Test drive Kia ProCeed and Skoda Octavia. Dembel chord
The third generation Skoda Octavia is going to retirement, but it is doing it at its peak. Six years after its debut, it not only continues to lead in sales, but can also challenge bright new products like the Kia ProCeed.
It so happens that the Skoda Octavia is retiring in its prime. The new generation car has already been presented at a special event in the Czech Republic, but "live" cars will arrive at dealerships not earlier than the beginning of next year. In the meantime, the current car with the body index A7 is available to us. And it seems that this car can give battle not only to traditional golf-class sedans, but also to bright and driver-like models like the Kia ProCeed.
I am sure that this is the most correct and stylish Ceed from the very moment of the creation of the model. After two experiments with three-doors, the Koreans changed the format and showed the world not only a stylish, but also a very practical car, subtly catching the fashion for the revival of the Shooting brake format. The result is a five-seater car with a normal trunk, which really makes you want to ride it.
The sloping stern and converging lantern strips can even be a nod to the Porsche Panamera if you wish, but better recall the stunning Kia ProCeed GT concept that was shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show as the forerunner of the third-generation family. The exterior of that concept, with minor changes, was transferred to the serial ProCeed, so the car is full of seemingly useless but bright details such as stampings on the trunk lid, C-pillar or sill.
Korean design won't be as long-lasting as Skoda's timeless forms, but here and now, ProCeed seems like a real phenomenon. You even approach the car with some caution, expecting the limitations inherent in a stylish car with low-hanging bumpers, a deep uncomfortable fit and a crushing roof, but you don't find anything like this: here is the usual clearance, which allows you to park with an overlap with the curb, and the usual light position behind the wheel, and the roof, even if it seems a little lower, still does not interfere in any way, for example, to climb into the salon to fasten the children in the chairs.
Moreover, on the go, ProCeed is not intimidated by either the stiffness of the suspension or the harshness of the engine response, but here you still have to make a reservation that this applies to the 140-horsepower variant with the GT-Line attachment. And a real ProCeed GT with a 200-horsepower engine will be much more specific. But for normal dynamic driving, the 1,4 engine is also enough, which is paired with a preselective "robot" about the same as the Skoda Octavia 1,4 TSI with a DSG gearbox. In normal traffic, the Korean “robot” acts softer and looks more like an “automatic machine”, but in traffic jams, on the contrary, it twitches a little.
The 140-horsepower ProCeed GT is not like a sports car, but it is really well tuned and allows you to go very tight, dynamic and even sharp. The only thing that is sorely lacking after the Octavia is the ability to switch to Sport mode with one touch of the transmission lever while simultaneously dropping one gear. In Kia, you need to press the Sport button to do this, which you can't do quickly and without looking.
In the story of a beautiful, fast and comfortable car, the only thing missing is a truly convenient trunk: behind the small fifth door there is almost 600 liters of volume, but they cannot be used as easily as the same liters of Octavia. Although here there was also a chip that completely reconciles with this fact: the bottom of the compartment is a large organizer cut into five closable compartments, and this is still the best solution for quietly storing belongings of different sizes.
As soon as the Kia ProCeed entered the Russian market, we immediately compared it to the Toyota C-HR crossover. But I must admit that that test drive was not the most obvious. When, six months later, we again tried to find an opponent for the non-trivial ProCeed, only the Octavia Combi came to mind. In fact, the only golf-class "shed", which, like the ProCeed, is equipped with powerful and high-torque turbo engines.
However, in the technical characteristics of Skoda, it was found that in terms of the volume of the trunk and interior, it is not even a station wagon that is closer to Kia, but a classic liftback. Here, behind the back of the second row sofa, there is already 590 liters of volume, which is only 4 liters less than in the Korean Shooting brake. And again, don't forget that these liters are organized with the trademark “ingenious simplicity”. So, in terms of the convenience of using the cargo compartment, hardly anyone can surpass the Czech liftback.
Alas, the Octavia is not so bright on the outside, but less money is asked for it. The price of a liftback with a 150-horsepower 1,4 TSI turbo engine and a seven-speed "robot" DSG starts at $ 18. Of course, we have a top-end car, but it is also cheaper - from $ 195. And even if we consider the most expensive option with a 19-liter 819-horsepower TSI engine, it will cost no more than $ 1,8. And with all the cool options, including sports seats with integrated head restraints, it still doesn't go over $ 180. In that case, it's not a pity to even pay $ 20 for the signature green metallic to make the Octavia a little brighter.
For comparison: the younger version of the ProCeed GT Line with the latest 1,4-liter turbo engine from Kia with a capacity of 140 forces is offered for $ 20, and the "charged" version of the GT with a 422-liter supercharged engine with a capacity of 1,6 forces costs as much as $ 206.
And again, ProCeed is just so smart on the outside. Inside, it is practically no different from a regular Ceed station wagon, except for a more sloping roof, which only complicates the landing on the rear sofa. And here Skoda has something to oppose the Korean. Yes, the architecture of the Octavia's interior is as conservative as the bodywork, but the new digital instruments and Bolero's touchscreen multimedia make the Czech liftback's interior really modern and lively.
Well, Skoda rides, as befits a European, softly, smoothly, but collected. The box switches almost without delays and failures, and where they occur, a quick response to work with the controls is usually not required. Usually the "robot" dulls when you roll in a sluggish traffic jam under the throttle: the car jerks slightly when shifting gears down.
And I also know that the Korean is noticeably tougher than the Czech. Skoda works out minor irregularities of the suspension not so nervously. Almost nothing is transferred to the steering wheel - the steering wheel with a solid effort, like a monolith, lies in the hands.
Of course, Kia's tweaks have their obvious upsides. For example, on large waves of asphalt, the car almost does not suffer from longitudinal swing, and on arcs it resists lateral rolls even more effectively. But, in my opinion, the overall balance of the Kia chassis is still inferior to Skoda. Yes, driving the Octavia is a little less fun, but much more comfort.
| Body type | Liftback | Universal |
| dimensions (length, width, height), mm | 4670/1814/1476 | 4605/1800/1437 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2680 | 2650 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1289 | 1325 |
| Cargo space, l | 568 | 594 |
| engine's type | Benz., R4 turbo | Benz., R4 turbo |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 1395 | 1359 |
| Max. power, l. with. (at rpm) | 150 / 5000-6000 | 140/6000 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm (at rpm) | 250 / 1500-3500 | 242 / 1500-3200 |
| Drive type, transmission | RKP7, front | RKP7, front |
| Max. speed km / h | 221 | 205 |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | 8,3 | 9,4 |
| Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l per 100 km | 5,3 | 6,1 |
| Price from, $. | 18 575 | 20 433 |
The editors express their gratitude to the administration of the Luzhniki sports complex for their help in organizing the shooting.
