The new Kia Ceed Sportswagon has made its world debut at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show. Designed, developed, engineered and built in Europe, this third-generation model is the most practical, spacious and versatile Ceed Sportswagon to date – with more cabin and cargo space than its predecessor. A C-segment tourer designed to meet the needs of European motorists exclusively, more than 512,000 Ceed Sportswagon models have been built at Kia’s Slovakia manufacturing facility since its introduction in 2007. Historically, Sportswagon models have accounted for around 40% of all Ceed sales – compared to around 30% for other C-segment vehicles with tourer variants.
Like its predecessors, the new model has been designed, developed and engineered in Frankfurt by Kia’s European design, product development and R&D teams. It will continue to be manufactured in ilina, Slovakia, on the same production line as the new Ceed five-door hatchback, and the Kia Sportage and Kia Venga. A new naming format – cee’d becomes Ceed – consolidates the new model’s reputation as a car for the Community of Europe, with European Design.
Michael Cole, Chief Operating Officer for Kia Motors Europe, comments: “The Kia Ceed Sportswagon has been consistently successful since its debut more than a decade ago. Tourers are particularly popular with European buyers, and the Ceed Sportswagon is no exception – since 2007, it has enjoyed almost as many sales as its five-door hatchback sibling. Created exclusively for European customers, the Ceed Sportswagon will once again prove itself as a practical and good-looking choice for customers in search of maximum versatility.”
“The new Ceed Sportswagon features the same contemporary design and technologies as the Ceed five-door hatchback, but with even greater cargo capacity – it actually offers more storage space than many D-segment tourers. With its efficient new engines, European-tuned ride and handling, and unrivalled quality, the Ceed Sportswagon is a compelling choice in a highly competitive segment.”
The new Kia Ceed Sportswagon has been designed at the brand’s European design centre in Frankfurt, Germany, under the direction of Gregory Guillaume, European Head of Design, and Peter Schreyer, President of Design and Chief Design Officer.The new model’s body echoes the sporty design character of the Stinger, bringing design flair to the compact tourer class with emotive and precise details to its confident tourer silhouette. Lower, wider, and with a longer rear overhang than the car it replaces, the new Kia Ceed Sportswagon is characterised by a cab-rearward silhouette, creating a mature athleticism in its overall design. Like its five-door hatchback counterpart, straight lines replace the rounded-off edges of its predecessor, and the front features a wider ‘tiger-nose’ grille and lower air intake, framed by precise, linear shapes. The new model features ‘ice cube’ LED daytime running lights as standard, echoing those from the outgoing Sportswagon GT-Line.
Constructed on Kia’s new ‘K2’ platform, the Ceed Sportswagon is 20mm wider (1,800mm) and 20 mm lower (1,465mm) than the outgoing model. Its wheelbase remains the same at 2,650mm, with the front overhang shortened by 20mm (to 880mm). However, the rear overhang is extended by 115mm (now 1,070mm) – making the new Sportswagon 95mm longer (now 4,600mm) than its predecessor to create significantly more cargo space. Its wider dimensions and cab-rearward silhouette create a more assertive and sporty stance, for a more confident presence on the road. The new platform supports the Ceed Sportswagon’s more efficient packaging, with a more spacious cabin than before. The wider body creates greater shoulder room for rear passengers while a 15mm-lower seating position in the rear creates more knee and leg room for passengers in the second row. Despite the lower roofline, the platform and lowered front seating position ensure 987mm of front-row headroom, similar to its predecessor. The lower rear bench also ensures similar levels of headroom for rear passengers.
2019 Kia Ceed Sportswagon
