Proceed in the right direction

Playing young seemed to be the order of the day as I test drove another three-door.

On the day, it was an automatic Kia Proceed (strangely marketed as Pro_ cee'd). Shifting into drive, I prepared myself for a sluggish take off, and a gradual increase in speed. It took off like a race car.

Shifting from one gear to another was practically seamless. The engine was revving just beneath the red line but delivered a smooth progression in speed and handling. The steering tended to be a bit stiff to my liking but the brakes, equipped with ABS and EBC, responded excellently, especially as I prefer a brake pedal that is immediately responsive.

The stiff suspension gives an added bonus in stability and safety. Kia's first aspirational model was conceived under a very well-managed concept. It is the sibling to the Ceed five-door launched last year. The Proceed lost two doors but was redressed in a rather sporty version. It shares the front mudguards and the bonnet.

The interior is practical, even though I would have preferred a larger rev counter. Inside, the Proceed is refined and the material on the dashboard, the seats and the panels is pleasing.

The Proceed has uniquely designed alloy wheels and a smarter look thanks to black bezel lamps, body-colour door handles and metallic trim on the door inlays and centre console.

I had the top of the range with a 1.6 DOCH petrol engine. Capitalising on the success of the five-door Ceed, space at the back of this three-door is adequate but the front seat needs to be pushed well forward for the passengers to emerge with ease.

The dash and centre console are brightened up with silver detailing. There are big buttons to control the stereo and (standard) air-conditioning, for example, an iPod socket and no shortage of space for the passengers in the front. Despite the reduced headroom compared with the five-door, you'd have to be well over six feet tall to start brushing the roof or need to push the seat right back on its rails. This was obviously not a problem in my case.

Even in the back, where the lower roofline is most obvious, there's still plenty of space, lots of legroom and this is a genuine four-seater that will take five at a pinch - all very impressive for a sporty three-door hatchback.

The 340-litre boot, too, is a decent size and shape. In fact, my only complaints are that the rear lights intrude slightly into the boot opening, and the 60/40 split rear seat backs don't sit flat when you fold them down.

The car is quite silent. I had both front windows down and the sunroof open. It was a pleasant Saturday morning and I welcomed the cool breeze in the car. After driving for 20 minutes I realised that wind noise was negligible. This is impressive and evidence of the work Kia put into the aero streamlining on the car. Parking is fairly easy but the slanting back and the relatively small rear windows will get some getting used to.

Kia has turned around the image of the car from a utility car to a sporty version. The Proceed comes with a seven-year warranty and comes to Malta with a 1.4 DOCH and 1.6 DOCH petrol engines, and a 1.6 CRDi VGT. All cars come with a Euro 4 emission control system and a warm-up catalytic converter. The diesel power plant is also Euro 4 compliant.