• Legroom for four adults, but limited headroom
• Long shallow boot is more useful than it looks
• Poor visibility due to narrow windows

How much space is there?

Kia often produces some of the most practical cars around, but that focus shifted a little when it built the Stinger – a style and performance-led four-door that showed the world the Korean company could make interesting cars. The Proceed follows that same vein, sacrificing some practicality and usability in the name of style. It

The ProCeed is quite a long car, and so there’s plenty of legroom inside. Unlike previous Pro_cee’d models, this is a five-door car, so access to the rear is simple enough, and once inside tall adults can slouch without their knees hitting the seats in front. That’s good news, because slouching is somewhat of a necessity, especially for taller passengers. It has a very low roofline that impacts headroom in the rear, and even in the front to a lesser extent.

It also makes ingress and egress more difficult than on the taller Ceed and Ceed SW – it’s all too easy to bump your head on the roofline as you step in. The smaller door openings also make fitting items such as child seats a little trickier.

Boot space and storage 

Unusually for a model pitched as a more dynamic and sporty alternative to its hatchback cousin, the ProCeed actually has the larger boot of the two. At 594 litres, in fact, it’s not far off the 600-litres offered by the full-blown Ceed SW.

It’s quite a practical space, with a very long loading deck ideal for items such as skis, bikes or flat-pack furniture.

However, the ProCeed’s sloping roofline and steeply raked rear windscreen mean that it’s not as square as either the hatch or SW, and tall or boxy loads will be more of a struggle. There’s also the question of the load opening, which is a lot smaller than on the SW and features a higher loading sill to hump heavy bags over.

Safety

• Uses the regular Ceed as a base
• Which scored four stars in Euro NCAP tests
• Five stars with Driver Assistance Pack fitted

The ProCeed hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP as an individual variant, but it’s very similar in structure to the regular Ceed – which posted good if not class-leading scores that also apply to the ProCeed, as well as other models in the family. With standard equipment, the Ceed scored four stars – this was raised to a full five-star rating when fitted with the optional safety pack.

In the case of the ProCeed, that pack is included on all trim levels, which is good news – meaning it’s a five-star car for safety.