Kia pro_cee’d running costs are one of the car’s strongest hands. Cheapest to run, if not to buy, is the 1.6 CRDi diesel in S trim. With CO2 emissions of 100g/km it just squeezes into VED band A for road tax, meaning no annual charge. With average fuel economy of 74mpg you won’t need to fill up at the pumps that often either.

The SE trim diesel has slightly higher CO2 output and fuel consumption, at 112g/km and 66mpg respectively – you can blame its flashier larger diameter 17-inch wheels for that. It still qualifies for free road tax for the first year and £30 annually beyond that.

Least efficient is the automatic petrol 1.6 GDi DCT SE variant, which averages 46mpg and qualifies for VED band E, meaning an annual road tax cost of £120. The same goes for the manual 1.6 GDi SE.

The entry-level 1.6 GDi S averages 52mpg and slots into VED band D, meaning free road tax for the first year and £100 thereafter.

Resale values are the shaky bit – a sporty Kia is a relatively new idea and it’s too early to tell how well it will be received by the buying public. Certainly Kia is one of the fastest-growing automotive companies around at the moment and is beginning to shake off its budget image, so there’s a chance that residuals may begin to improve.

Of the two engines, the lowest Kia pro_cee’d emissions belong to the 1.6 CRDi diesel. The S trim with smaller wheels offers the best CO2 emissions with at 100g/km and has an average fuel economy of 74mpg.

In the same trim level the petrol version emits 124g/km. The least green model to go for is the automatic DCT petrol variant, which emits 140g/km.

There’s no reason to expect Kia pro_cee’d reliability to be anything other than exemplary. As with the rest of the Kia range it benefits from a seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty, which suggests the company has a pretty strong level of faith in its reliability and build quality. The petrol and diesel engines and the various transmissions offered for the pro_cee’d have already been proven in the regular cee’d five-door hatchback, so there shouldn’t be any nasty surprises.