Kia Ceed Sportswagon Review 2022

Kia Ceed Sportswagon At A Glance

Very comfortable and easy to drive. Feels well built and long lasting. Impressive bootspace of 625 litres. Available with excellent 1.4 T-GDi engine. Handles tidily.

Ride can be firm on larger wheels.

Real MPG average for a Kia Ceed Sportswagon

Real MPG was created following thousands of readers telling us that their cars could not match the official figures.

Real MPG gives real world data from drivers like you to show how much fuel a vehicle really uses.

Diesel or petrol? If you're unsure whether to go for a petrol or diesel (or even an electric model if it's available), then you need our Petrol or Diesel? calculator. It does the maths on petrols, diesels and electric cars to show which is best suited to you.

Satisfaction Index

Reviews for Kia Ceed Sportswagon's top 3 rivals

Mazda 3

Looks great. Premium interior with excellent standard specification. Fun to drive with excellent manual...

Peugeot 308

Striking design. Smart, interesting cabin. Much improved tech over old 308. Pleasant driving experience.

Audi A3

Sharp looks and classy interior, frugal engine line-up, impressive standard equipment levels.

Ask Honest John

How can we get a good deal on a new car?

"We have a 2017 Volvo V90 D5 that has done 50,000 miles. It is bigger than we need.Given the price of second hand cars we wonder whether we should just look to get a new car (trying to negotiate a discount for cash) on the basis ours may have increased in value as well. We would then sell the V90 on through an organisation that buys cars if necessary. A mid-sized estate (such as a Golf) would suit us well. Do you have any advice on our approach and any suggestions as to what we should consider? Our budget is probably £18,000 to £20,000. Due to infirm knees we would prefer an automatic."

Getting a good deal on a new car will be the difficult bit. Used car prices are inflated because there's a shortage of new cars. A dealer will be reluctant to offer a good deal for cash - they make commission from finance sales. As a replacement for your Volvo, a Volkswagen Golf Estate sounds like a good choice. We'd also recommend a Kia Ceed Sportswagon or, if you can find one within budget, a hybrid Toyota Corolla Touring Sports. Also consider SUV alternatives like a Skoda Karoq.

Answered by Andrew Brady

Which used automatic estate car should I buy?

"We bought a 2019 Astra Sport Tourer 1.0 with 12,000 miles on it for £10,000. It was a great car for the first three months - comfy, quick enough, economical. Then a plethora of issues manifested (all fixed under warranty) including a new engine and gearbox. The car has been in the garage for best part of four months. Once we get it back, we're thinking to get rid of it immediately but what to replace it with? The courtesy car we have been given is an automatic and now my wife would prefer an auto box. We might be lucky to offload the Astra for £9,000. A similarly specced Skoda Octavia estate auto would be around £16,000 which is another £7,000 on top of the Astra and so I'm not sure it represents value for money. We like the Hyundai i30 estate but petrol models seem to be like hen's teeth. We use the car for our dog walking business and mainly do short journeys. "

Prices on cars have soared since the first quarter of this year so your money won't go as far as it did at the start of the year. To get a car to your specification – a 2019 automatic estate – a budget of £15,000 is realistic. Nothing wrong with the Hyundai i30 or the Skoda Octavia. The Skoda has slightly more room, feels nicer inside and is better designed, however the Hyundai has a five-year warranty also take a look at the Kia Ceed or Optima both are around £15,000 and have a seven-year warranty. For a budget option, the Dacia Logan is well worth considering – you'll get a 2019 model for less than £10,000, although it isn't available with an auto. The Dacia is fairly basic but represents unbeatable value. We doubt the dogs will complain.

Answered by Russell Campbell

I do 60 miles per day. Should I go for petrol or diesel?

"I currently do 60 miles a day to work and back, mainly dual carriageway and B roads. I was looking at buying a used Skoda Octavia Estate with the automatic gearbox. Would petrol or diesel be best? "

A Skoda Octavia sounds like a good choice and a diesel could be a good option for your mileage. Take a look at a Honda Civic Tourer, too – it's very spacious and will be a reliable choice. Alternatively, how about a Kia Ceed Sportswagon? It'll be very cheap to run and will come with a transferable seven-year warranty.

Answered by Andrew Brady

I want an estate car for a growing family and mostly short trips. Should I go hybrid or petrol?

"I have a Skoda Fabia 1.0-litre 110PS - which is great for my school run and occasional longer trips, but due to growing kids and a dog, I need a bigger car. I'm not a fan of SUVs so fancy an estate car. I have a budget of £20,000 and quite fancy a Toyota Corolla Estate but is the 1.8 hybrid worth the extra money over the 1.2 petrol? I cover about 6000 miles a year - which is mainly short trips of 10 miles with the occasional trip to London (from Manchester). Are there any other estates you would recommend. I don't want a VW Group car with a 1.5-litre petrol engine due to all the issues it seems to have."

The Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is an excellent estate car. We'd recommend the 1.8 hybrid - the 1.2 lacks guts and it sounds like a hybrid would suit your requirements well. The hybrid will hold its value better, too. Also, consider the Kia ProCeed (or Ceed Sportswagon) or a Ford Focus estate.

Answered by Andrew Brady

More Questions

On the inside of an Kia Ceed Sportswagon

• Boot space is 625–1694 litres
• Euro NCAP rating of four stars

As small estates go, the Ceed Sportswagon is one of the bigger ones with 625 litres of space. As a comparison, the Golf Estate has 605 litres while a Ford Focus Estate is considerably smaller with 575 litres.

It's not just the size that's useful either. The opening is usefully wide and the low load lip means lugging heavy things in isn't too backbreaking.

All models get an underfloor box to secure or hide smaller items, as well as a tonneau cover and a bag hook so your balsamic vinegar won't roll around the boot floor. The rear seats fold down (almost flat) to create a usefully big load area too while 3 models get handles in the boot that let you fold down the seats instead of having to lean in from the doors. 

It's the quality of the Ceed Sportswagon that impresses. There's lots of soft touch materials and it's all well finished with a feeling that it's a car designed to last. Standard 2 models are a little drab to look at but go up the range and you get more visually appealing piano black trim as shown in our pictures here. All models get a leather steering wheel and gear lever too.

There's decent space in the back with better headroom and legroom than the previous model, helped by the lower positioned rear seats, although there's not as much space here as in a Skoda Octavia Estate.

The front seats are comfortable and reasonably supportive with 3 trim models getting electrically adjustable lumbar support. The driving position is good too with lots of adjustment in the seat and steering column.

The Ceed Sportswagon gets a clear 7-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dash as standard which comes with a reversing camera along with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It's a very easy to use system and one of the best we've come across in terms of clarity. If you go for a 3 model or above you get a larger 8-inch screen that includes TomTom navigation.

A wireless smartphone charger, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats and keyless entry all come on First Edition models.

Standard equipment from launch:

Grade 2 models are fitted with cruise control with speed limiter, air conditioning, an alarm system, front wiper de-icer, electric windows all-round and automatic headlight control. Other features include 16-inch alloy wheels with locking wheel nuts, front fog lights, projection headlights and cornering lights, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors in body colour, a high gloss black front grille, chrome window surrounds and LED rear lights. Inside, there’s black premium cloth seat trim, a leather trimmed steering wheel, gearshift and hand brake and a rear centre armrest. A seven-inch touchscreen audio display is provided, along with a reversing camera system with dynamic guidelines, DAB radio, Bluetooth with voice recognition and music streaming Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone compatibility with voice control. Safety includes Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Hill Start Assist Control (HAC) and Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA).

Grade 3 adds 17-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and rain sensing front wipers, in addition to black cloth seat trim with black faux leather bolsters and power lumbar support for the front seats. An eight-inch touchscreen satellite navigation system with European mapping and traffic messaging channel is provided alongside Kia Connected Services featuring TomTom Live. Other equipment includes dual-zone automatic air conditioning, electrically folding door mirrors with LED indicators and kerbside lights, an auto-dimming rear view mirror and rear parking sensors, in addition to a 4.2-inch supervision colour cluster display, a USB fast charger in the front centre console and a dual-tone horn. The central fascia is in high gloss black, while the interior door handles have a satin chrome finish. Manual gearbox variants have the Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist system (FCA) upgraded to include pedestrian detection.

First Edition gets the Smart Park Assist System (SPAS) which integrates front and rear parking sensors with the ability to automatically park in parallel or perpendicular spaces, while smart cruise control with stop and go functionality and a Drive Mode Selector are featured when the seven-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) is chosen. There’s black leather seats with contrast grey stitching, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats and a 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat with memory. A wide electric tilt and slide sunroof with automatic roll blind also comes fitted along with LED bi-function headlights and cornering lights, an electronic parking brake, heated steering wheel, stainless steel pedals, smart entry system with engine start/stop button and an eight-speaker JBL premium sound system with wireless mobile phone charger. Extra safety systems include Blind Spot Collision Warning (BCW), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Speed Limit Information Function (SLIF) and Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with Pedestrian Detection.

Child seats that fit a Kia Ceed Sportswagon

Our unique Car Seat Chooser shows you which child car seats will fit this car and which seat positions that they will fit, so that you don't have to check every car seat manufacturer's website for compatibility.

Which car seat will suit you?

Driving Kia Ceed Sportswagon

• Engines range from 1.0 T-GDI to 1.6 CRDi DCT
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 42–64 mpg

On the surface you'd expect the Ceed Sportswagon to be comfortable at the expense of handling prowess, but strangely, the opposite is true.

It deals with corners better than you'd expect of an estate of this ilk and while it may not have the outright grip of something like a Ford Focus, for the vast majority of drivers, the Ceed will be more than capable in everyday driving.

The steering is quick and responsive too, although perhaps lacks some of the weight of competitors. But perhaps what's most surprising is the ride. It's not overly firm but it does tend to feel a little busy at times. Go for a model on 16-inch alloys and you'll get the most comfort. There's also a fair bit of road noise from the rear, especially on rough motorways, but wind noise is minimal.

If you're not covering huge mileages, then the petrol engines in the Ceed Sportswagon are ideal. There's a 1.4 T-GDi (yes it's a petrol even though there's confusingly a D in the name) which is new to the Ceed. With 140PS it's the quickest engine in the range and the only option on the high spec trims such as the First Edition. You should see around 40mpg in real world driving.

The smaller petrol is a 1.0 T-GDi with 120PS - and engine carried over from the previous model. With 172Nm of torque it's not the last words in low down pulling power, but for around town use it's more than adequate and will happily keep up with fast flowing traffic if required, it just requires working a little harder.

The sole diesel is a 1.6 CRDi - again from the previous generation Cee'd (when it had an apostrophe...) - which promises to be the most economical version with claimed economy of more than 70mpg. It's not the quietest diesel around but is smooth enough and there's little vibration through the pedals or steering wheel.

While the standard six-speed manual has a positive shift, there's also a seven-speed dual clutch DCT automatic that's available on the CRDi and the 1.4 T-GDi.

Kia Ceed Sportswagon Models and Specs

On sale until January 2022

On sale until April 2021