The Kia cee’d is Kia’s top-selling model in Europe and has been thoroughly re-engineered and restyled under the direction of Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, to feature the latest version of the company’s signature grille – an evolving expression of the brand’s design DNA.

Comprehensively updated, the new Kia cee’d range will deliver a host of customer benefits including numerous exterior and interior design refinements, upgraded standard equipment and technical innovations. The Kia cee’d also gets a fully-revised suspension set-up.

The changes will also significantly reduce fuel consumption and in the new ‘Intelligent Stop and Go’ ECO-dynamics version to be launched for the first time in the UK CO2 emissions are reduced to 110 g/km. On average emissions will be cut by five per cent across the Kia cee’d line-up.

Kia Motors UK Limited Marketing Director, Simon Hetherington said: “The new Kia cee’d is 25 mm longer and is more distinctive in appearance with a stronger road presence. Following our established model range line-up, customers will enjoy a thoroughly revised interior including a new-style steering wheel and gear lever, all-red instrument illumination, a new centre console and new audio systems, plus dual-zone climate control air-conditioning.”

Technical innovations being introduced with new Kia cee’d will include fuel-stretching ISG technology on the 1.6-litre diesel engines for the first time, a “hill-holder” function for the ESP and brighter projection-style headlamps. The new ‘U2′ 1.6-litre diesel engine will be matched to a new six-speed manual transmission.

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Codenamed XM, the 2010 Kia Sorento is scheduled to make it’s official debut at the Seoul Auto Show in April and that will be the place where Kia Motors will reveal more precise details on it’s powertrain options, equipment and accessories.

Not willing to wait additional three weeks to get to know more about the new Sorento, I gathered some additional information from various Kia sources worldwide.

Redesigned Sorento will become the first Hyundai-Kia vehicle in the family to come equipped with the all-new environmentally-friendly R-diesel engine. The 2.2L diesel engine boasts best-in-class 200 horsepower and best fuel economy performance of 14.1km/l making it the most fuel-efficient crossover in the Korean market. The new state-of-the-art diesel engine also satisfies EURO5 emission standards.

The engine range will also include a four-cylinder 2.4L and a 3.8L V6. Both are destined for the International markets, including US and Europe. On it’s domestic market, new Sorento will also be available with a 2.7L LPI engine. Standard powertrain package also includes a 6-speed automatic transmission developed with proprietary technology.

Size-wise, the 2010 Sorento has grown in size and now measures 4.685 mm (+95mm) in length, 1.885 in width (+35mm) and 1.710 in height (-15mm). It’s wheelbase has been shortened by 5mm to 2.700mm.

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The new model, currently known by its code name Kia VG, was shown in concept form at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show and is set to replace the existing Opirus model in Korean, North American and European markets.

“Kia VG clearly demonstrates the next stage in Kia’s design evolution and showcases our new design principle of ‘sophistication by simplicity’. The exterior is a seamless blend of powerful front, sleek profile and sophisticated but simple rear lines to create an elegant and luxurious appearance,” commented Hyoung Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO of International Business Division at Kia Motors Corporation.

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The Kia logos is very simplistic, consisting of the letters K I and A in white with a Red background. The A however is designed differently and is missing the horizontal bar in between. I am not sure if it was done to give it an East Asian touch.

Kia Motors Company is a South Korean automobile manufacturer. Kia was founded in 1944
as as a bicycle parts maker and now produces passenger cars, vans and cargo trucks. Kia produced
the old Mazda brand cars. In October 1998, Hyundai was named the winning bidder for 51 percent of the parent company, Kia Motors Corp. The word Kia has origins in the Chinese language with the first syllable, ki, meaning to “arise or come up out of.” The second part of the word, a, refers to Asia. So when you put it all together, Kia means to “arise or come up out of Asia.” Its slogan is “The Power to Surprise”.

These pictures show the Cee’d with a few new design features. The hood takes on an even more sculpted look, leading closer to the car’s center. At the center is a smaller looking grille. While the grille had been shaped like a parallelogram, it now appears to be a bit more curved at the corners. Headlights also appear to be more rounded off, but that is hard to tell due to the heavy padding. Look for revisions at the front apron, including a possible redesign of the foglights.

The test car is riding on a different set of five spoke wheels than what is normally seen. It is also using sideview mirrors that have turn indicators built in. Changes at the back are a little harder to spot. However, it does look like new taillights may be introduced.

Look for the freshened up 2010 Kia Cee’d at the Korean automaker’s stand during the Frankfurt Motor Show.

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