You can beat the Budget with this stylish yet eco-friendly stunner from Kia, says our motoring correspondent, Dave Phillips
What’s your ideal car? For many it would be a stylish five-door family hatchback with a frugal yet powerful diesel engine, low CO2 emissions and a hefty manufacturer’s warranty.
Ideally it would be designed and built in Europe, include all mod cons like air conditioning and carry 
a price tag of around £12,000.
Too much to hope for? Nope. Get ready to pinch yourself, because this car exists at a showroom near you. It’s the Kia cee’d – and it’s a beauty.
What’s more, it’s arrived just in time. With UK fuel prices escalating at hyper-inflationary rates (diesel £1.20 a litre and rising at the time of writing) and eye-watering road tax hikes for cars with high CO2 emissions, the cee’d is exactly what you need to beat the Chancellor.
The 1.6 CRDi turbodiesel I’ve been testing returned a staggering 60mpg, yet was a lively performer, delivering plenty of power through the five-speed gearbox.
As a bonus, it emits a parsimonious 125g/km CO2, which puts it in tax band D – just £115 a year (and falling to £95 a year when the new CO2-based road tax changes are introduced in 2010).
It’s seriously green in every respect. The cee’d is the first car ever to have won two awards for eco-friendly design and manufacture from the respected German crash test firm, TUV.
And if that isn’t enough to bring a smile to your face, how about a seven-year factory warranty? And a recommended on-the-road price of £12,395?
Smile? You’ll be laughing - all the way to the bank.
Although Kia is a Korean company, the cee’d was designed in Germany and is built in Slovakia. It is only sold in Europe. And in case you’re wondering why it’s called cee’d, the company says the name is an anagram derived from “European Economic Community (EEC)” and “European Design (ED)”. Bet you’re glad you know that.
Let me put my cards on the table: I suspect the Government’s “green” taxes are nothing more than a stealth tax on motorists that will have no impact on climate change. And that’s why I love this Kia so much… it’s a great way of keeping your hard-earned money in your own pocket.
The cee’d is also available in two other guises – an estate and a high-performance three-door – and comes with various petrol and diesel engine options, as well as an auto gearbox at extra cost. All have CD/MP3 player as standard.
My advice is to get down to Boongate Kia for a test drive. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Boongate Kia is at Newark Road, Peterborough PE1 5UA. Tel: 0845 126 4730. You can also book a test drive on the website: www.kia.co.uk/boongatekia
It’s always great to report on a local success story – and that’s certainly the case with Elite Auto Works, a family-run business that’s going from strength to strength thanks to the good, old-fashioned concept of customer service and value for money.
Elite Auto Works is run by a highly-skilled factory-trained technician who specialises in servicing and repairing German cars – Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen. And his labour charges are roughly half what you’d pay at a franchise dealer.
Besides being a no-brainer, it’s a triumph for the concept of supporting small, local businesses. And local owners of German cars have certainly been doing that – in droves.
When they arrive at the well-equipped garage, they get a warm greeting by Sanjay Odedra and his wife Manisha, who run this friendly enterprise, where customer care is top of their priorities.
“Franchise dealers can’t offer a personal one-to-one service as well as technical expertise and experience,” says Sanjay. “Many people have had bad experiences at dealerships, but we are different. We like to meet our customers and talk about their cars.
“I have a passion for the German marques. To me they are the best-engineered cars in the world. Typically, our prices are half that at a dealership – in some cases a lot less than half, because we don’t have huge overheads and expensive showrooms.”
A basic service at Elite Auto Works starts at £89 (including labour, parts and VAT). Only Castrol lubricants are used.
The spacious premises, at Bretton, are equipped with the latest manufacturer-dedicated diagnostic equipment, which Sanjay says is second to none.
This is a great business run by lovely people. We’ve got a VW Beetle on our motley family fleet, so its next service will be at Elite Auto Works. I’ll be putting my money where my mouth is… and getting rather more change than usual!
Elite Auto Works is based at Unit I, Peartree Business Centre, Enterprise Way, Bretton PE3 8YQ. Tel: 01733 265812.