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Kia ceed SW

Expert Rating: 3 out of 5

What is it?

Recently we went to Austria to drive Kia's refreshed cee'd hatchback and were impressed with the raft of improvements the Korean maker has bestowed upon its good-value hatch. Well, now we've driven the SW estate version on UK roads, which means we've had the chance to see if Kia's refinement improvements work as well over here as they do on the ultra smooth tarmac of Continental Europe.

Kia also provided us with a cee'd equipped with its new stop-start engine technology, called ISG - Intelligent Stop and Go. The tech - which cuts the engine out when the car is at a standstill - is becoming more widespread among makers seeking ways to preserve fuel and lower the official CO2 figures of their models.

Is it any good?

Let's start with the SW, which we don't need to talk about too much because all of the changes Kia has implemented are as per the hatchback we reviewed recently. That means it gets a fresh new face including a wider grille and more raked headlights, and the taillights get the look of a lovely set of LEDs. The stylist's magic wand is waved around the cabin too, with the centre console redesigned and better trim materials, while the suspension is recalibrated for greater comfort. And it works, giving the cee'd a more supple ride by smoothing off the rough edges on lumpy roads.

There are no changes to the estate portion of the SW, but that just means the Kia remains a neatly styled compact load-lugger, with a usefully large 534 litres of boot space.

But of course Kia has also introduced its ISG stop/start technology, which for the time being it will only offer on a solitary model - the lower-powered 1.6-litre diesel version - but which will eventually become widespread across Kia's entire model gamut. It works in exactly the same fashion as those from other makers, by cutting the engine out when the car stops and neutral is selected, starting it up again as soon as the clutch is depressed. It's an impressively effective piece of kit too, taking no time at all to become active (the engine coolant must be warm for it to work) and starting the engine back up quickly and with only a minor shudder.

Should I call the bank manager?

The real world fuel saving benefits that ISG will bring depends very heavily on where the car is used - it improves the car's official mpg and CO2 stats, but obviously makes no difference, say, on the motorway. Those improvements are a 9g/km reduction in CO2 - from 119 to 110 - and fuel economy that jumps from 62.8mpg to 67.3mpg. We tried the system during an afternoon in the heart of Liverpool, with all the traffic queues and red lights it entails, and ISG worked its fuel-saving magic for a fair proportion of our time in the car. As such, we'd suggest that if commuting to and from a city centre is part of your routine there are savings to be made.

They might be offset by the asking price, though. Having re-assigned the cee'd's spec levels to 1, 2 and 3 with the facelift, Kia only offers ISG in 2 trim, labelled 'EcoDynamics' - the brand name it will give all its green cars from now on, be they electric, hybrid or just a little kinder to the planet, like this one. ISG comes on three-door, five-door and SW flavours, but it costs exactly the same as the high-powered diesel (113bhp as opposed to 89bhp), set at £14,995 for the estate. The 89bhp oil burner is a strong performer though, and the equally priced high-power diesel has barely any more torque.

Summary

Kia has made the estate version of its family hatch even more attractive with the facelift because it looks better and rides with more composure. Adding ISG to the range adds even more appeal. Despite the fuel saving tech not reducing the amount of VED tax you'll pay, we'd still recommend it for those who often find themselves stuck in stop-start traffic. Kia will progressively add ISG to more models in due course, planning to have 85 percent of its cars equipped with it by 2014. That's a good thing.

Mark Nichol