Kia will give its Ceed a mild Soul-inspired facelift, ready for a Frankfurt motor show debut in September 2009. Caught here lapping the Nürburgring – where else? – by our long-lensed spy shooter, the bagged-up ends hide the Ceed’s new Peter Schreyer-penned ‘tiger face’ nose and tail that will align the car with the newer Soul.
What about the three-door Kia Proceed?
The sleeker three-door Ceed is unlikely to change – it’s just the family of five-door hatches and estates that will go under the knife. While the interior will, bar a few spec upgrades, remain largely unaltered there will be no change to the Ceed’s line-up of engines and transmissions, and prices are expected to remain unchanged. No point fixing it if it ain’t broke etc.
The Ceed has performed well against its more mainstream rivals since its UK launch in March 2007, racking up sales of around 10,000 a year over here. Despite the current economic climate, the current scrappage scheme has further boosted Ceed sales in 2009, with 5307 Ceed models shifted since January, putting the Korean company bang on target for 10,000 UK sales by the end of the year.
A tweaked Ceed is not going to stop Frankfurt showgoers in their tracks, is it?
True, which is why Kia will also unveil its new (and surprisingly dull) Sorento off-roader as well as the KV3, its first mini MPV. Based on the striking No.3 concept car that we first saw at the Geneva show at the start of the year, the KV3 will be a dead ringer for the No3, and will go head to head with the Citroen C3 Picasso when it arrives here early in 2010.