The original Kia Cee’d made the Korean car company a force to be reckoned with in the UK, and the hatchback’s success helped to spawn a jacked-up variant called the Kia XCeed in 2019. Seven years later Kia has revealed a second ‘mid-life’ update for its XCeed, with a significant overhaul inside and out. The exterior of the XCeed has been revised to tie in with Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design language. This means the new car gets an entirely new front end with ‘star map’ headlights and a more upright, bulky-looking grille. There are also new alloy wheels and the rear light clusters have been swapped out in favour of a new full-width lightbar along with a reshaped rear bumper. Kia’s been busy inside too. The XCeed gets a new twin-screen display along with Kia’s latest infotainment system, while the restyled dashboard features elements such as the control touchpad in the middle taken from the Kia Sportage, and a new steering wheel that’s already been seen on the Kia K4 hatch and Kia EV4. Kia claims it’s also improved the ride comfort of the XCeed, while as announced last year, the XCeed gets a new mild-hybrid 1.0-litre T-GDi engine in 2026, replacing the old 1.5-litre unit. The 1.0-litre petrol engine produces just 113bhp, which is some way off the old 1.5-litre’s 158bhp output, but it’s more efficient. Fitted with a six-speed manual, the new engine provides up to 47mpg, up on the 1.5’s 44.8mpg. There’s also a new 1.6-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with 177bhp and 265Nm of torque, providing a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. While the smaller 1.0-litre unit comes with a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearboxes, the 1.6-litre unit only comes with the auto. There’s still no mention of a return for the plug-in hybrid version of the XCeed that went off sale back in 2023. Although the current XCeed is still on sale in the UK and available via the Auto Express Buy a Car service, Kia hasn’t said if the updated version will be sold here. Kia has already got the upper B-segment and C-segment pretty well catered for with the all-electric Kia EV3 and EV4, the new Kia EV2, the petrol and hybrid-powered Kia Niro and Sportage, plus the K4 hatch, the revamped Kia Stonic and upcoming Kia Seltos. Finding space for the XCeed in this line-up might prove to be difficult, especially with it being one of the oldest models in Kia’s range. Pricing for the current XCeed starts at £25,545, rising to £33,545 for the most powerful GT-Line S model. If Kia can find a way to squeeze in the facelifted car alongside its many other similarly sized crossover cars, then expect a slight price increase to go with the new looks and technology.
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