Long-term report: The Kia Ceed SW has practicality on its side

Estate cars are awesome. Not only do they often look so much better than the cars they’re based on, their huge boots are incredibly useful.

Our long-term Ceed Sportswagon is a perfect case example of this, as it successfully transforms the Ceed from an average-sized hatchback into something classy-looking, with genuine usability thanks to its fantastically-sized load area.

And yes, I’d like to point out that I am a bit biased given my own steed is an estate car. My poor Seat Ibiza ST gets some abuse, too, having to carry a boot load of valeting supplies for my weekend job, as well as completing an unhealthy number of trips to Yorkshire to visit family and get some welcome cash for valeting friends’ cars.

But back to the Ceed., which has been a popular addition to our fleet for a couple of months now, with the only other occasion I’ve been able grab the keys being for a dash to Tesco.

So it was a welcome surprise to be able to use LD68 HKN for a flying trip to Yorkshire recently.

On the 280-mile slog from the south coast to Yorkshire, few things matter more than comfort and fuel economy. The Ceed puts a huge tick through the comfort box, delivering a relaxed ride – though the car’s fuel economy was a touch underwhelming.

Given my Ibiza’s 1.6-litre diesel engine claims over 60mpg on the same trip (or so it tells me), it seems like a backwards step when I struggled to see anything over 55mpg on the run in the Kia. It’s by no means thirsty, but I expected to see nearer the quoted 67.3mpg figure.

The economy probably isn’t helped by our car’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which has an irritating tendency to hold onto gears for longer than it should, but on journeys like this, the auto is the choice to have over the six-speed manual ‘box.

But enough moaning, back to how it looks. As mentioned earlier, the Ceed hatchback is one of the more mundane looking cars on sale, but giving the Sportswagon that swoopy back end makes a heap of difference, while the glossy grey 17-inch alloy wheels and projector headlights also look the part. Bravo Kia.

The trip to Yorkshire was also a good way to test the Ceed’s impressively-sized 600-litre boot. My valeting clobber is extensive and includes a pressure washer, many, many cloths, a hose, machine polisher and then – of course – all the cleaning products, so having something with a boot as generously-sized as that found in the Ceed Sportwagon’s certainly comes in useful.

It also seemed even more perfectly timed considering Dad had drafted me into taxi duties on his company’s night out. Yes, we’re that tight with our money in Yorkshire that the Christmas do happens in February for the sake of saving some pennies…

It did, however, allow for some great consumer testing to see how easy it is to fit five adults in the Ceed – albeit four quite merry ones. There were no complains at all where headroom and legroom were concerned, even when they were sat behind two six-foot adults, which is commendable for an estate based on an average-sized hatchback. I did decipher from a few slurred moans that they didn’t have that much shoulder room, but then again the passengers were not the thinnest!

With my parents living in quite a hilly part of the world between York and Scarborough, a bit of a kick from the Ceed’s 280Nm of torque to get up of some of the steeper hills in the Wolds came in handy – particularly with five adults on board.

The trip to Yorkshire was also a good way to test the Ceed’s impressively-sized 600-litre boot

Sunday involved another day of valeting, although with a gap at the end of the day I managed to squeeze in a well-needed clean on the Ceed itself to help bring the Phantom Black paintwork back up to standard after a month or so of neglect.

Another 250-plus mile journey back to the sunny south after a manic weekend can feel like hell in my own car, but with the same prospects with LK68 HKW, it felt like something to look forward.

For commuting up and down the country with a load of gear, I can think of few better cars for doing it this side of £30,000, and with our car coming in at £24,605 for a well-specced ‘3’ model with plenty of toys, it’s fantastic value for money.

I just hope I can prize my colleagues of the Ceed Sportswagon a bit more often…