GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Kia announces GT Line

Kia has revealed a sporty new GT Line version of European cee'd small car range, building on the success of the pro_cee'd GT hot hatch –the only cee'd model offered in Australia.

The Korean brand's new sports sub-brand will make its global debut at next month's Geneva motor show, where it will also mark the production premiere of Kia's first seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and three-cylinder 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine.

Also fitted with a sporty body kit, the warmed-over three- and five-door hatch and wagon versions of the Kia cee'd will be available in Europe late this year, but are unlikely to be sold in Australia.

When quizzed about whether Kia would bring the Euro-designed models Down Under, senior product manager at Kia Motors Australia, Jeff Shafer, said: "Probably not."

"I'd never say never, but we're not actively considering it," he told motoring.com.au. "We're only looking at [pro_cee'd] GT [at present].

"Moving forward you'll see a lot more sporty influence throughout the range but at this moment I don’t think we'd bring in the GT Line model to Australia, which overlaps a lot with what we're doing with Cerato."

In Australia, Kia's 'sports' range currently opens with the Cerato Koup, priced from $24,190 with a 129kW/209Nm 2.0-litre petrol four), and also comprising the Koup Turbo with a 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo four, priced from $28,190 and also vaialable with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions.

Hyundai-Kia's turbo 1.6 also powers the manual-only pro_cee'd GT (from $29,990) and Hyundai's Veloster Turbo SR ($32,990).

Shafer explained that the Cerato is "a core product" for Kia in Australia, meaning there's little room for the GT Line in its small-car range alongside the two Koupes and the pro_cee'd GT.

In Europe, the cee'd GT Line models will come with a range of engine and gearbox options, including a newly developed 88kW three-cylinder turbo petrol engine that bangs out 172Nm of torque.

Kia has also tweaked its 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine for the GT Line range, adding 4kW and 20Nm for a total of 98kW/285Nm. So far, the fettled diesel is the only cee'd offered with the brand's seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Among the GT Line's visual updates include fancy new LED driving lights, dual exhaust outlets and aggressive new body kits comprising the usual front and rear fascias and side skirts. Kia says the interiors have been tizzied up too.

Asked if there was scope for GT Line or similar expansions for the Cerato in Australia, Shafer observed there was no need.

"We have the Koup with the turbo and the Cerato has the 2.0-litre 129kW GDI engine out of the blocks. In general we already give the Cerato a sporty flavour with drive and handling."

But that doesn't mean that Kia Australia is giving up on the $29,990 pro_cee'd GT – despite very slow sales due chiefly to the lack of an automatic gearbox.

Kia Motors Australia CEO Damien Meredith agreed that "sales aren't huge at all" and conceded the importer "won't get an auto soon".

Nevertheless, he insisted the pro_cee'd GT would not be axed Down Under.

"It's a fantastic car, a great car to drive. It's been winning awards, so we've just got to put more focus on it and I'd like to see 600 a year, 50 a month – and that's a lot of work. It's in that 20 to 30 sales per month range at the moment," he explained.

He indicated that with an automatic transmission the company could sell upwards of 1200 of the sharply designed turbo hot hatches each year.

"We might get one [automatic transmission] at the full model change," he said, accepting the reality that an automatic transmission is still at least a few years away for Kia's hottest hatch.