Kia's Golf GTI Rival

Kia announced recently that it will start to produce a rival to the Volkswagen Golf in the form of a not looking Kia Pro Cee’d, which is based on the next-gen model.  It is planned that the new Kia Pro Cee’d will receive a 1.6 litre direct-injection petrol engine which will be tuned to produce over 200bhp.

There had been thoughts of installing a 2 litre unit into the Kia, but it now seems as if the 1.6 will be the engine of choice to offer more competitive running costs.  The price will also put this Kia in direct competition with the SEAT Leon Cupra.

When this baby is released, it will probably be one of the hottest hatch’s on the market, so get down to your local Kia Maidstone dealer today, for more information.

The same 1.6 motor is likely to be put into the standard five-door Cee’d.  Managing Director of Kia UK, Michael Cole said “The sports models aren’t there for volume, they’ll just be a boost to the brand’s image – particularly in the UK.”

The new Kia Pro Cee’d will be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013, which will be about 18 months after the debut of the new Cee’d five-door hatch and estate at Geneva 2012.  These new releases will join other new models such as the new Rio which is due in September this year and the Optima not long after.

The new Kia Optima will be on sale mid-2012, which is Kia’s equivalent of Hyundai’s i40.  A new Carens will arrive later in 2013 and it will be the final model in the UK line-up to be developed by an incredibly successful new European team.