Kia Ceed a decent car for the Mrs?

[Blowfish]

Been offered a really low mileage 2008 Kia Ceed at a great price and am considering it for the mrs as she gives back her company car next month when her maternity leave ends. Always thought of Kia as a pretty st manufacturer myself but as she will only be doing 3k a year and tends to wreck cars I don't think she deserves anything to decent. Your thoughts?

[FarmerJim]

Cheap, reliable transport and probably a lot better than you think. Also, I think these have a seven year warranty. If she is not the sort of driver who would relish the superior B-road experience of a Focus, then I think it would be an excellent choice.

[rehab71]

Having driven and sold these, they seem a good buy. Wounldn't be my choice but fine for a non Petrolhead missus. Not as good to drive as Focus.

[Heathwood]

Yes, they're surprisingly good. My wife went through a lengthy period of weekly hire cars a year or so ago, so got to experience all the usual suspects from the medium hatch sector. The first time a Cee'd turned up outside the house, she wasn't too happy (bit of a badge snob), however, she found it amongst the best of the lot to drive. I'd seriously consider one.

[Fleckers]

same chassis as the I30

my misses ended up with the I30 as she liked the look of the car better

[Toaster Pilot]

Far better than the Kias of old that have given them the reputation they are fighting off. All Cee'd have a 7 year warranty from new so you'd still have a few years left on a 2008 car too.

Won't be exciting but as far as a cheap, reliable means of transport goes it's fine. I have a Picanto which is now 14 months/13k miles old and has had one warranty repair in that time for failed door seals.

I think they're pretty safe too in terms of both crash testing (4/5 star NCAP rating I think) and equipment - my Picanto is the lowest spec model in the range yet has ESP, EBA etc (but scores quite low in NCAP due to being an older design)

Edited by Toaster Pilot on Wednesday 9th May 21:29

[Needa308GT4]

very non petrolhead friend of mine bought one of the same vintage on the basis that if it goes wrong they'll fix it.

It's provided her with hassle/worry/enjoyment free motoring and will continue to do so until it gets 'recycled'

It's fine for what it is.

[Heathwood]

Toaster Pilot said:

All Cee'd have a 7 year warranty from new so you'd still have a few years left on a 2008 car too.

Not sure about this. I was under the impression that Kia only started doing the 7 years warranty from circa 2010 onwards.

[Toaster Pilot]

Heathwood said:

Not sure about this. I was under the impression that Kia only started doing the 7 years warranty from circa 2010 onwards.

January 2010 on all models, from launch on Cee'd.

(which is why pre-2010 Rio, Picanto etc are worth buttons compared with ones even a month newer)

[Nigel Worc's]

My wife had one of these, a 1.4 litre "sports", if a 1.4 litre can ever be sporty !

Lovely car to be honest, decent build quality, tad noisey at motorway speeds, very reliable.

The only downside I found was it used more fuel than my 528i !

[Super Slo Mo]

I had one as a hire car a couple of years back. They're surprisingly impressive, decent build quality, and as has been mentioned already, they drive very well. They're a lot less anaesthetised than a VAG equivalent, and are quite good fun to drive, for what they are.

I'll go out on a limb here and say they're amongst the better options in their class on a like for like basis. I'd have one as a daily driver.

[andye30m3]

My sister has had one for years

Bought it new as the BIL works for kia, other than servicing I don't think it's had anything go wrong on it. Hers is the diesel which returns good mpg.

7 year warranty is well worth having.

I've been out in it a few times and whilst far from interesting it didn't strike me as any worse than the entry level cars of a similar size from other manufacturers.

[FoundOnRoadside]

C'eed is a good enough car. 1.4 petrol is only 89hp, compared to the i30 which has the same engine running at 109PS. The 1.6 C'eed is 125PS same as the 1.6 i30.

My OH has a 1.4 i30, just about to turn 2 years old, no problems to report. Drives pretty well, but suspension is a bit bumpy round town for my liking, but it's very good on the motorway even considering the little engine.

[buggalugs]

Toaster Pilot said:

Heathwood said:

Not sure about this. I was under the impression that Kia only started doing the 7 years warranty from circa 2010 onwards.

January 2010 on all models, from launch on Cee'd.

(which is why pre-2010 Rio, Picanto etc are worth buttons compared with ones even a month newer)

I helped a mate buy an '08 Cee'd a couple of years ago from a dealership in MK and it had the 7 year warranty.

It's been brill - only needed tyres and servicing, she does a lot of miles and it's stood up well.

[alangla]

My brother's got a 59 plate (I think) 1.6 diesel that he's using for a 25 mile each way motorway commute, seems to be very happy with it, no problems at all & very light on fuel (even has stop-start). Not quite as economical as the 1.5dCi Megane it replaced, but much, much more reliable & still has tons of warranty left.

[kambites]

Blowfish said:

Always thought of Kia as a pretty st manufacturer myself ... Your thoughts?

My thoughts are that your view of Kia is horrifically out of date.

I think Kia are probably the best pure "white goods" manufacturer out there at the moment. They constantly come near the top of both reliability and customer satisfaction surveys plus they offer that huge, fairly comprehensive, warranty.

[pilchardthecat]

Toaster Pilot said:

Heathwood said:

Not sure about this. I was under the impression that Kia only started doing the 7 years warranty from circa 2010 onwards.

January 2010 on all models, from launch on Cee'd.

(which is why pre-2010 Rio, Picanto etc are worth buttons compared with ones even a month newer)

Plus, buy an approved used one and the 7 years starts all over again

[stemll]

I had a load of cars on loan while waiting for my company car early last year and I'd say that the Cee'd was the second best of the bunch, beaten only by the Mondeo which is in a different size class anyway so I'd have expected it to feel and ride better.

Head and shoulders above the (new shape) Astra IMO and it made the Peugeot 30whatever feel like a 1980's Lada.

[edward1]

Had one as a hire car and it was OK, would make a perfectly serviceable daily drive. Drove and handled OK and the interior was no worse than a focus or astra.