This month I’ve been…

…driving the Kia ProCeed

A quick flight down to Barcelona, off the plane, a quick press conference and back outside to get in the Kia ProCeed (Kia have now dropped the apostrophe between the e and d which makes complete sense, I could never understand why it was there in the first place). The ProCeed is the estate version of the Ceed hatch. It is a very handsome machine with brilliant exterior design, and does look very premium. The premium continues into the cabin where materials, fit and finish are up to a very high standard. We have been saying for years that every new Kia that is introduced is much better than the last but have they peaked now? Or or do they have even more up their sleeves? The car we drove first was powered by a 1.4-litre petrol that produces 140PS. The top of the range car we drove in Spain costs more than £28,000 so not bargain basement anymore.

After driving the Kia ProCeed, it got me thinking about this sector. Back in the 1950s the Shooting Brake became a popular alternative to the saloon. Then the Hatch came along and almost ruled the roost for many years. But then the SUV arrived, and is now produced by just about every manufacturer in various shapes, sizes and prices. Now go forward a few years, and will the SUV still be as popular? I guess it will, and probably even more so. So what about the Estate, will it be pushed aside, and be unwanted and unloved? Maybe. So if manufacturers want to continue to make them, then they need to look fantastic and be sold more on image and looks as opposed to the practicality and flexibility of the SUV.

…getting annoyed about tyre pressure monitoring 

It’s OK having tyre pressure monitors but some systems do seem to be very sensitive and a slight change in temperature can change the pressures.We all know some company car drivers very rarely, if ever, check their tyres, for either pressure or the depth of tread, or condition but drivers cannot be stopping and checking them every five minutes so it’s a fine balance. Many cars I’ve driven recently seem to really like telling me one of the tyres is slightly down or up. But not just a gentle, nice reminder, but orange flashing lights that seem to take over the dashboard. After a while you find the button to get rid of the off putting glowing lights, you settle back to continue driving, then it all starts again. You growl quite a bit... then all of a sudden for some unknown reason they go off and don’t reappear for days!