First drive review: Kia Procee'd GT

What is it?

At last, the marque which is supposed to be the more 'youthful and sporty' of the Hyundai-Kia twins is facing up to an essential question: what should a quicker, driver-orientated Kia be like? In Germany yesterday, Autocar was shown an impressive answer, which took the form of a test drive of a prototype second-generation Proceed in GT form – still disguised, but with an interior and driving characteristics close to the production spec. In essence, the car is a new-shape, 50 per cent more powerful petrol-engined version of the new-shape three-door Cee’d. It will be revealed in Geneva next March, is set to go into production in Kia's facory in Zilina, Slovakia, next May, and  be on sale in the UK in June or July at around £23,000.

At that money, the car won’t be a Dacia-style bargain, but its deep equipment spec — which includes standard Recaro front bucket seats — should make it look good value against similarly sized rivals. Although its 1.6 turbo engine packs a healthy 201bhp, which gives the Proceed a healthy turn of performance (a 140mph top speed and a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds), Kia is not making any claims about rivalling cars like the Ford Focus ST or Renaultsport Mégane, which it considers a step further up the performance ladder.

The company doesn’t rule out building hotter cars itself, but insists no decision will be made until the market has assessed the GT, which is to be made both as a three and a five-door. 

The GT uses a comprehensively developed turbocharged version of Kia-Hyundai’s familiar 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 201bhp at 6000rpm, along with peak torque of 200lb ft, impressively developed between 1750rpm and 4500rpm. These big hikes (power up 50 per cent; torque up 60 per cent) come from the use of a twin-scroll turbocharger (integrated closely into the exhaust manifold for quick light-up and consequent low emissions), direct fuel injection, dual continuous variable valve timing and lots of careful development at Kia’s technical centre in Russensheim, near Frankfurt.

What is it like?

The new engine makes the GT a brisk performer and an all-round impressive car, with a surprisingly wide envelope of performance for a 1.6-litre engine; there's no intrusive turbo lag and off-the-mark acceleration is very good. As well as the power and torque hikes, the smooth-shifting six-speed gearbox’s first three ratios have been lowered to assist acceleration, although its fifth and sixth are still long enough for autobahn cruising. The engine responds briskly and spins smoothly up to a 6500rpm redline, but its (admittedly pleasant) noise may prove a little intrusive on long drives and it tends to 'hang' rather a long time in the upper rev-range on the overrun, which inhibits smooth gear-changing.

The steering, which gives drivers a choice of three different effort ranges in the regular Cee’d, has only one sporty (read heavier) setting in the GT, but it still seemed rather light to me. And perhaps still slightly lacking in centre feel. The brakes, standard Cee’d spec, are good enough, though sporty drivers may reckon they lack a little initial bite.

Should I buy one?

Don’t decide yet. The car we drove was a late prototype, with final tuning still to be done. And we drove it on German roads, where UK-style bumps and coarse surfaces are rather hard to find. Still, the ride, on the sporty side of normal, did seem well damped and impressively flat. We’d back Kia’s largely European band of engineers – many plucked from VW and BMW a few years ago – to refine away the GT’s relatively few problems. If the pricing is right, it looks like an interesting and competent newcomer.    

Kia Procee'd GT

Price: £23,000 (est); 0-62 mph: 7.9sec; Top speed: 140mph; Economy: na; CO2: 160g/km (est); Kerb weight: 1350kg (est); Engine: 4 cyls, 1591cc, turbo, petrol; Power: 201bhp at 6000rpm; Torque: 200lb ft at 1750-4500rpm; Gearbox: 6-spd manual