Smart and Green: Kia CEE'D LS 1.6 CRDi

Smart and green, the Kia cee'd offers a strong European-built challenge to established marques.

The 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine that powered the test car is available in two guises: standard and high-power, both of which are 100 per cent Kia. Designed and engineered specifically for the Cee'd, the engines at least equal any of the traditional European common-rail turbo-diesels. I drove the high-power version, which is rated at 115 bhp, and delivers a peak torque of 255 Nm.

As with all diesels, it is the torque that impresses most; and in this case the high-power 1.6 sustains maximum torque between 1900 and 2750 rpm, with a substantial percentage of peak output on tap from 1500 through to at least 3000 rpm, giving the Kia the same measure of flexibility that characterizes all modern diesel engines.

On paper, the high-power 1.6 doesn't look that quick: 0-62 takes 11.5 seconds and the top speed is 116 mph. But what the desk-top figures fail to reveal is the mid-range punch, which gives the Cee'd in-gear responses equal to those of a 1.8-litre unit, or larger. Yet, despite the obvious perkiness of the engine, our green and pleasant land will not suffer greatly at the hands of Cee'd drivers.

Extra-urban fuel consumption is almost 70 mpg, and the combined figure of 60.1 mpg places the Kia among the lightweights in terms of environmental impact: with a resulting CO2 emission figure of just 125 g/km, the Cee'd is one of the cleanest diesels on the road. In fact, the vast majority of diesel vehicles with lower CO2 outputs have 1.4-litre engines, or smaller, which makes the 1.6-litre Kia a relative winner.

Moreover, the Slovakian factory responsible for Cee'd production has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, environmental footprints of any car-production plant in the world. Even the waste water in the factory is passed by the management.

A codicil to the green and clean production ethos is a commitment to build-quality that not only can be seen and felt, but is down on paper. Every new Cee'd is covered by a 7-year, 100,000-mile mechanical warranty, which is fully transferable, regardless of the number of owners.

But not only does the Cee'd deliver quality and economy, and a minimal environmental impact, it also delivers that most elusive of attributes; driveability. Driveability is hard to pin down inasmuch as it eludes rational quantification, yet you know immediately if it's absent. It is not only a function of the car's ergonomics - position and weight of the controls, the seating, the comfort, and the visibility - but also the poise: how the car sits; and how connected you feel to the car and to the road.

The 5-door Cee'd is very much a family car. Wide-opening doors and modestly generous rear leg room combine with a sizeable boot and the ability to turn it into a small van - sans the sound signature - by folding down the rear seats. According to how the seats are configured, the load volume ranges from 340 to 1300 litres, or 12 to 46 cubic feet.

However you measure the Cee'd it measures up. Most particularly it measures up to the image of a middle-market car, and thus accurately reflecting the conservative taste that accounts for the bulk of European car buyers. Kia has successfully avoided any temptation to gild the lily, and the only concession to modernity takes the form of MP3 and USB connections to the music system; additions which soon will be standard on the £14,295 LS model, as tested.

The LS model with the 'high-power' diesel at present tops the Cee'd line-up. Its flagship status endows it with such amenities as climate control with air-quality monitoring, half-leather upholstery, front fog-lamps, heated door mirrors, 16-inch alloys and a profusion of detail embellishments denied the lesser models.

Cee'd impressed with the flexible engine and light gear change made easy going of even the most congested roads. The five-speed manual 'box has an even spread of ratios, with third providing an ideal town gear although the engine delivers enough torque to use fourth or even fifth where conditions permit. But these gears are both overdrive ratios and as such contribute both to the Kia's excellent fuel consumption, and to relaxed cruising at motorway speeds.

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