Ceed Gets Driver Power

You know times have changed when so called 'lesser brands' like Skoda and Kia beat more established and posher marques from VW and Mercedes-Benz for driverbility.

Of course we all know the Skoda is really a Volkswagen but the Kia Ceed story is one deserving of merit.

In the latest AutoExpress Driver Power survey the Ceed came 6th overall and number one in the C-Segment class beating the VW Golf which came in at a lowly 22nd.

The Driver Power survey measures the views of over 21,400 new car drivers across the UK. The cars they drive are scrutinised and scored on their performance in a number of key areas, including practicality, build quality, reliability, and running costs.

The Kia dealer network was also under scrutiny and, amongst others, was measured on helpfulness and attitude, standard of workmanship and value for money.

In these hard economic times drivers are looking at alternative vehicles which give more value for money and the likes of VW can't rest on their laurels and assume brand snobbery will win the day. The bottom line is the Kia Ceed has a dynamic design, high build quality and frugal engines, all backed by a seven-year 100,000 mile warranty and all for much less wonger.

Kia Find Plenty Of Soul Mates

Despite a lack of heavyweight advertising the new Kia Soul is already proving popular with drivers across Europe.

Early figures show over 5000 units have been sold across Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and here in the UK. This puts the Soul 13% above Kia's expected target of around 4425 units in the first quarter of 2009.

The lack of mainstream advertising has been down to slow production output and a high demand for other Kia products like the Ceed which is at the heart of Kia's global sales growth. However marketing of the Kia Soul gets underway in the USA and Australia this month and with the Soul’s monthly sales rate accelerating, with 1,334 cars delivered in January, the keys for a further 1,485 cars handed to customers in February and an additional 2,172 units being driven away from Kia dealer showrooms in March, Kia will be confident of supply and will throw more money at going to market.

Already a multi-award winner, the Kia Soul was the first Korean car ever to receive the prestigious recognition of a design award from the world renowned reddot product design competition. Here in the UK Fast Car magazine named Soul the ‘Best New Model for 2009’ and this week in the USA, Ward’s AutoWorld announced the winners of its annual ‘Interior of the Year’ awards. Soul was named ‘Grooviest Interior’ winning its class when looks, value, safety, comfort and convenience were assessed.