기아자동차 씨드 1.6d 시승기

기아자동차는 더 이상 유럽시장에서 주변인 노릇을 원치 않았다. 본격적으로 유럽시장을 공략하기 위해 슬로바키아에 새로운 공장을 지었고 그 첫 번째 모델이 씨드(Cee'd) 모델이며 그중에서도 해치백에 먼저 시판되었다.
이미 카렌스에 장착된 1.6리터 CRDi 디젤엔진이 이번 테스트에서 스포트라이트를 받았다. 최고출력 114마력에 최대토크 190lb ft를 내며 유로4 기준을 만족한다. 경쟁 모델과 비교해서 그다지 특이할 만 한 점은 찾기 어려지만 기아자동차는 이 엔진의 내구성에 자신감을 갖고 있는 듯 하다. 파워 트레인 7년 15만km 보증기간(기타 부품은 5년)은 유럽에서 가장 긴축에 속한다. 현대가 북미시장에서 얻은 것과 비슷한 효과를 노린 것으로 해석할 수 있다.
씨드의 엔진은 4,000rpm 아래에서 좋은 성능을 보이며 1,900rpm영역에서는 특히 칭찬할 만하다.
차체를 생각할 때 엔진의 출력은 충분하다. 0-60mph 도달하는데 10.3초의 시간이 걸리며 0-100mph 37.9초, 30-70mph 10.6초의 시간이 걸린다. 무난한 수준이다. 2,000~4,000rpm을 적절히 사용한다면 꽤나 재미있는 주행성을 보인다.
기어쉬프트는 상대적으로 긴 편이지만 움직임은 경쾌하다. 특이하게 생간 메탈 기어노브도 흥미롭다. 클러치는 가볍고 페달의 위치도 좋다. 소음도 잘 억제된 편이며 섀시 강성은 엔진과 트랜스미션에 적당한 정도이다.
전동식 스티어링은 씨드가 주는 또 하나의 즐거움이다. 지나치게 빠르거나 부자연스럽지 않고 정교하게 움직인다. 다만, 스프링과 댐핑에 약간의 부조화(물론 크게 이상할 정도는 아니다)로 경쟁 모델 보다 승차감면에서는 약간 부족하다. 이 부분은 영국의 특이한 도로사정을 감안한다면 이해할 수도 있겠다.

장점: 패키징, 디젤엔진의 강력함, 7년 워런티
단점: 정제되지 않은 승차감, 가격, 싼티나는 운전석 시트

아래 글이 영국 오토카매거진(http://www.autocarmagazine.co.uk)의 원문입니다. 시간과 부족한 영어 실력으로 완전히 번역하지는 못하고 줄거리만 대~충 했습니다. 누군가 모두 번역하시면 감사하겠지만 ^^
그동안에 보여줬던 한국차와는 다르다는 것을 강조한 듯 하네요 아쉽게도 국내 시판은 어려울 듯 하지만요

Kia wants to be more than just a bit-part player in the European car market. To achieve this aim, it has invested in a new factory at Zilina in Slovakia. It’s an audacious move, but one rooted in common sense. One of the great barriers of acceptance to the European market is the notion that cars built in distant, eastern lands are in some way inferior.

The first offering from this new production facility is the Cee’d family hatchback. Its intended market penetration in the UK isn’t huge (around 10,000 units, or a two per cent market share) but the ramifications of this European-designed and built Korean hatch will be felt for years. Because this is a car that comes with a seven-year, 93,000-mile warranty.

Other than the abject irritation of those intending to use its name in print on a regular basis and a poorly constructed pun, there is no real meaning to the name Cee’d. In fact ignore both the model designation and the company’s name and simply look at this car as a nameless machine. Not a bad looker, is it? The proportions are right, the styling attractive. Kia has never achieved these two goals before.

It is the 1.6-litre CDRi under the spotlight in this test, using the same turbodiesel motor as found in the Carens. Its 1582cc allow it to produce 114bhp and 190lb ft of torque, all the while being Euro4 compatible.

There is nothing extraordinary about this engine, apart from one small endorsement. Kia is so confident of its longevity that it is willing to underwrite any potential failure from inlet manifold to driveshaft for the first seven years of the car’s life. Even for hardened enthusiasts, there comes a point when such mind-boggling support becomes as impressive as the spec sheet of the latest V12 Ferrari. Right now, rival manufacturers are wondering how it can be achieved economically.

Otherwise, the Cee’d is a conventional Euro-hatch: a two-box shape with lifting tailgate, MacPherson struts at the front and clumsily titled rear suspension aimed to dupe people into thinking that it’s fully independent, when in fact it is just a posh torsion beam. Still, when you could buy one in 2007, cover 12,000 miles a year and still make a legitimate warranty claim for a new engine or gearbox come late 2013, perhaps one shouldn’t bicker about rear axle sophistication.

Smoother, quieter and punchier engines exist in this class, but the Cee’d’s engine is game. It gives its best below 4000rpm and peak torque appears from a handy 1900rpm.

Performance is perfectly adequate, though not quite up with the very high standard set by the class leaders. Rest to 60mph requires one gear change and 10.3sec, 0-100mph is a 37.9sec affair and the 30-70mph time is a reasonable 10.6sec. But as usual, the cold, empirical surroundings of the proving ground don’t give an accurate reflection of the real-world performance of this car. Using between 2000rpm and 4000rpm, it covers ground at an impressive rate. The fourth gear 40-60mph time of 6.5sec and the 10.0sec 50-70mph run in fifth are indicative of this accessible performance.

Furthermore, it’s a powertrain that builds a pleasing rhythm over A-roads. The gear shift is relatively long, but the action is pleasant, even if the metal gear lever is an odd shape. The clutch is light and the pedals well positioned. Noise levels are fairly well contained.

Broadly speaking, the Cee'd's chassis offers a very similar level of competence to the engine and transmission. Ask of it reasonable questions, and it will respond well enough.

The good work begins with a very accurate electrically assisted steering rack. It’s not too fast off the straight ahead, and even though there is little feel to speak of, the Cee’d is one of those cars that immediately feels agile and easy to place. That’s a key attribute on UK roads. Try to extract too much from the Cee’d and it doesn’t work quite so well. Push hard and you’ll discover that the car is over-sprung and under-damped, causing it to be deflected by shorter wave imperfections. It doesn’t enjoy being grabbed by the scruff of the neck, but then again its market positioning would suggest that driving in such a manner is rather irrelevant. More importantly, though, ride comfort is slightly below the class average.

Forget chassis composure and jewel-effect headlights: the surest sign that Kia has joined the Euro-hatch ranks is the appearance of soft-touch interior plastics. There are some very appealing aspects to this cabin. The heater controls, for example, are a fine blend of usability and style. The instruments are clear and attractive and there’s a socket for your iPod. The seats offer little support, but weren’t uncomfortable over long distances.

In short, forget all notions of Korean crumminess; the Cee’d consigns most of that to the history books. One other notable and laudable inclusion is the indicator function remaining on the right-hand column stalk. It takes a while to become accustomed to this set-up, but the facility to change gear and indicate at the same time becomes invaluable and exposes the usual placement of this function on the left-hand side in right-hand vehicles as an ergonomic disaster.

Rear-seat passengers are well catered for. The bench is comfortable, though like every other in the class lacking in under-thigh support. Boot space, at 340 litres, is good.

With a claimed 60.1mpg over the combined cycle and 125g/km CO2 emissions placing it in band C, the Cee’d won’t be expensive to run. Naturally we couldn’t match that, but we did average 37.9mpg, which included a 23.3mpg stint at the track.

All Cee’ds come with six airbags and rear ISOFIX points, and top-spec trim adds ESP.

And then there’s the small matter of cost. The Cee’d isn’t the giveaway people familiar with Kia's other offerings might have expected. Then again, its credentials dictate that it deserves to be priced more in line with the competition. This car has a list price of £14,245, and a similarly specified Ford Focus would cost £17,390, although a large discount could be scored on the Ford.

So rather than trade on crude engineering and cheap pricing, Kia’s strategy is now based around competitive dynamics, attractive pricing and the allure of that seven-year warranty.

Verdict ★★★★☆

If the major European manufacturers were worried when they discovered the exceptional warranty package Kia would be offering with this car, then the Cee’d’s overall appeal should compound those fears. It’s not a class-leader in any category, but it does just about everything more than competently. It also looks good and is attractively priced, if not quite the absolute bargain we might have expected.