PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Kia circles the cee'd wagons

The Kia cee'd is no longer a clone of the previous generation Hyundai i30 – and that may open the way for the Euro-styled small car to establish a foothold in Australia.

Since Hyundai dropped the i30 cw wagon there has been a vacancy for a car of similar price, packaging and specification which Kia Australia may look to exploit.

The importer is saying little about the prospect at this stage, but the new model's release in Paris prompted questions of Kia's Australia public relations manager, Kevin Hepworth.

“There's an opportunity,” Mr Hepworth conceded, but “there's no business case yet.”

Prospective rivals for the cee'd Sportswagon include the Volkswagen Golf wagon and forthcoming Holden Cruze wagon.

Intriguingly, Mr Hepworth also suggested the cee’d wagon could even snatch sales from the Mercedes-Benz B-Class, indicating Kia's pricing might not be bargain basement.

Compared to other cee’d models the Sportswagon is 195mm longer at 4505mm, but sits on the same 2950mm wheelbase. The extra space appears to have gone towards boot space, which at 528-litres with the rear seats in place is 39 per cent bigger than before.

Mechanically, the Sportswagon shares enough with other Kia models to make its Australian introduction logistically feasible. There’s a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, plus two direct-injected petrol engines of 1.4 and 1.6-litre capacity.

In Europe the Sportswagon will also be offered with 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre diesels, but there’s no word at this stage on whether any potential Australian model might get a diesel.

Asked how Kia could justify bringing the cee'd Sportswagon into Australia when rivals are increasingly opting for compact SUVs, Mr Hepworth said the Sportswagon wouldn't cannibalise sales of other Kia models, and that there is a small but quantifiable demand for such a car.

The global downturn in sales directly resulting from the GFC might also play into Kia Australia’s hands, should they opt to pursue the cee'd Sportswagon, since European manufacturers – including Hyundai/Kia's facilities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia – are now more willing to do deals.  

In addition to the cee'd Sportswagon, Kia’s Paris show stand also hosted the new Sorento, three-door cee'd and the EV Ray.