• Diesel promises good fuel economy
• 1.5-litre petrol can easily manage 40mpg
• PHEV can’t meet Kia’s bold 201.7mpg claim

What are the running costs?

Kia says the 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol XCeed can return between 44.8mpg and 46.3mpg in official WLTP economy terms, depending on the specification – meaning entry-level cars that come with smaller 16-inch alloy wheels are marginally more fuel efficient. In our own testing we’ve seen around 42mpg in normal driving, which isn’t bad for a conventional, non electrically assisted petrol engine – but rivals equipped with hybrid technology will return over 50mpg with ease.

Official CO2 figures are 137g/km for cars on 16-inch wheels, rising to 142g/km for 18-inch wheel models, regardless of whether you pick the six-speed manual or the seven-speed automatic.

For more info, see our dedicated Kia XCeed spec pages.

Servicing and warranty

Kia recommends service intervals of 10,000 miles or 12 months, whatever comes first, for the XCeed – and the company offers a range of service plans to cover the cost of maintenance. The most expensive plan covers up five years’ worth of servicing, and buyers can also choose to bundle the cost of their car’s yearly MOT into the package for an additional fee.

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Kia sells its cars with a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty as standard, which is among the best level of standard cover available. As an added benefit, Kia’s warranty sticks with the car. So, if you sell your XCeed after four years of ownership, the new owner will still have three years of warranty left – and that’s a bargaining chip you can use to protect the car’s residual value.

Reliability

• Well-built and generally reliable
• However, owners have mixed opinions
• Did we mention the seven-year warranty?

Kia typically builds reliable cars and the XCeed’s powertrains are well proven across the company’s range. The firm has the confidence to provide a seven-year warranty with all its vehicles, which should give solid peace of mind. Would-be buyers can also take comfort in the fact that the entire current Kia Ceed model line-up has only been subject to a single safety recall since the XCeed was introduced in 2019.

However, the Parkers Kias XCeed owner review section paints more of a mixed picture, with some people exceptionally happy with their XCeed experience and others decidedly non-plussed. Complaints include the poor fuel economy of the old 1.0-litre turbo engine (which often needs to be worked hard), vibrations and distracting reflections in the cabin.