Kia Cee'd (2006-)

The Kia Cee'd is a front wheel drive small family car released in the European market by the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors in December 2006—superseding the Kia Spectra—and available as a five-door hatchback, three-door hatchback ("Pro_cee'd"), and five-door estate ("Cee'd SW") with a choice of up to four engines (two petrol and two diesel), three trim levels (1, 2 and 3 – previously S, GS, LS and SR) and either manual or automatic transmissions.

The Cee’d is Kia’s first European designed and built car. The company says that it’s a European car for European people and it won’t be on sale in other parts of the world. To mark the occasion, Kia took the initials of the European Economic Community, EEC or CEE in some places and added ED for European Design. Sensibly realising that CEEED was an ‘E’ too far, they replaced one of them with an apostrophe, thus giving us cee’d and always in lower case.

First generation (2006–2012)

The Cee'd was designed in Frankfurt, Germany, with Miklós Kovács leading the design team.Cars are manufactured in the Kia factory in Teplička nad Váhom, Slovakia.

The Cee'd shares the same platform as the Hyundai i30, as does a redesigned version of the Cee'd, marketed elsewhere as the Kia Forte, which is not sold in Europe (except for Russia, where the Cee'd and the Forte are available together).

As of 2010, the Cee'd received Kia's new corporate grille, known as the Tiger Nose, designed by Kia's design chief Peter Schreyer.

Second generation (2012–present)

Making its worldwide premiere at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show is the all-new second generation Cee'd (with the internal code EU) which is claimed to be more sophisticated, more efficient, more refined, better equipped and with a more engaging driving experience than the first generation. The second generation Cee'd is however significantly more expensive than the first generation and moves the Cee'd out of the "budget" market as noted by independent reviewers such as the Honest John.The new Cee'd is expected to build on the success of the original model.

Safety

The Kia Cee'd earned a Euro NCAP 5 star safety rating for adult occupants for the pre 2009 model. It is also fitted with six airbags (including curtain airbags) as standard even in countries like Ukraine where safety options were usually stripped in comparison with other countries.

• Adult Occupants score - 34
• Child Occupants  score - 37
• Pedestrians score - 11

The Euro NCAP results also showed that the dashboard can become a threat to the driver and passenger's knees in the event of a front collision, despite having 6 airbags in the car and the Cee'd also scored the maximum available points for the side impact and pole tests.

Variants

According to German Kia site, as of January 2012, Kia Cee'd variants are representing 7th edition of these models.

Kia Pro_cee'd

Kia debuted the Kia Pro_cee'd, a 3-door version of the Cee'd, at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, and began marketing the model in January 2008. It is based on Hyundai Veloster.

Kia Ex_cee'd

Kia's Ex_cee'd cabrio concept car premiered at the 77th Salon de l'Automobiles in 2007 Geneva. Based on the three-door Cee'd hatchback (Pro_cee'd), the Ex_cee'd shares the same platform, but features different exterior panels and an electric folding fabric roof.

Kia Eco_cee'd

Kia revealed a concept of its Pro_cee'd line, with improved aerodynamics and mild hybrid engine tuning to their diesel engine, under the name "Eco_cee'd". The concept models were fitted with ISG (Idle Stop&Go) and regenerative braking.

Hybrid version

Kia previewed a hybrid Cee'd concept at the 2008 Paris Auto Show,and operates an evaluation fleet of in Europe — with the hybrid models featuring an electric motor, powered by a high-voltage battery mounted behind the rear seats.

Media 

On 27 June 2010, the Kia Cee'd was revealed as the new reasonably priced car for the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment of the top-rated UK television programme, Top Gear, where presenter Jeremy Clarkson deliberately mispronounces the name as "see apostrophe dee" and describes it as "the only car with an apostrophe in its name." The version used had a kerb weight upwards of 1,263 kg, and was priced at GB£13,930.