Kia Updates The Cee’d, Gives It New 1.0L 3-Cylinder Turbo

Kia has given its Cee’d compact family a refresh for 2016

The design updates apply to the three-door Kia Pro_Cee’d, five-door Cee’d and the Cee’d Sportwagon. Changes include a wider, sharper front bumper with chrome trim around the fog lamps, a new oval-shaped grille mesh, a redesigned rear bumper and LED taillights. New 16- and 17-inch alloy wheel designs are also offered. Kia has introduced a new GT Line specification for all three body styles, offering buyers the sporty looks and dynamics of the GT models.

Inside, facelifted Kia Cee’d models get subtle enhancements including a new optional color pack (Brown Pack) as well as chrome trim around the instrument binnacle, driver-side and central air vents and around the upper edge of the instrument panel. The central fascia panel is now finished in gloss black, with other chrome highlights added around the base of the gear-stick, on door handles, and to the temperature control dials on the dashboard.

But the big news for the facelifted Kia Cee’d family is the updated range of Euro 6-compliant engines including all-new 1.0-liter T-GDI 3-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine. The first of Kia’s upcoming range of downsized engines to make its debut in Europe, the 1.0-liter unit will be available in two states of tune.

In its basic state, the engine is rated at 100 PS (99 hp), while the higher powered version delivers 120 PS (118 hp). Both versions produce 172 Nm (127 lb-ft) of torque, available from 1,500 to 4,000 rpm. Other gasoline engines on offer are the 128 PS (126 hp) 1.6-liter GDI and 100 PS (99 hp) 1.4-liter MPI.

On the diesel front, Kia has updated the 1.6-liter CRDi diesel engine, which is available in two power versions: 110 PS (108 hp) and 136 PS (134 hp). The latter version gets a power upgrade of 8 PS and 20 Nm of torque, to 136 PS and 285 Nm (210 lb-ft). The 1.4-liter CRDI diesel remains in the offer.

Kia has also introduced a new 7-speed double-clutch transmission (DCT) on models equipped with the 136 PS 1.6-liter CRDi diesel. With the new gearbox, the engine emits 109 g/km CO2, compared to 145 g/km recorded by the previous engine with six-speed automatic transmission.

The 204PS (201hp) 1.6-liter T-GDI engine in the Kia Cee’d GT and Pro_Cee’d GT models has been given a new turbocharger system, with the result being a 0.1-second improvement for the 0-100 km/h sprint, which now takes 7.6 seconds. CO2 emissions dropped to 170 g/km.

The facelifted Kia Cee’d family arrives in European dealerships in July 2015.