Kia Cee’d Sportswagon on sale now

The estate version of the Kia Cee’d, called the Sportswagon, is on sale now, priced from £16,895. It offers minimum load space of 528 litres, and with the seats folded it can accommodate 1642 litres of luggage, which is larger than the Ford Focus Estate and Vauxhall Astra ST.

The Cee’d SW is available with either 1.4-litre or 1.6-litre diesel engine, the former of which produces 109g/km of CO2 and has official fuel economy of 109g/km. Power is 90PS, with 220Nm of torque . The 1.6-litre diesel has 128PS, 260Nm of torque and managed 116g/km of CO2 and 64.2mpg. All models excepting the automatic have stop/start.

Suspension is fully independent front and rear, which should make for a smooth riding and neat handling car. Attention has been paid to maximising refinement, with a bonded front screen, more insulation in the door pillars and thicker glass combining to provide a quiet cabin, which is trimmed in soft-touch materials.

Trim grades are simply named 1, 2, 3 and 4. The 1.4-litre entry level engine is only offered in ‘1’ trim which, despite being the entry point in the range, get a decent level of equipment.

Standard spec includes under-floor storage, heated door mirrors, air con, steering wheel mounted audio controls, electric front windows, daytime running lights, 60:40 split rear seats, iPod compatibility, Bluetooth and various pieces of safety equipment – but you must choose the 1.6-litre engine to get alloy wheels.

‘2’ trim level gets alloy wheels as standard and also adds electrically folding door mirrors, leather steering wheel and gear lever gaitor, chrome details, cruise control, ‘flex steer’ adjustable steering and parking sensors. Moving up to ‘3’ gets you privacy glass, dual zone climate control, electric lumbar support, sat nav and a reversing camera.  

Top level ‘4’ models have a luggage area partition system, 17 inch alloy wheels, heated leather seats, heated steering wheel, electric parking brake, keyless entry and start, a ‘premium’ centre console and a multi-function LCS touch screen. There’s also a ‘4 Tech’ level with a sun roof, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, parallel park assist, lane departure warning and xenon headlights.

Prices for the Cee’d Sportswagon range from £16,895 for the 1.4 in ‘1’ trim and rise to £24,795 for the ‘4 Tech.’ The automatic is offered in ‘2’ trim only and costs £20,395. The Kia Cee’d SW is available now.