Kia has taken the wraps off the second member of the Ceed family, the Sportswagon. The C-segment estate is one of the most successful model for Kia in Europe. And the third generation Sportswagon tries to maintain that favoured appeal with an even bigger boot.
The new Ceed Sportwagon is wider than the outgoing car. Thus the boot space increases to massive 600 litres. That is more than few of the mid-size station wagons, claims the Korean carmaker. The 40:20:40 seats fold flat and the trunk has all the estate amenities like floor rail system, safety barrier net, and another net to hold smaller items.
Appearance wise, the Sportswagon is similar to its hatchback sibling from the front. Beyond the B-pillar, the rising roof is complemented by a small spoiler and standard roof rails. The raked D-pillar adds a lot of character, however, the BMW-styled tail lights looks like plain pretence. Built ground up at the European R and D, the Sportswagon sits on 15-inch wheels as standard but can be had with 17-inch ones as well. The cabin is directly carried forward from the new Ceed hatchback. All the equipment levels are evenly matched as well.
Powering the compact estate are the same engine options as the hatchback. So you get the turbocharged 1.0-litre three-pot petrol unit with 120bhp. There is a 1.4-litre with 100 or 140bhp as well. The diesel engine is the 1.6-litre CRDi in two states of tune – 115bhp of 136bhp. Regardless of the engine, the six-speed manual transmission is standard. However, one can opt for a seven-speed DCT with the 1.4-litre turbo and 1.6-litre diesel
The new Kia Ceed Sportswagon will enter production in August at Kia’s Ilina facility in Slovakia. It will take on the road before the end of this year across the European markets. Prices are yet to be announced, but similar to the older car, it will be on par with the hatchback.
