Currently reading: Kia Cee’d gets sporty: meet Pro-cee’d
Korean manufacturer’s third Cee’d variant gets distinctive styling and bad punctuation

This is the third member of Kia’s European-built family hatchback range; you’ve already seen the five-door hatch and the estate version, now meet Pro-cee’d, the three-door variant that Kia is aiming into uncharted territory for the brand.The Pro-cee’d is lighter, longer and lower than the five-door Cee’d, and by the looks of this picture at least, gets its own unique panel styling from the five-door. Specifically, the Pro-cee’d gets a larger, more pronounced ‘light-catcher’ flank line, deeper sculpting in the bonnet, larger alloy wheels and a totally new front valance.The engines it will be available with have yet to be confirmed, but expect the pick of the existing Cee’d petrol and diesel range to be offered, as well as the Hyundai i30’s more powerful 2.0-litre diesel engine. A 2.0-litre turbo petrol version, with around 180bhp and possibly badged Pro-cee'd XR, will come later, to compete with other, similarly sized warm hatches.The Pro-cee’d will be on show at the Frankfurt motor show; production will begin in November, with UK deliveries starting in early 2008.Meanwhile, the word is that Kia’s Ex-cee’d cabriolet has also now been approved for production by the company’s executive board. We should see the finished version at Geneva 2008, with production starting in time for the summer rush.

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Car review

The Kia Cee’d is more than good enough to harry the opposition, which is an achievement in itself for the fiercely competitive family hatchback class

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