A good Korea choice? Frugal hatchbacks from Kia and Audi compared

THE Korean revolution is well under way and the budget credentials of early Kia offerings have now been boosted by advances in green technology.

A Start/stop system which stops the engine when the car is stationary has given the latest Kia Cee’d EcoDynamics near-70mpg fuel economy and low CO2 emissions that bring the promise of a £20 annual road tax bill.

But with the best in the business also setting their sights on the same “green” targets, can the Cee’d’s advances really match up?

My test of both the Kia Cee’d EcoDynamics and Audi’s frugal 1.6-litre TDI A3 Sportback sought the answers.

KIA CEE’D

WITH the help of a seven-year (100,000-mile) warranty and the added value of recent scrappage scheme deals, Kia’s Cee’d has become a huge success.

Adding technology that should lower the car’s running costs by reducing fuel consumption has, in turn, cut its annual road tax to the cost of an on-the-run meal at a motorway service station.

A recent upgrade of the Cee’d’s design might have given it a shiny, chrome grin but it still lacks drama in five-door guise

A fairly lofty roofline makes for a spacious and accommodating interior, though. Lots of light, acres of rear leg room and a 340-litre boot are the order of the day.

The super-frugal Cee’d EcoDynamics comes with a 1.6-litre CRDi engine delivering a modest 89bhp output but Kia’s Intelligent Stop and Go (ISG) technology helps it rack up an impressive 67.3mpg and 110g/km CO2 emissions.

The benefits are clear.

A 100 per cent write-down on company car tax for the first year is sure to attract fleet sales, for starters.

Performance is less strong in other areas. A sprint to 62mph takes a leisurely 13.5 seconds and it will top out at 107mph.

All EcoDynamics cars come in mid-range Cee’d 2 specification with 16-inch alloy wheels, tinted windows and iPod and Bluetooth connection thrown in for £14,500.

The Cee’d’s interior is stylish and its sheer size and airiness make it accommodating.

The negative impact of some hard plastic surfaces is lessened by well-judged variations of colour and texture.

Form seems to follow function at Kia, though.

While the 1.6-litre engine needs to be worked to create meaningful pace and rattles when cold it’s seemingly impossible to stray below 50mpg.

The ISG system works faultlessly, cutting when stationary and in neutral, the engine starts promptly the moment you press the clutch to move away.

A slightly under-damped ride can mean for slightly bouncy progress and deep ruts can return a jolt but the Cee’d makes generally comfortable, if somewhat sedate progress.

Well-specced and remarkable cheap to run, the Cee’d EcoDynamics will undoubtedly emerge as a darling of the fleet market.

With build quality and reliability that seem to match the promises laid down by that seven year warranty it’s a compelling proposition, even if it fails to fully deliver in sheer style terms or driver enjoyment.

It seems that green does come at a (limited) price.

AUDI A3

AS premium hatchbacks go the Volkswagen Audi Group has pretty much had the game sewn up for the best part of three decades.

Now it is one of the firm’s leading the way in the pursuit of lower emissions and better fuel efficiency.

But how will the frugal 1.6-litre TDI A3 Sportback shape up against a Kia which, on paper, matches its green credentials at every rotation.

Duelling with the likes of BMW’s 1 Series it is one of a rare breed of premium hatchbacks that proves top quality is not the preserve of larger executive saloons.

The Sport specification tested here represents the upper-mid-range of a four-tier line-up.

ts 1.6-litre TDI engine boasts a similar fuel saving start/stop function that stops the engine when the car is stationary and is more powerful, at 104bhp, enabling 11.7 second sprint to 62mph.

The A3’s fuel economy and CO2 emissions are fractionally better than the Kia at 68.9mpg and 109g/km, respectively.

At £19,770, the German hatchback costs £5,000 more in basic trim, though, and the options fitted to my test car saw that premium double by way of a faintly staggering £24,660 asking price.

Sitting low within the A3’s high shoulder-line, the Audi’s interior quality and layout is hard to fault.

Every dial and button offers a tactile feel and soft materials reward almost every touch. Only a distinct lack of cup holders causes some slight consternation.

Overall, the A3 Sportback is a match for the comparatively lofty Cee’d in terms of interior space, with impressive rear leg room and a 360-litre boot.

Where the Audi makes the biggest gains are in the driving experience.

A typically tied-down and neutral Audi feel might not deliver thrills wholesale but it is relaxed, composed and offers impressive gains in refinement over the Kia.

The stop/start hardware seemed more reluctant to stop the engine at every opportunity (i.e. when stationary with no gear selected), however, robbing me of some vital fuel savings.

Verdict

What stands out in the back-to-back comparison of the Kia and the Audi is not so much the Audi’s undoubted advantages in terms of its interior quality and refinement, or its premium design details, but the number of places where the cheaper Korean offering car matches the German product.

Will everyone forego an Audi for a Kia any time in the future? Perhaps not.

The Audi still has the outright quality and hard-earned desirability that the Cee’d can’t match.

But with Kia playing to its strengths in such impressive fashion, who knows what the future might hold...