You'd almost think that in five years time, you can only find SUV's in the showrooms.
It seems that there's a new SUV being presented every day.
However, a lot of manufacturers in the C-segment still hold on to the traditional station wagons.
Kia just presented this new Ceed Sportswagon, and Peugeot facelifted their 308 SW earlier this year,
in which they presented a new automatic gearbox. And why not, if you think about it rationally...
Just open the boot and you've got 625 litres of luggage space in the Kia, and the Peugeot is a close second with 610 litres.
That's about 100 litres more than a 3008 or a Sportage has to offer.
If you fold the seats down, the difference gets even bigger. Both cars will have more than 1.600 litres available,
and that's 200 litres more than the SUV's. If we take a look at the back seat,
there aren't a lot of reasons to not choose this Ceed. I'm perfectly fine back there with my 1,80 m.
Sure, it's not like it's a limousine, but you can take lots of stuff with you and there's enough room...
for your legs and head, which makes this the first victory for the Ceed over the 308.
If I get in the 308, I should leave my legs at home, and my head touches the ceiling.
Clearly, the luggage space was more important than comfort on the rear seat.
That wasn't the case in the Kia. Also, this Ceed is more user friendly.
I'll admit, it looks as exciting as paint drying, but it all works incredibly logical.
A lot of buttons, it's all gray, but it's all where you expect it to be.
It's all very easy and logical. The Peugeot has more of an own personality. Very minimalistic, but it looks better.
It uses better materials as well. However, everything is in that touchscreen, which is very slow.
So yeah, it might not be very striking to look at, but it's been thought through and it's logical.
Driving this Kia Ceed doesn't make it any more exciting either. It's almost like a driving convenience marriage.
It's not what you always dreamt of, but if you end up in one, you won't be unhappy.
The chassis is sturdy, surprisingly sturdy even. The i30 is a lot softer, but this technologically similar Ceed...
feels a little tighter. The handling is good, and grip is decent, despite the Energysaver-tires.
The chassis itself? Well, it communicates enough, the steering offers enough resistance...
There's not a lot of feel to the steering, but it's precise enough.
It all cumulates in a very pleasant package which will appeal to a broad audience.
Also, even though it's sturdy, it isn't comfortable. When you drive over a speedbump, the dampers know how...
to deal with the movements of the wheel. You feel what you need to feel, there's enough information...
It's not like the Focus however. It's not really fun to drive. There's no spectacle, no bravado.
It's a little too tame for that, but it's still very good.
The same goes for the available engines. Petrol drivers can choose between a turbocharged 1.4-litre...
4-cylinder producing 150 horsepower, or this 1.0-litre 3-cylinder producing 120 horsepower.
Both engines will do the job, but this 3-cylinder does have to work pretty hard.
On paper, it achieves its maximum torque of 172 Nm at 1.500 RPM, however, you'll probably be doing 2.000 RPM before anything happens.
If the 625 litres are optimally used, you'll be changing gears a lot if you want to move.
The gearbox is alright. Long strokes, but exactly right. The clutch gives you enough feedback,
it's all just neat.
Just like Kia, Peugeot also has a 3-cylinder in their range. It's available with ten horsepower more or ten horsepower less...
than the Kia. We're driving the one with ten more horses. But it's not the horses that make the difference.
It's the Nm's, because it produces 230 Nm of torque. That makes it a lot quicker in the mid-range.
Or rather, it's easier to achieve the performance, which makes it feel like your reserves aren't depleted as quickly.
And that's very pleasant. The engine knows exactly what to do with the car,
and even if you get the 110 horsepower-version, you still get 205 Nm of torque.
So no matter how you put it, you've got more torques, and that's very nice for a car with quite some loading capacity.
The 110 horsepower-version is only available with a manual gearbox, but this 130 horsepower-version is available with a new automatic...
gearbox as well. The 8-speed is very quick, it's able to change gear very fluently,
but it's incredibly active as well. We noticed that before in the 508,
but that's a 4-cylinder. You won't feel the interruption of power as much,
but you do in this 3-cylinder. So every time the gearbox changes gear,
a small shock goes through the car. You won't hit your teeth on the steering wheel or anything,
but you can feel it shocking a little. But, because it's this active, you feel that shock all the time.
It creates some sort of nervosity in the drivetrain, which shouldn't be there in such a modern gearbox in 2018.
Let me put it this way. Kia offers a double clutch automatic gearbox,
which isn't incredibly fluent if you need to turn the car around, or parallel park, or driving away from traffic lights.
All of a sudden, the computer has to control the clutch, and that's difficult.
When you're underway though, you won't notice that it changes gear anymore.
In this, you'll always be reminded that the gearbox has changed gear, and that's not beneficial to the smoothness.
The same goes for the chassis, because it feels very busy. At first, it's incredibly comfortable.
Everything you feel in the Kia, the Peugeot evens out,
but when you drive over speedbumps or bad road surfaces, it feels like the dampers are lagging a little.
That makes for some nervosity, so on that part, Kia is ahead here.
Also, a Kia is still cheaper. The times that you could buy two Kia's for one Peugeot are over,
but they're still not incredibly expensive. If you equip this 308 with some nice trim...
Think of satnav, DAB+-tuner, panoramic roof... Everything on here, not fully equipped, but royally,
you'll be around €34.000. The Kia however, which is a 'Dynamic Plus Line',
that'll only set you back €27.000. Sure, this has an automatic gearbox and a more powerful engine,
but if you get that on the Kia as well, you'll still be beneath €31.000.
No matter how you put it, it's a lot of money, but it's a very good deal.
Better than this one.