Kia ProCeed Review 2024

Whereas the first two generations of the Kia ProCeed were both two-door coupes, the current version is billed as a five-door shooting brake. What was clear on its launch in 2019 was that the Korean model had no direct rivals to speak of. As our Kia ProCeed review will demonstrate, this makes it an interesting choice.

In stylistic terms, it is arguably closest to the Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake, at which Kia had clearly taken a long, hard look and decided – despite the existence of the mechanically almost identical, but more traditionally rumped Kia Ceed Sportswagon – that it had room in the range for something similar.

However, the Mercedes was a minimum of £5000 more expensive, and much more once specced to match the Kia’s comprehensive kit list. That leaves the Hyundai i30 Fastback from the company’s own stable as the closest competitor, with standard estate cars such as the Volkwagen Golf Estate (which is pricier), Ford Focus Estate (cheaper) and the Renault Megane Sport Tourer also in the mix by dint of size and cost.

All Kia Ceed at the front and a deal of Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo at the rear (from which angle it looks particularly good), the Kia ProCeed launched with a choice of three engines and just three trim levels – GT-Line, GT-Line S and GT.

Three powertrain options featured two petrol engines and one diesel unit: 1.4-litre 140PS and 1.6-litre 204PS turbo petrol engines, and a 1.6-litre 136PS diesel. GT-Line and GT-Line S were available with either the 1.4-litre petrol or 1.6-litre diesel engines and a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed twin-clutch automatic transmissions.

The GT only employed the 1.6-litre petrol unit mated to the seven-speed automatic gearbox, with paddle shift override.

Pricing was considered keen (with nothing to compare it to except the Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake), and the range kicked off at just under £24,000, topping out 250 quid short of £29,000.

What made that all the more impressive was the mountain of standard equipment lobbed at even the least expensive variant. Toys included 17-inch alloys, electric everything, heated front seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and sat-nav, rear parking sensors and a camera, plus a raft of safety technology.

In truth, although perfectly comfortable and ergonomically satisfactory, the interior doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the Kia ProCeed’s svelte couture. That being said, this marked a vast improvement over previous-generation Kia interiors.

As a result, touchscreen haters will relish an almost full deployment of old-fashioned switchgear here, including shortcut buttons for the eight-inch infotainment screen. Estate-car sized rear loadspace is barely compromised at all by the sloping rear screen.

On the road, the Kia ProCeed rides more firmly than a standard Ceed, yet still makes supple, flowing progress. All versions tackle motorways well, and are surprisingly engaging through the bends, although the seven-speed automatic gearbox is prone to laziness, particularly when using the paddle shifters to change down.

None of the powertrains matches the car’s gently sporty brief, and performance of even the faster version, the GT, might best be described as warm rather than hot.

Gently jiggly low-speed ride aside, the Kia ProCeed quickly gets into its stride with a supple, flowing and pleasingly quiet ride quality.

A pliant chassis and that tweaked suspension elicit fine body control, helping the car carve from one corner to the next without ever feeling overtaxed. There’s little body roll, plenty of grip and, although firm, the ride feels nicely cushioned and never crashy.

The steering is on the light side and somewhat devoid of feel, but never lacking in accuracy. Kia’s drive mode selector only offers a choice between Normal and Sport but, engine noise aside, the latter is worth trying because it adds weight to the helm.

Whichever engine choice you make, the driving experience is rather let down by the gearboxes. The manual offering is shackled by a vague throw and an inconsistent clutch bite, making smooth progress something of a pipedream.

And the automatic is just bone idle. Left to its own devices, it slurs indolently through changes, and is tardy in response to the steering wheel-mounted paddles – the upshifts are crisp enough for a sporting model, and the downshifts are too slow.

Selecting Sport mode does nothing to wake up the auto gearbox, but does at least sharpen throttle response. It GT versions, it also opens up the exhaust flaps and pumps more noise into the cabin loudspeakers, with the resulting racket likely to split opinion.

There’s not a huge amount of engine choice on the Kia ProCeed, with two petrols and one diesel to choose from. 

The entry-level option is a turbocharged 1.4-litre unit producing 140PS and 242Nm of torque, which is available with either a six-speed manual gearbox or that lazy seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It’s a rather good all-rounder, as it’s able to reach 60mph in 8.8 seconds yet be efficient at the same time. 

If you want the most powerful Kia ProCeed then the GT is the one to go for, with a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine producing 204PS and 265Nm of torque. It’s mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox, and can hit 60mph in a respectable 7.2 seconds and go on to a top speed of 140mph. 

If you do a lot of miles, the 136PS 1.6-litre diesel is a good choice, and is offered with both manual and automatic gearbox options. It’s not the quickest, with 0-60mph taking 9.8 seconds, but 320Nm of torque makes it surprisingly eager through the gears, and it is much better on fuel than the other two options. 

The 2019 Kia ProCeed managed a four-star Euro NCAP rating, although the model’s array of safety and driver assistance systems is comprehensive enough to make it unclear where exactly the five-star shortfall lay.

A full suite of airbags and the expected range of traction control and electronic braking aids is complemented by a raft of driver assistance technology that swells with progress up the trim ladder. 

Entry-level GT-Line versions are fitted, as standard, with Dynamic Steering Response, Forward Collision Warning, Exit Warning, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keeping Assist, Speed Assist, Hill Start Assist and Emergency Assist.

GT-Line S and GT models further benefit from Front and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Parking Assist, Sign Assist, Trailer and Trailer Stability Assist, Front and Rear Parking Sensors, Blind Spot Detection and Pedestrian/Bicycle Detection.

Depending on the model you buy, the Kia ProCeed can tow around 1,000kg to 1,410kg.

Alhough it looks a deal longer, the Kia ProCeed is built on the Kia Ceed hatchback’s running gear, so the wheelbase isn’t quite as lengthy as you might expect. Nonetheless, there’s room for a six-footer to sit behind another six-footer in the back.

And, although the roofline is 43mm lower than that of the Kia Ceed Sportswagon, the rear seats have been lowered too, so headroom isn’t as impacted by that sloping roofline as much as you might fear. What does affect it, however, is the panoramic sunroof fitted to top GT-Line S models. The absence of any USB ports in the rear seat area is unfortunate.

Loadspace is estate car large, offering 594 litres with the rear seats in place (just six litres less than the Kia Ceed Sportswagon), and a wholesome 1455 litres with the 60:40 split-folding rear seatbacks tumbled (almost) flat.

However, the tailgate aperture feels rather tight given the generous area it accesses, and the sill is high by estate standards. Handily, in GT variants with no space saver spare tyre, the loadspace floor is divided into several hidden storage compartments. 

Up front, the surroundings may feel a little behind the times, but the sporting front seats are comfortable and snug, and the steering wheel is a delight to wield. The driving position gives no cause for complaint, and cockpit ergonomics are generally fine.

By today’s standards, the dashboard and steering wheel feel absolutely littered with switchgear, but many will prefer this to the all-on-a-touchscreen alternative, and everything you turn or press feels solid and has a reassuringly crisp action.

Unsurprisingly, with a pinched rear windscreen and C-pillars the size of surf boards, rear visibility isn’t great. Mercifully, rear parking sensors and a camera are standard features on all models.

The presence of so much switchgear may make the dashboard look a tad dated, but all is tidily detailed, and piano black and brushed metal trim make a welcome appearance in what, at the time, was Kia’s best interior to date.

Topped by an eight-inch infotainment screen, the console is sensibly laid out, the ventilation controls in particular reminding us of how much, in this touchscreen age, we miss the use of a well-engineered knob.

Upholstery on all three trim levels is a consistently comfortable variation on the faux leather and suede theme. Red stitching to the seats, steering wheel and gearshift gaiter identify the GT trim level.

Scarlet cotton aside, the interior colour scheme doesn’t get any more exciting as you climb through the trim levels, but all is robustly built and has remained squeak and rattle-free over time.

There are one or two scratchy plastic panels in evidence, such as to the sides of the centre console and the loadspace walls, but, mostly, what you touch is pleasantly tactile without ever straying into premium territory.

Although it was upgraded to a 10.5 inch unit one year later, the 2019 Kia ProCeed was launched with an eight-inch infotainment touch-screen, with a row of shortcut buttons lurking beneath it.

It’s fairly primitive by today’s standards, but the system does offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat-nav and Bluetooth. There’s also a TomTom-based raft of connected services.

A small, 4.2-inch screen trapped between analogue dials in the driver’s instrument binnacle offers the driver a range of additional information and, in GT versions, further powertrain instrumentation such as live turbo boost and torque readouts.

2019 prices for the Kia ProCeed started at just under £24,000 for the GT-Line trim mated to the 1.4-litre turbo petrol powertrain, to which you must add £550 for the 1.6-litre diesel engine and another £1100 for automatic transmission.

The GT-Line S required a further £3750, and the GT – available only with the 1.6 litre turbo petrol engine mated to the automatic gearbox – would set you back the best part of £28,000.

Priced next to a conventional estate car, the Kia ProCeed certainly didn’t look the cheapest option – the regular estate version of the Kia Ceed, the Sportswagon, was available for less than £20,000.

However, with the Kia ProCeed only available in high specs, a like-for-like version only worked out as £1,000 more expensive than the regular estate model. The entry-level GT-Line is really all you need. 

Despite the company’s push upmarket with the Kia ProCeed, it hasn’t really held its value any better than other regular models from the South Korean manufacturer, which makes it a sensible used buy. 

There are plenty of 2019 GT-Line and GT-Line S cars out there selling for £15,500 and over, but GT specimens seem to be rare. Persevere and you won’t be displeased.

From the running costs perspective, the 1.6-litre diesel engine is the model to go for, as it’ll return 56.5mpg, with CO2 emissions of 131g/km.

That said, the 1.4-litre petrol is still a credible choice – Kia says it will return 45.6mpg with CO2 emissions of 141g/km. The GT could be quite expensive to run, though. Kia says it’ll do 39.3mpg, with CO2 emissions of 163g/km, but it’s not likely to fare as well if you make the most of its performance. 

This is quite a niche model, so we know less about its reliability than we’d like – but given the regular Kia Ceed (with which it shares a great deal under the skin) is known to be very dependable, there should be few issues with the Kia ProCeed.

2019 models will also almost all still fall within that seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty, which should provide extra peace and mind. 

The entry level Kia ProCeed GT-Line comes groaning under the weight of standard kit, including 17-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, full-width rear LED lights, part leather seats and electrical lumbar support for the front seats. 

You also get heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and satellite navigation. Lane Keeping Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking, rear parking sensors and a reversing camera are fitted as standard, too.

Despite being the most powerful variant, the Kia ProCeed GT doesn’t actually get as much kit as the more expensive Kia ProCeed GT-Line S – instead you’re mainly paying for the quicker engine. The GT builds on the GT-Line grade with large 18-inch alloy wheels, red exterior accents, red brake callipers and red stitching and detailing in the cabin.

High-spec Kia ProCeed GT-Line S models build on the regular GT-Line car with their larger 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, leather and suede seats, an electric driver’s seat, heated rear seats, adaptive cruise control, LED interior lighting and an electric tailgate.

There are also 40:20:40 split/folding rear seats, a JBL sound system, wireless smartphone charging, self-parking functionality and front parking sensors.