Photo: CarPix
After it made its world debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the JD-gen Kia cee’d spawned a 3-door variant - the Pro_cee’d, the year after. This being 2015, the South Korean manufacturer is preparing a rather mild mid-cycle facelift for both the 5 and 3-door models. This time around, our spy photographers caught the yet-to-be-released 2016 Kia Pro_cee’d testing on the outskirts of Frankfurt, Germany.
As you can see, the photo gallery below features a background that can only be described as Hyundai and Kia’s Technology Research Center in Frankfurt, Germany. Let’s not forget that with the i30 and sister model cee'd, the Asian automakers started paying attention to what the European consumer needs from a compact hatchback, the main reason why Germany was selected for some R&D duties.
With the second generation, Kia upped the cee'd’s game a heck of a lot more than the plasticky first-gen, morphing the model from a cheaper VW Golf alternative to a more desirable and better made machine. Regarding the sportified Pro_cee’d, this bugger can be had with a choice of 1.4 to 1.6-liter petrol and turbo diesel engines, coupled to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.
We happen to know that Kia is working on a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT), which will be available in two guises: one for gasoline applications (limited to around 270 Nm) and a second variant for turbo diesel mills with up to 330 Nm of torque. Like it was the case before, a 1.6 Turbo-GDI engine with over 204 HP and 265 Nm of torque will be offered on the GT hot hatchback model, plus the new DCT.
On the styling front there’s not a lot to get yourself excited about. Despite its camo blankets, it’s easy to see on the pre-production prototype below that designers made the front radiator grille a little more enticing to look at, while the LED-accented, projector-style headlights and fog lights boast with their own minor revamp. The sides are virtually the same as before, while the rear fascia seems to have received a better contoured bumper and restyled taillights. Not much has changed, but a refresh is a refresh nonetheless.
With the second generation, Kia upped the cee'd’s game a heck of a lot more than the plasticky first-gen, morphing the model from a cheaper VW Golf alternative to a more desirable and better made machine. Regarding the sportified Pro_cee’d, this bugger can be had with a choice of 1.4 to 1.6-liter petrol and turbo diesel engines, coupled to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic.
We happen to know that Kia is working on a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT), which will be available in two guises: one for gasoline applications (limited to around 270 Nm) and a second variant for turbo diesel mills with up to 330 Nm of torque. Like it was the case before, a 1.6 Turbo-GDI engine with over 204 HP and 265 Nm of torque will be offered on the GT hot hatchback model, plus the new DCT.
On the styling front there’s not a lot to get yourself excited about. Despite its camo blankets, it’s easy to see on the pre-production prototype below that designers made the front radiator grille a little more enticing to look at, while the LED-accented, projector-style headlights and fog lights boast with their own minor revamp. The sides are virtually the same as before, while the rear fascia seems to have received a better contoured bumper and restyled taillights. Not much has changed, but a refresh is a refresh nonetheless.
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