Kia Procee'd GT first drive review

The Kia Procee’d GT is the Korean manufacturer’s first entry into the performance hatch sector. Built at the company’s Zilina plant in Slovakia for the European market, the Procee’d GT is as another indication of Kia’s continuing ambitions.

Having established a solid, dependable model range and successful brand image, the company is now trying to spread its wings, adding some spice and pizzazz to the mix.

To create the Procee’d GT, Kia has dropped a turbocharged version of the ‘Gamma’ 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine – derived from the same block as the engine found in the Hyundai Veloster Turbo, but a much-changed unit – into a three-door Procee’d bodyshell.

It’s the first turbocharged engine to be offered by Kia in the UK. This engine is available in aspirated form in the regular Procee’d, but the addition of the twin-scroll turbocharger has increased its power output by 51 per cent and torque by 61 per cent. It develops 201bhp at 6000rpm, and 195lb ft of torque between 1750rpm and 4500rpm.

The suspension, steering, brakes and gearbox have all been reworked for more sporty dynamics, and there’s a host of ‘go-faster’ additions – splashes of colour and chrome, red stitching on the leather and the like – to add a sporty flavour to the hatchback.

Two trim levels are offered – GT, as tested here, and GT Tech. Both are comparatively well equipped, as is Kia’s wont. GT Tech gets satnav among its many extra toys, but also pushes the price up to £22,495 compared to the lower-spec’s car sub-£20k tag.

To mark Kia’s entry into the performance hatchback arena, there is also a limited-edition launch model called the GT 1st Edition, which adds an electric sunroof and some extra cosmetic tweaks. From a production run of 500, only 50 have been earmarked for the UK, priced at £23,995.

The key question should really be: can the Koreans can succeed at the black art of hot hatch building in the same effective way that they have mastered other aspects of the European car industry?

Based on looks alone, Kia is on to a winner with the sleek Procee’d GT, which has received an exterior makeover that emphasises muscularity without ruining the clean lines of the base car.

Then, as you open the driver’s door and clamber aboard, comes the first big surprise – supportive Recaro sports seats… in a Kia. That alone would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

Besides the seats, the cabin features the kind of styling cues that have become bywords for a sporting hatch – suede, stainless steel pedals, red stitching on the leather steering wheel – but it feels a little like a facsimile of other hot hatches.

Turn the key – at least, you do in the lower-spec GT variant we drove; GT Tech cars get a starter button – and there’s a touch of flair in the form of a TFT display that allows the driver to flip, via a ‘GT’ button on the steering wheel, between a good old-fashioned analogue speedo or a screen that shows your speed numerically along with engine torque, turbo boost pressure and engine coolant temperature.