Designed and engineered in Europe, the latest addition from Kia, the All-New Proceed GT.
The Ceed family forms Kia’s second most popular range after the Sportage and the All-New ProCeed can absolutely assist in ramping up that success even more.
The Kia ProCeed is a contemporary, great looking estate with a range of body styles ‘GT-Line’, ‘GT-Line S’ and the higher-performance ‘GT’.
And a new name, Pro_cee’d becomes ProCeed, losing the unusual punctuation, only slightly more memorable, but this car’s design you surely will remember. All three models have worthy characteristics and strengths, more particularly the GT-S line and the perkier GT.
‘Shooting-brake is a term for car body style which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon used to transport shooting parties with their equipment and game. The first automotive shooting brakes were manufactured in the early 1900s in the United Kingdom.’
Wikipedia
It’s the third body style in the range and the All-New ProCeed only shares the bonnet and front wings from the hatchback. The All-New Kia ProCeed GT is one of the most handsome with its bold swept back design quite unlike any other car in the segment.
Some more traditional car buyers want more of a car and a low down ride, instead of a lumbering great SUV, for these people station wagons have always had a place.
So there you are ‘Shooting Brake’ is a term Kia have dug up from days of old for the ProCeed now a very smart estate car. Long and low, the car features a striking swept-back silhouette, bold rear styling, slightly borrowed from the, dare I say it, Porsche Panamera, with a horizontal rear, LED lighting and finely sloping appearance. The rear twin exhausts are neatly styled into the rear the spaced badging is another likeable touch on the electric tailgate. At the front, a more aggressive front bumper treatment and the Kia signature ice cube LED day time running lights. The side profile features a cool angled ‘sharkblade’ to re-emphasise the exciting lines of the roof.
The inside of the ProCeed is as sharp as the outside, with ‘GT’ red stitched badging on the seats, black leather and faux suede abound, it’s all well put together, contemporary and modern. There’s still quite a bit of black easy to clean plastic but if there was a preference on plastic it’s the higher quality type.
There’s a flat bottomed leather steering wheel and the sports seats are amply comfortable with tidy red stitching on the GT model. A black roof lining adds to the sporty impression although it is slightly dark inside, a large panoramic sunroof is available.
The All-New ProCeed is a roomy car but slightly tighter in the rear for taller passengers. The low lift-over tailgate makes it easy to load and the boot is 594 litres in capacity, drop the 60:40 seats and the load space increases to a whopping 1545 litres, the underfloor storage space is perfect for smaller items to be secured and hidden.
There’s a simplicity to the in-car connectivity from Kia, with wireless charging, it all works seamlessly with your smartphone as it’s also got Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, it sounds good too thanks to the JBL sound system. The 8.0-inch floating touchscreen is nicely integrated sitting immediately above the easy to operate heating and ventilation switches. The touchscreens are all legible, easy-to-read and intuitive in their operation. All Kia cars are loaded with an abundance of good stuff, safety systems abound all easy to work and fairly unobtrusive in their functionality.
All three engines meet the absolute latest Euro-6d Temp regulations, at the launch we got the opportunity to drive ProCeed with all versions and both transmissions. All were likeable in different ways and both transmissions were up to the job, dependent on your choice. The sportiest 1.6-litre T-GDi 201bhp / seven-speed Dual clutch transmission (DCT) model is the most powerful in the range, it’s a pretty torquey engine with 265Nm, it was my favourite on the European Launch.
The DCT auto transmission is Kia’s first, quick-shifting and enjoyable for a long drive, this would be my choice over the six-speed manual. It does all that is needed of it very well, this is a wagon, a warm sporty one at that, the handy alloy paddle shifts are useful for a few quicker manoeuvres but remember this is still a load lugger and that is what it will probably excel at for you. In the busy roads of the South East where I drive, auto is always my choice.
On the All-New ProCeed DCT models, there is a drive mode select system with two modes Normal and Sport. Dependent on your desired driving style the selection affects the engine character, economy, steering, acceleration and shifting of the gears. To bring a more sporty engine note, the sound it is enhanced and synthesised through the car’s sound system, but with engines and hybrid systems and transmissions these days quieter than ever, it’s a trend that will only continue. Sometimes, you want that noise, sometimes you don’t, de-selecting the Sport mode quietens it down considerably.
Riding 5mm lower than the Ceed and Sportswagon models the 1.6-litre GT enjoys being driven and it’s precise and fun to drive swiftly. Over many months, one of Kia’s top guns Albert Biermann the ex-BMW M chief and now boss of vehicle dynamics was the director of development for the ProCeed suspension tuning for our European roads. On our journey’s on the Spanish back roads, the ProCeed’s fully independent suspension gives it a sophisticated, agile and responsive feel, overall it rides well, firm and sporty but not at all overly harsh over bumps or ridges.
The sheer quality of these latest Kia’s should not be ignored this is a brand on the move and the trajectory is up, with all cars backed up with the added assurance of their seven-year transferable warranty.
The driver appeal of the All-New ProCeed GT and its great design continues the debate SUV or a fine driving family shooting brake.
Car reviewed: Kia Proceed GT 1.6 T GD-i 7-speed auto DCT ISG On the road price from £27,280 0-62mph 7.2secs Top speed 140mph Engine 1591cc 4-cylinder turbocharged Dimensions L/W/H mm 4605/1800/1422 Fuel Economy Combined 39.3mpg CO2 emissions 142g/km CO2 Max Power 201bhp@6500rpm Torque 265Nm@1500-4500rpm Transmission 7-speed automatic
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Jonathan Humphrey
The man from Drive.co.uk
After many, many years of being passionate about cars, spending too much money on cars and too much time driving. I now spend my time running and developing Drive.co.uk and creating a bold expressive new motoring lifestyle website along with some very good writers.
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