Kia Ceed Sportswagon Hybrid Review and Prices

The Kia Ceed Sportswagon is already well kitted, spacious and cheap to run, but add in this plug-in hybrid drivetrain and its benefits get turned up to 11.

Indeed, it’s just as practical as most SUVs, but in a much less aggressive clothing line.

The Sportswagon PHEV’s focus on value for money is especially obvious when you consider just how much equipment you get as standard. It has a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone mirroring, plus an assortment of posh-looking metal-effect trims dotted about the place, too.

You get almost as many soft and squidgy materials as in the likes of the VW Golf Estate, but the Kia Ceed Sportswagon’s design is a little bland and doesn’t feel quite as well built as in the Volkswagen. Nevertheless, it’ll still be sturdy enough to withstand the rigours of family life.

The seats are a mixture of cloth and faux-leather, and come with electric lumbar adjustment (but not full electric adjustment). Still, you won’t have any trouble getting comfortable if you’re very tall, either, thanks to the generous headroom.

If you regularly carry passengers, you’ll be pleased to hear that space in the back seats is just as generous. There’s a decent amount of room for three adults to sit side-by-side, too, but the VW Golf Estate serves up a smidge more space for their shoulders.

If all you need is to take a medium-sized load of stuff from here to there as cheaply as possible, the Ceed Sportswagon PHEV is a decent bet.

The Kia Ceed Sportwagon PHEV’s boot is smaller than those in other Ceed Sportswagons by quite some way, mainly because the hybrid system’s batteries are mounted beneath the floor. How does 437 litre grab you, when the normal Sportswagon offers 625 litres? That’s quite a drop.

Nevertheless, it’s big enough to take some suitcases or a baby buggy and soft bags. There’s more than enough space for a huge weekly shop, and it has a wide, square opening. It’s soundly trumped by the 490-litre Skoda Octavia Estate iV, but you won’t struggle for space in the Kia.

Need to carry some seriously bulky luggage? The back seats flip down in a three-way 40:20:40 split. With both back seats folded down out of the way, you get a flat load bay that’ll have no trouble swallowing a bike with both its wheels attached.

Kia Ceed Sportwagon PHEV range and charging

The 1.6-litre petrol plug-in hybrid makes a good choice if you have a relatively short commute and have somewhere to charge your car during the day. With full batteries, Kia claims the Sportswagon’s electric motor can drive for around 35 miles before it’ll need a helping hand from the petrol engine. If you don’t regularly charge the car up, it won’t get anywhere near the official fuel economy figures.

It takes over two hours to charge from empty to full using a 3.3kW charger.

Bear in mind, however, that the siting of the batteries beneath the floor also means that the hybrid has a smaller petrol tank than other Ceed Sportswagons, so your petrol range will be slightly less than it would be with, say, the diesel version.

The hybrid model comes with an automatic gearbox as standard, which is smooth and quick to shift cogs.

The combination of 104hp 1.6-litre petrol engine and 35hp electric motor gives the Sportswagon what can safely be described as ‘moderate’ performance. It covers the 0-60mph dash in 10.5 seconds and goes on to a top speed of 106mph.

Still, every Kia Ceed Sportswagon comes with plenty of high-tech safety kit including automatic emergency braking, cruise control and lane-keeping assist. It hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP yet but should prove to be one of the safest small estate cars on sale once it is.

So, the Kia Ceed Sportswagon doesn’t have the glitziest interior and isn’t quite as good as its alternatives to drive, but it is spacious, practical, well-equipped and cheap to run. Compare its prices with alternatives and you’ll see it’s also keenly priced, but to save even more, make sure you check out our Kia Ceed Sportswagon deals pages.