• Ceed is a spacious family hatchback
• On par with main rivals
• Large and practical boot

The Ceed is a five-seater with five doors, and passenger space is competitive. Though there’s not as much legroom in the back row as in a Ford Focus, it’s on par with the Volkswagen Golf, meaning four six-foot passengers ought to be able to get quite comfortable.

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The cabin’s quite wide, so three adults can sit across the rear bench, albeit in fairly cosy surroundings. And it’s easy to get in and out of, with wide-opening doors, although those who struggle to get into very low cars would be better-served by the xCeed which is higher.

Boot space and storage

The Ceed has a 395-litre boot, which is larger than both the Focus and the Golf by a few litres – though it can’t hold a candle to the Skoda Octavia on this front.

It’s a nice square shape, though, with a low load floor and a flat sill so you don’t need to hoick items over. There’s some storage underneath the boot floor and two deep pockets behind the wheel arches. The rear seats also split and fold 60:40, leaving a totally flat floor for larger items.

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Space for smaller items around the cabin is quite good. The Ceed has good-sized front door bins, a deep cubby under the front armrest and a large glovebox. There’s also a useful shelf ahead of the gearlever that’s perfect for storing your phone, right above the conveniently placed USB port. It’s a bit too narrow to hold your phone securely while the charger’s plugged in, though, and there’s no option for a wireless charger here which would be the perfect place for it.

Is it easy to park?

The Ceed has similar dimensions to its predecessor, meaning it’s a nice compact size and should prove easy enough to find a parking space for. Helping matters is a reversing camera that’s standard on all models.

Rear parking sensors are also included from the mid-spec models, but there’s no option for a clever 360-degree camera system or any kind of self-parking aid.

Safety

• Standard Ceed gets four-star Euro NCAP rating
• Basic safety equipment all accounted for
• Driving aids are unobtrusive

The Ceed has two Euro NCAP crash test ratings – four stars for the standard car, or five stars for the ‘safety pack’ equipped models. Post-facelift, this refers to cars in ‘3’ trim or above, which get a more sophisticated autonomous emergency braking system that’ll detect pedestrians and cyclists.

All cars do come with a good degree of standard kit, including a driver attention warning, high-beam assist, lane-keeping assist and Isofix points for child seats in the two outer rear seats.

Kia’s active safety equipment, such as the lane-keeping aids and the semi-autonomous tech fitted to top-spec cars, is some of the least obtrusive we’ve used, meaning you’re more likely to keep it switched on. That’s good for safety.