NEW KIA CEE'D PICTURES OUT

The all-new Kia Cee’d may be coming to South Africa later this year. Maybe. It definitely arrives in Europe in the second quarter. For now what we have for sure are these official pictures. The car will be unveiled at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show this coming March. Where it’s placed relative to the new Rio is a bit of a mystery to us though, but we expect it to be priced higher.

Based on the 5-door Hyundai i30 hatchback (Hyundai and Kia are owned by the same company) platform, Cee’d could repeat its predecessor’s story by spawning a 3-door Pro Cee’d coupe as well. Styling is obviously very European-influenced; some might see a bit of Opel Astra, while others could spot a Mazda3 at the rear end.

One thing that would make doubters happy is the possible engine line-up. The new 1.6-litre GDI turbo could be installed. It makes a sweet, hot-hatch rivalling 150kW. A second possibility is the 2.0-litre GDI with an oh-so-good 200kW. Lastly we could see a 2.0-litre CRDi turbo diesel worth 130kW and 392Nm.