KIA CEED test drive since 2009 hatchback
New Kia Cee`d: Fast food
The wheels correspondent learned how much more the updated Kia Cee`d became in comparison with the predecessor. I liked the previous generation of the See`d model with its truly children's spontaneity. The car literally bathed in contradictions, screaming in corners with slippery tires of kumho, like a monthly puppy, which is so striving to please everyone. Want sports? UIIII - tires creaked, and the suspension with tough strikes polished tram rails. Comfort? The soft settings of the electric power related relaxed like a bath with salt, and did not leave hope of intuitively understanding what angle the wheels were turned to. Design? Studying the smooth lines of the body and interior, as reading a thick collection of quotes: yeah, the back of the smear, heavy nose a la focus, and the steering wheel is just removed from the Bavarian penny but the choice! Who else gave customers so many choice on prices that allowed us to look for competitors even among domestic products? Having made not the most memorable car, the Koreans were ready to satisfy any demand. Familines, unsatisfied with the capacity of the hatchback, went straight to the SW station wagon with an immense trunk, which hardly caused less interest than the sports Pro_cee`d with three doors and a sloping roof.
The desire to conquer such a different audience began to turn Kia dealers into branches of Mc Donalds, into which visitors jumped along the way from work to the house, taking a free minute. The purchase of See`d turned into routine: yes, it is unlikely to catch, but the equipment of the car is much richer than that of European classmates, similar in price. The manager in the salon, like a cook in a fast food, changed the seasoning of the set, depending on the client’s desires from the fresh (and affordable) 1.4-liter unit to a hot two-liter; From the version of the Containe Contact, and to stabilization-parctonics, the sensor, leading the client to a balanced decision, in which there was more reason than emotions.
Since March 1, Sid is looking for a new client. There are not so many updates, but they hit the target of the emphasized and quality optics, the sharp cheekbones of the bumper, the fresher mirrors did not cause me anything, except sympathy, the car visually became easier and more dynamic.
He quickly gets used to the interior of the novelty, and at first glance is okay. At the top of the console, there is a soft, pleasant plastic to the touch, and the climate control handles (it became a bunk) finally stopped crunching when switching. The poisonous red backlight of the window of the route computer, migrated from the past generation, suggests that we will have to reconcile with this fact, but the dials of devices are highlighted by a pleasant moonlight is a privilege of a version with an optronic panel of supervisions.
The harsh seids of Sids make us recall the close ties of KIA with German engineering offices, but it became much easier to sit down in them than in the amorphous sofas of the pre -ray -sulcated Se`D. And a small steering wheel with tangled tides in the grip zone fulfills a functional role rather than aesthetic, allowing a high driver to get more convenient. Sid became quieter. On the go, the rumble of tires, which up to 80 km/h, is less annoyed in dense sound insulation of arches, and the motor begins to serve a mournful voice only after 3000 revolutions. It is pleasant that the updated electrical power, in addition to ensuring a synthetic connection between the steering wheel and wheels, taught how to find a zero zone, and the suspension, which began to work out the irregularities not softer, but denser, allows you to feel more confident, especially at high speeds.
Before them, SID, as before, accelerates a 1.6-liter atmospheric, which is temporarily the only motor in the range of engines. This is a fairly balanced unit that provides confident dynamics paired with a manual box, but not surprising by the characteristics, as it should be, stupid on the bottoms, and wakes up closer to 4000 rpm. It's more difficult to do with an automatic machine that has not advanced beyond its four steps. It is not fast, careful in reactions, and did not get a manual regime. Perhaps this is all interesting.
The fast food is often addictive due to a certain combination of fats, sugar and salts in this food. A dangerous combination, by the way, having eaten such an explosive mixture for a couple of months, you no longer perceive other foods. I left for less than a week on the updated Cee`d, and did not work out the habit. A convenient car that does not leave deep marks in the heart. Yes, he became more German and much less Korean, but did not acquire any of his, memorable, catching features. The aggressive design of the radiator grille, about which we are taldych from the blue screen, of course, pays attention to himself, but even with it the buyer can get bored.
Fast-food from Kia remained fast food. Nothing more exquisite solutions, controversial moments or searches on the verge of foul. No high kitchen, just quite tasty and not too expensive. Maybe now even more useful attention to the little things is even a little more useful like an extra salad in a hamburger.
Before the German delicacies, Sidu is a couple of steps of skill and experience, but the price on the menu has not yet caught up with restaurant price tags.
In general - its own car, in its place.
The car is provided by the Auto Mir company, the official dealer Kia
Author: Alexander Mikhailov
Photo: Roman Ostanin
Source: Wheel magazine [May 2010]
