KIA 

EXCLUSIVE: Facelifted Kia XCeed retains its mischievous parrotfish mouth

Once you see it, you can't spare it: the parrotfish mouth of the Kia XCeed. Take a closer look at the narrowest part of the Kia grille, which on the XCeed appears to be snapping at coral like a beak. The facelift doesn't change that.

His fish looks do not stand in the way of success apparently, because according to Kia, the XCeed is the best-selling model of the Ceed family. The facelift has made the compact crossover even sportier, even more adventurous and even more urban, according to designer Gregory Guillaume. He would also say something else ... In concrete terms, this means that the XCeed has differently styled LED headlamps and a front bumper without fog lamps, but with an air deflector on the left and right. At the rear you will find no more exhausts, but 'exhaust-look' panels, as Kia calls it. What's new is that you can now also order the XCeed as a sporty-looking GT-Line. You can easily recognize the version by its pixelated rear lights.

Kia XCeed with Navigation Smart Cruise Control...The interior has largely left Kia alone. The biggest changes are the improved graphics of the digital cockpit, the new interior mirror with thinner edges and the different trim materials. Behind the second row of seats there is room for 426 liters of luggage. If you fold the rear seats, you can take a maximum of 1378 liters with it. The arsenal of safety systems was supplemented with, among others, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Driver Attention Warning Plus and Blind-spot Collision-Avoidance Assist. Smart Cruise Control now works based on navigation data and automatically sets the speed to the current limit.

Choose from three petrol engines and one plug-in hybrid...Kia did not tinker with the engines. That means there are still three petrol engines available: a 1.0 T-GDi with 120 hp, a 1.5 T-GDi with 160 hp and a 1.6 T-GDi with 204 hp. You can also opt for a plug-in hybrid. The XCeed then has 141 hp, 265 Nm and can achieve an electric range of up to 48 kilometers on its 8.9 kWh battery. The plug-in variant and the 1.6 T-GDi come standard with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. On the 1.5 T-GDi, that transmission is an option. Buyers of a 1.0 T-GDi must always switch gears themselves. The renewed Kia XCeed will be in Dutch showrooms in September.

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