Pro-Ceed but only if you dare

Kia's hot hatch ready and willing to take on its rivals

Kia is looking to take on the performance hatchbacks when it debuts its hot three-door hatch, the Pro-Cee'd GT, at March's Geneva motor show.

After images of the hatch were leaked by a Greek website, the Korean car company struck back by showing sneaky pictures of the striking vehicle.

With a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that produces 150kW and 265 Nm, the Pro-Cee'd GT will be a rival for Volkswagen's Golf GTi and Ford's Fiesta ST.

The Pro-cee'd GT stands out with its eight distinctive LED daytime running lights integrated into the aggressive new front bumper.

Honeycomb mesh grille inserts, a thin red pinstripe and a GT badge are also added at the front, while the sculpted body rides on 18-inch alloys with red brake calipers. Although it's not visible in the official images released, Kia says there's a twin-exit exhaust at the back.

Inside are Recaro sports seats with red stitching, which is repeated on the steering wheel and door. The leather wheel is also embroidered with the GT logo.

But unlike most of its rivals, the Pro-cee'd GT will be available as a six-speed manual.

Production of the newest members of the cee'd family is scheduled to start at Kia's Zilina plant in Slovakia in mid-May and they will go on-sale across Europe from the middle of the year. Prices and specifications will be confirmed closer to the on-sale date.

No word on when New Zealand will get the hatch.