Kia has revealed the new ProCeed, which has
transformed from a three-door hatchback into a five-door shooting brake. The new Kia ProCeed is the third and most
dynamic member of the expanded Ceed family, which also includes the hatchback
and Sportswagon bodystyles.
Measuring 4,605 mm long and 1,422 mm tall, the new
ProCeed is 5 mm longer and 43 mm lower than the Ceed Sportswagon, with ground
clearance also reduced by 5 mm. Boot capacity of the ProCeed is marginally
smaller when compared with the Sportswagon (594lt over 625lt). The new ProCeed will act as the
halo model of the Ceed family and will be available as a ‘GT-Line’ or the
range-topping GT model.
Kia’s new shooting brake model has been penned at the
company’s European design center in Frankfurt under the guidance of Gregory
Guillaume and Peter Schreyer. Customers will be offered a choice of three engines for the GT-Line
model, including the 1.0-liter T-GDI with 118 hp, the 1.4-liter T-GDI with
138 hp and the all-new 1.6-liter CRDi Smartstream diesel with 134 hp. All three engines can be paired to a six-speed manual or a seven-speed
dual-clutch automatic transmission.
As for the range-topping Kia ProCeed GT, it uses the
same 1.6-liter T-GDI unit with the new Ceed GT, producing 201 hp and 265 Nm of peak torque paired to a new seven-speed dual-clutch
transmission with steering wheel paddles made out of metal alloy. Performance
and fuel economy figures will be released at a later date.
The new Kia Proceed comes with the same independent
suspension setup of the regular Ceed but features model-specific suspension
geometry in order to offer better agility and quicker responses. Other
differences include stiffer front and rear springs and softer front and rear
anti-roll bars, making the ProCeed tackle corners with increased confidence and
offer the ‘Gran Turismo’ character you expect from a vehicle of this type.
Production of the new Kia ProCeed will start this
November at the company’s factory in Slovakia, with sales to start across
Europe during the first quarter of 2019. Unfortunately Kia says that the new
ProCeed will be sold exclusively there, meaning that the chances of it coming
into the US are practically zero.