First Drive Review: Kia pro_cee'd GT

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

First Drive Review: Kia pro_cee'd GT

This article was published by Andrew Evans (@Famine) on September 18th, 2017 in the Cars category.

 

[Joey D]

Korean version of "hold my beer" would probably be "hold my Soju".

Also I'm not sure if the name makes me unreasonably angry or has me giving it an Obama-faced Not Bad because of the pun.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

It's not like they're saying "All pro cee'ds GoTo Charity... although it would be a great PR campaign!

Cheers

 

[IfAndOr]

It's a very nice looking machine. Very stylish in fact. A lovely colour too, yellowyorangey, probably has some fancier name than that.

Kia really have pro_gressed quite rapidly. A mate of mine has a top model Rio and it's a cracking little motor, again good looking and full of kit. They might not quite be at the major manufacturers standards yet but they aren't that far off that they should be overlooked.

 

[TexRex]

Wasn't the concept of that (or similar) name a big luxury sport sedan?

 

[SagarisGTB]

it’s difficult to see why it doesn’t get significantly more attention.

That's easy. Europeans in general are pretty snobish, but particularly in car buying habits. They'll happily buy mediocre Renaults, Peugeots, Fiats and Opels, while better cars from non-European brands hardly get sales. That's how it is in that market.

They might not quite be at the major manufacturers standards yet but they aren't that far off that they should be overlooked.

What? Hyundai-Kia ARE a major manufacturer and have been making better mainstream cars than most for nearly a decade now.

 

[Famine]

Europeans in general are pretty snobish, but particularly in car buying habits. They'll happily buy mediocre Renaults, Peugeots, Fiats and Opels, while better cars from non-European brands hardly get sales. That's how it is in that market.

Not really, no.

The major European countries will buy whatever their national volume brand is. Number one in Sweden is Volvo. Number one in France is Renault (although PSA Peugeot-Citroen has more group sales). Number one in Germany is Volkswagen. Number one in Spain is SEAT. Number one in Italy is FIAT. Number one in Romania is Dacia. Number one in the Czech Republic is Skoda.

Almost universally, where a country doesn't have a national volume brand, the lead manufacturer is the nearest national volume brand or Volkswagen.

The exception is the United Kingdom, where we buy Ford and Vauxhall (Opel) above all else, because we used to have Ford and Vauxhall factories.

In most cases, a Japanese manufacturer will break the national volume/Volkswagen grip. In some countries that's Toyota, in others it's Nissan. Then you'll get Audi, BMW and Mercedes, because of fleet sales.

Most of the rest of the volume manufacturers sit closely packed with a roughly equal share of around 2.5-4%. In the UK, Hyundai and Kia individually beat Renault and FIAT, but not Peugeot, but the margins are plus or minus 0.25% - so far from 'snobish' Europeans buying hardly any of the Korean brands, they're buying just as many as they do the European brands. Both also beat Honda, Mazda, Skoda and SEAT.

 

[Fire Yoshi]

I like the way it looks. It's like a crossover between a Ford Focus and a SEAT Leon.

 

[zdenko]

Wow
Very different from Australian sales then.
We used to only buy the local brands, Ford and GM Holden, but that has changed dramatically in the last 15 years.
Our last locally built cars to roll off the line end very soon From Both Holden and Toyota. Ford ended last year.
Our big 3 are now Toyota(double and one else), Mazda and Hyundai. with Holden and Ford being 4th and 5th and under threat from Mitsubishi.
I can see Holden dropping further as they are replacing the Commodore with the Opel Insignia. Judging from the Ford Mondeo replacing the Falcon, the Insignia will also be a sales flop. They will need to get the Camaro over here like Ford with the Mustang.

Here is our July sales for reference.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/572448/july-2017-vfacts-new-vehicle-sales/

The only Euro brand here in the top 10 at tenth is Volkswagen.
Lets just say Euro Cars here are seen as generally un-reliable and expensive to maintain.
I don't agree with that as I have a Pug, so does my sister and we have had a Citroen as well. You just need to avoid the ripoff dealers and mechanics telling you they are a prestige car. They are stuff all more to service than a Japanese car.


Now to the Proceed.
Awesome car. We bough a 2 years old one for my sister for cheap as know one knows they even exited here.
So much gear in the thing. I found it difficult to drive as there are to many things to play with. Prefer my ultra basic MX-5.
They only sold the Proceed in GT spec only for 2 years in 2014-2015.
Our normal Kia in this segment is the crappy Cerato.

 

[bloodyboyblue]

So jealous of you Europeans for still having 3 door compact hatchbacks available, it's pretty much a dead segment in North America, with only the Golf remaining. They look better, and are often easier to see out of since the B pillar isn't stuck in front of your side vision. The C pillar is usually overly thick though but that's a problem with a lot of modern vehicles.

 

[Joey D]

So jealous of you Europeans for still having 3 door compact hatchbacks available, it's pretty much a dead segment in North America, with only the Golf remaining. They look better, and are often easier to see out of since the B pillar isn't stuck in front of your side vision. The C pillar is usually overly thick though but that's a problem with a lot of modern vehicles.

There's still a few more left here other than the Golf. You can still get a Yaris in 3-door along with the MINI Cooper. The Hyundai Veloster sorted counts as one too, even though it has those weird token doors.

But ya there aren't many to choose from. I can sort of understand why though, having had a two door Blazer and MINI Cooper in the past, it's a pain to get anything out of the back seats.

 

[homeforsummer]

In all the time I had one as a long-termer I think I saw one other on the road, in the same colour. I've seen a few of the five-door versions too, but they really can't have shifted many of the Proceeds.

@Famine's review is pretty much spot-on. Given I took it on track a few times, I'd also say it's pretty good there - quick and grippy enough that I was able to keep up with the odd Porsche or Lotus, and benign enough that I could throw it around a bit without getting into trouble. The weight proved a little too much for the brakes after a while, but for one of the less hardcore hot hatches that's not really a criticism.

My only real problem was that it never really grabbed me in terms of character. I've not missed it since it went back, and even when I "owned" it, I was never too unhappy to be driving something else for a week or two.

Suspect I'll miss it a bit more come the depths of winter - there's a lot to be said for a heated steering wheel on a cold morning.

Wish Kia would apply similar GT treatment to the Rio though. The Proceed often felt a little bit large and the steep rake of the windscreen meant poor visibility in some cases. A Rio-sized GT would feel about right, I reckon.

 

[Famine]

My only real problem was that it never really grabbed me in terms of character. I've not missed it since it went back, and even when I "owned" it, I was never too unhappy to be driving something else for a week or two.

I've not had a long-term one (BB did have a black 15-plate LT when I got there, but I never drove that one!) but I've had one for a short while on a couple of occasions and did get quite attached to it. Like last week's Scirocco - which is a billion times more interesting than any Golf, and I've driven the Clubsport S - it's one of those dog cars. It's not perfect, and it might even be a bit rubbish, but it's your dog, it loves you and wants to have fun with you.

I think the yellow helped

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I have to admit, I'd forgotten this existed, but when I saw the photos my first reaction was that it's a very good looking car and that the styling has gotten better with age.