Powertrains, trim packages and pricing of Hyundai Motor group brand Kia’s new, diesel-only cee’d Sportswagon [estate car] will target business users in the UK, the local sales unit said on Monday (10 September), ahead of a media drive event in Slovakia, where the model is built, later this week.
After a Geneva show debut, the wagon was also shown to media last April at the European preview of the five-door hatchback version in Marbella, Spain and sales across Europe began in May and June.
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The ‘Sportswagon’ tag replaces ‘SW’ appended to the outgoing model, Kia said it “introduces a new model name which perfectly captures the new car’s character: adventurous, sporty, modern and technologically advanced, but with even more of the practicality and value which made its predecessor a major success in the UK fleet and business market”.
The Žilina-made Sportswagon is exclusively for European markets.
Kia US said the SW had been one of its leading models for fleet sales and this year has outsold the hatchback among business users.
“With more daring styling and advanced technology features, the cee’d Sportswagon is expected to have even more widespread appeal among user-choosers,” it added.
With the fleet market so dominant, the redesigned Sportswagon will be sold in the UK only with turbodiesel engines. Kia said their high torque outputs and low operating and running costs “are ideally suited to the heavy loads and high mileages often inflicted on estate cars by business operators”.
The entry-level 89bhp 1.4CRDi engine develops 220Nm of torque from just 1,500rpm while the 126bhp 1.6 CRDi raises torque to 260Nm from 1,900rpm. Both transmissions, including the automatic offered with the 1.6-litre engine, are six-speed units, while manual gearbox models also get intelligent start-stop Kia brands as ‘Stop & Go’.
The 1.4-litre version is capable of 67.3mpg and has CO2 emissions as low as 109g/km, which, for UK company car taxpayers, means a benefit-in-kind (BIK) taxation rate of 15% in 2012-13. Manual 1.6-litre versions, with CO2 emissions of 116g/km, fall into the 17% BIK band and achieve official combined economy of 64.2mpg.
There are five trim/equipment levels for the UK and prices range from GBP16,895 to GBP24,795.
