The Kia Ceed (known as the Kia Cee'd before 2018) is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since October 2006 exclusively for the European market.
It is the first Kia vehicle to be designed entirely in Europe and tailored to European customers. To mark the occasion, Kia took the initials of the European Economic Community, EEC or CEE in several languages and added ED for European Design. Realizing that "CEEED" had too many ‘E's, they replaced the last 'E' with an apostrophe, with 'Cee'd' being the end result. Since 2018, the Ceed name no longer has an apostrophe. The initials now mean "Community of Europe, with European Design". The model is primarily made at the Kia Motors Slovakia assembly plant in Žilina. The Ceed replaced the Cerato which had little success in Europe.
The Ceed was first unveiled on 28 September 2006 at the Paris Motor Show. In mid-2007, a station wagon version called the Cee'd sw was launched followed by the three-door Pro Cee'd in late 2007. From 2009 to 2010, Kia dropped the apostrophe of the Pro Cee'd and changed the model name to Pro Ceed. The second generation of the Cee'd was presented at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. At the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Kia presented the third generation Ceed. In early 2019, a shooting brake version of the Ceed was launched, called the Proceed. In June 2019, Kia also unveiled the XCeed, a crossover SUV version of the car.
, the Ceed is positioned between the K3 supermini (B-segment) and the K5 large family car (D-segment).
, the Ceed hatchback, Ceed Sportswagon and Proceed are replaced by the K4 hatchback and sportswagon, while the XCeed SUV will be continued on production.__TOC__
First generation (ED; 2006)
The Cee'd was designed in Frankfurt, Germany, with Miklós Kovács leading the design team, while the concept car was designed by Pontus Fontaeus. The cee'd is developed on the same platform as the Hyundai i30. The first generation was available with a choice of four engines (two petrol and two diesel), five trim levels and either manual or automatic transmission.
There were three trim levels available: LX, EX, TX. The flagship TX trim was equipped with semi leather seats, Michelin 225/45 tires with 17 inch alloy wheels and rear parking sensors. All versions have six airbags as standard, active front headrests, height-adjustable headrests, pretensioners, ABS, EBD, BA, and a reinforced structure of the cabin. Upon release on the market, the warranty is one of the most extensive and longest in Europe with seven years or 150,000 km for the powertrain and five years for the entire vehicle.
Approximately 646,300 units of the first-generation Cee'd were produced.
Body styles Kia Pro_cee'd
The Pro_cee'd is the sports version of the Kia Cee'd, with a 3-door body and a new rear-end design. The concept car was showcased for first time at the Paris Motor Show in 2006. Apart from the three-door hatchback body, the car is given a lower stance compared to the original 5-door Cee'd as it is 5 cm lower and 5 cm longer. The official pictures of the production version were released in July 2007.Immagine di Quattroruote Immagine di Quattroruote
Kia Cee'd Sportswagon
The Cee'd Sportswagon is the station wagon of the Cee'd. It is the only version that features the 2.0-litre CRDi engine. The claimed boot space is with the rear seats unfolded and with the seats folded down.
Pre-facelift
Facelift In September 2009, the facelifted model was unveiled at the 63rd Frankfurt Motor Show. While the five-door and the station wagon were given an updated front and rear design, including the Kia's new corporate grille called the Tiger Nose, technical revisions and minor changes in the interior, the three-door version exterior was not updated.
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.
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.
Second generation (JD; 2012)
Making its worldwide premiere at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show is the all-new second-generation Cee'd (with internal code JD) which is claimed to be more sophisticated, efficient, refined, better equipped 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 Honest John. With the new Cee'd, came Kia's first attempt of a hot hatch with the Pro Cee'd GT.
Approximately 647,700 units of the second-generation Cee'd were produced.
Pre-facelift
Facelift First shown in June 2015, a facelifted model of the Cee'd went on sale in September of the same year.
Pro_Cee'd GT and Cee'd GT
Kia released the Pro_Cee'd GT in July 2013, while the 5-door Cee'd GT was released January 2014. The Pro_Cee'd GT is the company's first performance oriented car and the first European style "hot hatch" from a Korean manufacturer. It would act as a halo model for the rest of the range. It is also the first Kia sold in the UK with a turbo-charged petrol engine.
The Pro_Cee'd GT uses a variant of the T-GDi Gamma engine. The engine in the Pro_Cee'd GT is the same as that used in the American market Hyundai Veloster Turbo, but different gear ratios and more aggressive suspension have been used. The torque has also been increased to ; though, where the standard T-GDi engine has all of its torque available between 1750 and 4500 rpm, the engine as used in the Pro_Cee'd GT has been altered slightly, having its full torque available between 1750 and 4600 rpm. The engine propels the car from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.4 seconds, 0.4 seconds faster than the Veloster Turbo with the same engine (albeit a with a lower tune). The suspension in the GT has been modified over the standard Pro_Cee'd, giving a far more agile and sporting ride.
A body kit has been fitted to give the car a more muscular stance. The rear bumper now includes a splitter and twin exhausts, whilst the front introduces a large air intake with red pinstripe, a gloss black grille with silver GT badge and distinctive LED "Ice Cube" daytime running lights—side skirts are also fitted. The car runs on 18-inch alloy wheels over the standard car's 17-inch wheels. The interior gains red accents including an overstitched GT badge on the bottom of the steering wheel, as well as leather and suede Recaro sports racing bucket seats and TFT instrument dial, allowing the driver to switch between an analogue speedometer and digital readout with boost pressure and torque meters.
Safety
Third generation (CD; 2018)
The third-generation Ceed was announced in February 2018 and revealed ahead of the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The estate version was announced in March and officially revealed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The production of the hatchback started in May 2018 and the car became available in June. The production of the estate version started in summer 2018.
A 48 volt mild hybrid diesel engine variant of the 1.6 Smartstream, called the 'EcoDynamics+', was added for the entire lineup in 2020.
Pre-facelift
Facelift
Proceed The Proceed is a shooting brake version of the Ceed launched in early 2019 for the European market. As of 2025, it is gradually being discontinued.
XCeed In September 2019, Kia unveiled the XCeed, a crossover SUV based on the third generation Ceed. On 18 July 2022, the first facelift was unveiled. On 4 May 2026, the second facelift was unveiled.
Engines Petrol enginesModelEnginePowerTorqueTransmissions1.0 Kappa II T-GDi turbocharged I3 at 6,300 rpm at 1,500 rpm–4,000 rpm6-speed manual1.0 Smartstream G1.0 T-GDi1.4 Kappa II T-GDI turbocharged I4 at 6,000 rpm at 1,500–3,200 rpm6-speed manual7-speed DCT1.5 Smartstream G1.5 T-GDI turbocharged I4 at 5,500 rpm at 1,500–3,500 rpm6-speed manual7-speed DCT1.6 Gamma II MPi I4 at 6000 rpm at 4,500–4,850 rpm6-speed manual 6-speed automatic1.6 Gamma II T-GDI turbocharged I4 at 5,500 rpm at 1,500–4,500 rpm7-speed DCTDiesel enginesModelEnginePowerTorqueTransmissions1.6 L Smartstream D1.6 CRDi VGT turbocharged I4 at 4,000 rpm at 1,500–2,750 rpm6-speed manual7-speed DCT at 1,500–2,750 rpm at 4,000 rpm at 1,500–3,000 rpm at 2,000–2,250 rpm
Safety
Sales The Cee'd became Kia's best selling European model from 2007 to 2011, then it was overtaken by the Sportage, strongly outperforming sales of its predecessor, the Cerato and the previous best selling model, the Picanto — with sales of between 90,000 and 150,000 units per year.Kia global sales announcements for , 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2008, the cee'd represented 44% of Kia's total sales volumes in Europe. Sales benefited from the innovative seven years' warranty—the first such warranty ever to be offered on any vehicle marketed in Europe. +YearEuropeCeedXCeed200771,9522008112,373200990,233201087,616201169,813201279,471201382,794201475,960201576,075201677,787201772,105201875,4792019100,18710,599202070,87943,880202184,10350,805202282,77553,074202386,17743,531202491,01938,348
Concepts
Kia Pro_cee'd At the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, Kia unveiled the Pro_Cee'd, The Show Car designed by Pontus Fontaeus, and began marketing the model in January 2008. The Pro_Cee'd is mechanically identical to the 5-door model but many body panels (sans the bonnet and front-wings) are new and do not carry over from the 5-door model. The first-generation Pro_Cee'd was often compared to the Audi A3 in terms of its appearance, Auto Express calling it a "bargain Audi A3".
In 2013, Kia released the second-generation Pro_Cee'd. Unlike the previous generation, this car shares no body panels with the 5-door model. The new Pro_Cee'd has been continually praised in reviews for its looks, with a more coupé-like appearance, more sporting stance, lower suspension (by 40 mm) and a smaller front grille. The car has, however, gained some criticism; it excels at comfort and refinement like the standard Cee'd, but its suspension and steering are not considered at all sporty, its setup favouring the aforementioned comfort.
In 2017, Kia released a concept for the third-generation ProCeed. This time as a shooting brake version of the Ceed.
Kia Ex_cee'd
Kia's Ex_cee'd cabriolet concept car premiered at the 77th Geneva International Motor Show in 2007 and was designed by Pontus Fontaeus. 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 Motor 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.
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