.9 golf i had last time to make the trip.

Seats were disappointing at first. Very flat with no sports holding pretensions. But they were comfortable enough over nearly 3 hours of mixed driving.

Not as good to drive as a golf/civic/mazda but more than adequate.

The ceed probably wouldn't satisfy an enthusiast but i wouldn't knock it as a sensible mid sized runasound.

not bad cars with good warrenty etc.

Son has ProCeed (Sport), loves it (had suzuki Swift before and Polo before that).

I had a quick go in it and was suitably impressed.

HonestJohn rates them :-

Road Tests: KIA Pro_cee'd Road Test

"KIA does not need a lucky number 3 to be a winner. This car is a winner without any luck and if you test-drive one car this year, test-drive this one."

And with a Kia dealer 5 minutes up the road, it's a tempting option........... :P

Had one as a hire car for a week in Jan whilst working in Suffolk. 1.6 Diesel not sure what spec of engine but fairly nippy so thought it was the 115hp one. I was really peeved when the rental co gave me it at Stanstead but was soon really impressed with the car. Did about 1000m in the week. Fuel consumption good. Maybe a wee bit plasticky inside but most cars are. I'm 6 foot 2 and 16stone and had no problems with the seating. Dash if I remember is illuminated red which I wasn't too keen on but overall I liked it.

In the summer I went into our local Kia dealer (Border Cars) and asked about the 2.0 tdi estate to be told by the wholly disinterested salesperson there would be no such car. This was despite it being available on the continent and announced in Auto Express the previous week. Within a couple of weeks it was on sale in the UK. Also asked about an extended test drive. They were not interested and didn't even want to take my details to contact me re a test drive. Overall impressed with the car but NOT the local sales team.

The depreciation and the small-print in the warranty would put me off.I'll bet there are 101 different get-out clauses for them to wriggle their way out of a fix when the car has reached say 30,000 miles or 3 years etc.Plus the fact a friend has one and is really disappointed with it and says it's the worst new car he has ever owned.

After a 2.0 tdi was mentioned I went back and checked the paperwork but I defintiely had a 1.6 tdi.

As a follow up to my first 'report', the following day my co-driver drove over Ulpha (for those who may know the route) and I was a passenger.

Confirmed the remark about a complete lack of support from the seats, I was sliding all over the place. Probably the worst thing was the discovery that there was no TC/ESP on the model we had. Given the other spec of the car - part leather, 4x elec windows, cruise control - I was surprised that there was no ESP. A corner cut?

Also, its 5 year warranty on the car, 7 year on the engine and drivetrain.

That was at launch.. it soon changed to a 7 year warranty for the whole car..

I quite like the look of them and may be tempted by a pro'ceed if the TDi had more poke.

The higher output 1.6 has had great reviews, well at least what I have read. Not sure about the engine been a Merc though, I have heard Kia developed it themselves in their new "Diesel centre of Excellence" to quote the brochure.

Chain cam is always a plus point and I hear that it is lively and quite refined. The lower bhp one sounds underpowered though. Pro_C'eed looks great but stupid name! Quite pricey though!:thumbdwn:

The dealer i bought my mazbo from has a kia dealer attached to them so i had a good pokey round them... i actually really like the look of the pro-ceed. it reminds me alot of the last-shape corrola but alot sharper the interior is of reasonable quality, but i agree the seats seem to lack any lateral support.

to be honest, with the warranty they are offering its only going to be a good thing as private car buyers are more likely to be buying cars for the long term now....

i also see that fiat offer 5 year warranty on the grande punto now too wonder if they do on the abarth