KIA Cee'd Facelift Review

The Kia Cee'd recently had its first facelift. For a car launched just under two years ago, this may seem like Kia has rushed things a bit, especially since even in the fast-paced happenings of today's automotive world, a mid-cycle facelift usually comes after three or four years of continuous production.

Well, not many people know that things happen differently in Korea, where the distinction between a mid-cycle facelift and a totally new generation of a car model is so thin you could pass one for another and vice versa. In other words, albeit this may seem just a small nip and tuck on the front and a new design for the taillights it's actually a bit more.

A few months ago we got the chance to drive and give our opinion about a non-facelifted Cee'd equipped with the 1.6 gasoline engine. After arriving at a semi-optimistic conclusion about it we all agreed that this might, for the first time, be the little Korean car that could. That could what, you ask? That could actually be the thorn in Volkswagen Golf's spine, some people say.

Well, although the car left us with a very good impression, it became apparent that a few glitches shouldn't have been present in order for it to actually fight with the Golf "mano a mano". Believe it or not, as if Kia engineers had listened to our complaints in the first test, this early-facelift pretty much covered what was wrong with the Cee'd in the first place.

While the upgraded exterior design is obviously the first thing you notice upon seeing the new model, it's actually the inside bits which left the biggest impression. And no, we're not talking about the car's interior, but about the technical, untouchable, bits. Read on to find out what we actually thought about the revised version of the Kia Cee'd.

Seen from the distance, there's not much to be said about this early facelift. As we mentioned on our previous Kia test drive with the pre-facelift version of the Cee'd, the car continues to follow a very clean and understated design. There are some changes though, but things only become truly apparent after you get closer.

For one thing, the headlights no longer make you think about the Mercedes S-Klasse, since their overall shape is almost entirely different now. They're much pointier, and the general layout brings them more in tone with the new Kia design language. Also, they're now framing a different front grill, one which has apparently brought only bad attention upon itself.

We don't know exactly how, but the addition of chrome can actually cheapen a car's look, not improve it. Such is the case with the Kia Cee'd facelift, at least according to most of the opinions we received on the street about the new grill.

The updated front bumper is pretty much in tune with the new headlights, so it's much more sculptured, integrating two trapezoidal fog lights. The side view on the other hand is identical to the old model, making it pretty difficult to distinguish it as an entirely different model for the casual onlooker. The only difference resides in the reshaped rear-view mirrors.

Along with the frontal area, the rear is the most different in terms of styling. The vertigo-like design of the taillights is now gone, having been replaced with more square-like lines, in tone with the rest of the car's revamped design.

All in all, apart maybe from the new chrome inlay on the front grill, the Kia Cee'd facelift doesn't bring a lot of things to the design table, but it sure makes the car look a lot more modern, or at least contemporary.

Unlike the exterior, the Cee'd's interior doesn't benefit from the same amount of novelty. That's not to say that it's identical to the previous one, of course. For one thing, the steering wheel has been replaced with a completely different-shaped one. The result is rather nice, we should say, since the new one not only looks better but it also feels better thanks to the better grip.

The steering controls for the audio system and the on-board computer are in a totally new arrangement now, with the "trip" button oddly residing on the lower part of the steering wheel. The center console on the other hand is quasi-identical to the old version, the only modifications being rather minor and only of cosmetic nature.

For example, the audio system buttons have been reshaped, while the slightly revamped climate controls seem more modern, especially since it now offers dual-zone air conditioning. Also, the interior lighting for the buttons and knobs is now red instead of orange. Other than the aforementioned and new upholstery for the seats everything is pretty much the same.

Just like its predecessor, the Cee'd facelift offers one of the most spacious cabins in its class, with enough room for four or even five people. The luggage compartment of course remains the same, with 340 liters (12 cubic feet) of space available for short and medium trips.

The overall fit and finish it provides does not surprise either, with materials far better than your average Korean econobox and the expected feeling of cheapness missing from most of the interior. The only low point was the under-par feel of the cloth upholstery and the hard plastic bits from the doors. Other than that, the Kia Cee'd facelift remains one of the best bag for bucks in its class, interior-wise as well.

In a totally surprising fashion and completely unlike the engine we tested on the other occasion, the little 1.4-liter four cylinder we drove now was very different in the way it behaved, especially compared with the official numbers. To make things clearer, if we only look at the specification sheet, this is an "upgraded" engine.

On the non-facelift model, the very same engine offers no less than 109 horsepower, mainly thanks to a highly-efficient Continuous Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) system. Obvious advantage – power. Main disadvantage – high fuel consumption.

Apparently, the high power versus displacement ratio didn't win too many hearts so Kia decided to "upgrade" it. The result? It now offers only 90 horsepower "thanks" to some tinkering of the ECU. While this might look as a step taken backwards at first glance, the "new" engine continues to provide a similar level of performance, but the average fuel consumption has dropped.

During our city driving session we managed to achieve an average fuel economy of about 9.5 liters per 100 kilometers (US 24.8 mpg). Pretty far from the official 7.2 liters per 100 km (US 32.7 mpg), but then again, we drove it through extremely busy traffic and the car had only... 12 kilometers (about 7 miles) on board when we first took it from the dealer.

The ECU-remapping must have done something to the torque curve as well, since we found the little 1.4 to actually behave better than its 1.6-liter brother at lower revs in the city. The noise levels were also dramatically decreased compared to what we had driven before in the non-facelift 1.6.

As far as visibility goes, nothing has really changed from the non-revised version of the Cee'd, with one small difference. The exterior rear-view mirrors have been reshaped, but the overall area of the mirror has been left alone, so almost no changes there either.

Since the city driving part of our test drive changed our perception about the revised engine for the better, we were expecting similar results in the "Open Road" category also. Turns out we were a bit mislead by the previous numbers, because the minute we arrived on the highway it became apparent that 90 horsepower are, after all... only 90 horsepower.

The rather long ratios of the transmission, though good for fuel economy, aren't exactly a best friend of acceleration. The 13 seconds necessary from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) don't seem that slow on paper, especially for a car with 90 horsepower and a minimum weight of over 1350 kilograms (about 2980 pounds) including driver. In reality though, the sprint from 90 km/h (56 mph) to 120 km/h (75 mph) seems to take ages and the car struggles to reach higher cruising speeds, regardles of what gear you're in.

OK, so these were the car's "Open Road" downsides, but what about its good points? Well, for one thing, this facelift brings improved sound cushioning, so the interior noise levels are far better than in the old Cee'd.

If that's not enough we must tell you that we were absolutely flabbergasted of the difference in handling, considering we didn't read a single Korean marketing mumbo-jumbo about improvements to the suspension. We can now honestly say that we found the Cee'd facelift to have similar, if not even better in some areas, handling than what most people consider the standard in this class, the Volkswagen Golf.

Sporty and responsive when "given' the whip" on back roads, while keeping the above-average level of comfort at high levels. We suspect the main difference in the car's handling comes from the improved gas-shocks, by the way. Also, the steering seemed a bit more precise, but that may be just a placebo effect thanks to the sportier-shaped and thicker steering wheel.

As far as the fuel consumption, we averaged around 6 liters per 100 kilometers (US 39.2 mpg) – not that far from the official 5.1 liters per 100 km (US 46.1 mpg). Keep in mind we did this with a car that only had 12 kilometers (7 miles) on the tachometer at the start of the test drive, so these numbers are bound to improve once the car is thoroughly broken in. We should also add the fact that our test car was fitted with some Cee'd-exclusive (as far as we know) "green" tires from Michelin, with low rolling resistance.