Safety first for Kia Pro_cee'd GT
BY RICHARD BERRY | 3rd Jun 2014
The testing was not performed by ANCAP, but rather Euro NCAP - the European independent crash assessment body. The results, however, were deemed by ANCAP to be the worthy of a five-star rating under its system.
With an overall score of 36.8 out of 37 the Pro_cee’d received a perfect 16 out of 16 for side impact protection, 15.19 out of 16 for the frontal off-set crash test and two out of two for the pole test.
The results were welcomed by the Korean car-maker, with Kia Motors Australia chief operating officer Damien Meredith saying it was the company's intention is to produce an entire range of cars with five–star ANCAP ratings.
“We know that the majority of our buyers are the average Australian family and we know how important safety is when it comes to their family,” he said.
“As with all our new models we fully anticipated this outcome, but it is always nice to have the official stamp of approval. We have said previously that Kia’s intention is to produce all five-star cars and we will not be stepping away from that position.”The Pro_cee’d GT went on sale in Australia in March this year from $29,990 plus on-road costs as a cut-price competitor to more established fare in the hot-hatch segment such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI that retails from $41,990.
Kia's first real attempt at a hot-hatch features the same 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre twin-scroll turbo-charged four-cylinder engine from the related Hyundai Veloster SR Turbo and its sister car, the Koup Turbo.
In just two months on sale, Kia has sold 119 examples of the Pro_cee'd GT and while that is not a huge total, it is outselling its Soul stable-mate which has shifted 89 units this year to the end of April.
