Kia cee’d tuning

How do you make your stock cee’d look more unique, sporty and aggressive? The UK based Hendy Group, a dealer franchise with plenty of motorsport experience, seems to have an answer.

Their experts have revealed the way to improve the popular cee’d hatchback in three areas: power, control and styling.

Underhood, the engine gets reprogrammed ECU (Engine Computing Unit) that adds 29 extra horsepower out of the Kia ceed‘s 1.6L common-rail diesel engine, bringing total output to a very respectable 142hp. Torque also goes up to a hefty 305Nm from 255Nm in stock tune.

To stabilize the cee’d while increasing driving performance, the suspension gets overhauled, too, with stiffer dampers, Eibach springs and rear anti roll bar – taken from the three door Pro_cee’d.

Exterior modifications include the front bumper and lights from three door Pro_cee’d, low-profiled 17-inch ruber and a set of hot looking alloys in a black finish. The package is completed by tinted windows and a pair of black stripes on the hood, roof and back of the car.

And how does the modified cee’d feel on the road? Autoexpress got behind the wheel of it and you can read their verdict – after the jump( more pics included)…

On the move, there’s no doubting the extra power – this Cee’d is extremely rapid. It surges forward under full throttle, so much so that you have to be quick with the gearbox to keep up. Despite the upgrades, the engine is still very smooth.

As for the handling, there’s little body roll and lots of grip, although the low ride height can cause problems over speed bumps and the stiff suspension is uncomfortable on bumpy surfaces. Still, it’s a lot of fun.

This one-off Cee’d is as close as buyers will get to a Kia hot hatch for now, but the results are impressive. The more powerful engine is appealing, and while the ride comfort could be improved, the handling is agile, grippy and fun. Kia estimates the upgrades add Ł1,500-Ł2,000 to the price, which represents pretty good value, too. [Source: Autoexpress]

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