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Much like the British summer of 2019, the Kia Proceed GT failed to deliver on its promise. It鈥檚 supposed to be a sporty version of the traditional estate: a car that allows you to have agile performance and dynamics while comfortably taking the family away for a weekend. However, the reality is that you get an experience that is compromised in both space and real sporting ability. Put to test on a camping weekend, the Kia was used to ferry three large adults, their luggage and a tent.

The Proceed gets a typical Kia dashboard: practical, stylish and uncomplicated. The sport steering wheel, seats and pedals let you know that you are sitting in a sports version of the Kia stock.

Overall space for front passengers is decent. However, if the driver is six feet tall, rear passengers will feel the pinch, as we did down to Dorset. The lack of available space was further displayed in the long yet shallow boot, which under a sloping rear window meant our humble collection of bags quickly used up all the space.

A feature that was a hit was the sports button next to the gear shift. When activated, the exhausts have a deeper grumble, with gear changes being delayed until the engine is practically belching at you. While this feature certainly was fun to play with in the campsite car park, its excitement didn鈥檛 last long, and the hassle of changing driving modes made it more of a pain.

While an exciting offering into the world of estates, you can鈥檛 help but feel that Kia has created a car that is a little too much of everything and not enough of one thing. Treat it as a large, loud hatchback for the school run and it won鈥檛 disappoint. Sadly 鈥� if you鈥檙e planning on driving many miles with all the family in tow 鈥� then its lack of usable space will become tiresome after the third 鈥淎re we there yet?鈥�

Update 5

Our Kia Proceed GT has had a busy month ferrying kit to shoots, providing holiday transport and getting the carwow team to the various car launches, all of which means I鈥檝e barely seen the keys this month. And I鈥檝e missed it. There鈥檚 nothing particularly clever or fancy about our Kia but, the fact is, it just does everything really well.

The dashboard is a prime example of this. On first encounters, it鈥檚 an uninspiring mixture of black plastics, old-school buttons and conventional dials, making the Proceed look decidedly old hat compared to something like the Audi Q3 we ran a few months back, which has a plush combination of squidgy plastics, smart trim pieces and huge infotainment screens. Hand on heart, though, I鈥檇 take the Kia.

Physical buttons might not look as high-tech as a massive infotainment screen, but they do have numerous advantages. For a start, they never move and their function doesn鈥檛 change depending on what infotainment sub menu you happen to be in. In other words, there instinctive to operate when you鈥檙e attempting to not veer onto a pavement when you鈥檙e trying to find Radio 2. They鈥檙e also a million times quicker to access and I鈥檓 eternally thankful to have a real button for the car鈥檚 lane assist (I鈥檓 not a fan of the squirming sensation it puts through the steering) rather than having to find one hidden under a see of infotainment sub-menus.

Then there鈥檚 the Kia鈥檚 build quality. Okay, so it falls short on perceived quality but the reality is that our Proceed feels rock-solid compared the Audi Q3 we ran, its posh cabin had more rattles than a newborn鈥檚 playroom.

As we plough into month six with the Kia, though, we do have a few new gripes like its tiny 50-litre fuel tank, which means long motorway drives necessitate a fuel stop, and it鈥檚 18-inch wheels and accompanying rubber-band tyres that send a wearing drone through the car鈥檚 body on nasty motorway surfaces.

Mostly, though, the Proceed is a huge banner advert for how far Kia has come over the past ten years and how much further it has the potential to go. Audi, Mercedes, Lexus and the like really should be worried.

Update 4

Think GT car and your mind will likely be drawn to an image of a rare two-door coupe cutting through an Alpine pass with a V12 growl as a backing track.聽

Sadly, in carwow land, the reality is something quite different. The GT is a Kia, the roads are in Kent and the backing track is the shrill howl of an unspectacular four-cylinder.聽

We鈥檙e here for a reason, though, and that鈥檚 to discover whether our Proceed has any right to carry a GT badge. Let鈥檚 deal with the looks first, and the first tick in the Proceed鈥檚 favour. It looks expensive 鈥� not Ferrari/Aston Martin expensive 鈥� but just classy enough to be a budget alternative to a Mercedes or Audi. For a Kia, that鈥檚 no mean feat.

And that feeling of surprising satisfaction carries through to how the Proceed drives. Driven at an enthusiastic pace its direct steering makes the car easy to place in corners, there鈥檚 loads of grip and it鈥檚 also reasonably comfortable.

Sure the engine鈥檚 more about mid-range surge than spine-tingling top-end acceleration, but it鈥檚 effective, and the same鈥檚 true of the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox left to its own devices, anyway.

Seize the initiative though and things quickly unravel. In manual mode, the previously unobtrusive gearbox鈥檚 slow reactions will quickly have you pulling your hair out. The sharper throttle responses gained by pressing Kia鈥檚 Sport button merely expose the fact that the engine quickly runs out of puff, and you soon tire of the exhaust鈥檚 drone in this louder setting.聽

All of which only serves to further reinforce the Proceed GT鈥檚 credentials. Okay, bear with me, you see, if you want an aggressive body kit, a bone-shattering ride, frenetic power delivery and the ability to stick to corners harder than am inhumane trap sticks to rodents, you get a hot hatch.聽

If you want a car that鈥檚 good looking, swift but also comfortable, you buy a GT 鈥� and, at this price, the Kia Proceed does a good job of ticking all these boxes.

Update 3

MTBing has been a big passion of mine since growing up in Glasgow, a city that鈥檚 blessed with some of the world鈥檚 best trails just a stone鈥檚 throw away.

That all stopped when I moved to the sprawling concrete jungle that is London, my pursuit of the sport stopping quicker than a full-sus downhill bike wearing big tyres and hydraulics. Riding a heavy mountain bike with saggy suspension in the capital makes about as much sense as commuting to work by pogo stick with lead weights in your bag.

At least it did until I saw one of those eBay deals that was too good to refuse and found myself in possession of exactly the bike I used to own many moons ago.

The new purchase means the Kia has recently turned its hand to carrying mountain bikes 鈥� a job it鈥檚 perfect for. Its large boot opening, and the neat way its seats fold flat into the floor makes loading a bike (even a big clumsy one) easy.

Being good to drive also matters 鈥� when you鈥檙e pushing into the sticks you may as well do it in a car that makes it an enjoyable experience.

Okay, there鈥檚 a suspicion that the Kia is an eight-tenths car that prefers to be driven quickly rather than at the ragged edge, but with a boot full of mountain bikes and mountain bike accessories, this is not a problem. Which makes the Kia鈥檚 nippy squirts of performance, well judged suspension and ample grip, perfect for the job.

It鈥檚 also a car you鈥檒l not be embarrassed to turn up at the bike track in 鈥� smart enough to turn heads, but not so flash that you鈥檙e immediately hated by all and sundry.

Then there鈥檚 the return journey. The Kia鈥檚 heated seats take the pain out of weary muscles, their supportiveness relieves your back after a day in the saddle, and the Arctic blast of the air-con stops your core temperature resembling that of a furnace.

All of which is good news. We reckon Kia鈥檚 hit its brief 鈥� to build a car that combines style and performance, with comfort and practicality 鈥� absolutely bang on with the Ceed GT.

Sure it鈥檚 not quite as practical as an SUV 鈥� the obvious choice for a biker 鈥� but it鈥檚 better to drive, better to look at and cheaper to run (you鈥檒l get 40mpg with care), all of which makes it a car worth considering if you鈥檙e in the market for a spacious car with buckets of style.

Update 2

We鈥檙e still finding out if our Kia Proceed GT can do style as well as substance. The style bit it has licked: I think it looks fantastic in Fusion White and turns more heads than you might expect given the badge on its bonnet isn鈥檛 premium. Or German. But the substance part was yet to be properly tested 鈥� nothing a family holiday to Devon for the Easter weekend wouldn鈥檛 solve.

Indeed, the Proceed鈥檚 interior space and practicality were put to the ultimate test. Two adults, a baby and everything required for a self-catered break were stuffed into every nook and cranny. OK, so there wasn鈥檛 exactly room to spare, but given this is a stylish shooting brake, I was pleasantly surprised at just how good the Proceed鈥檚 boot is. And it鈥檚 made even more practical by the generous amount of under-floor storage.

Inserting a Maxi Cosi Isofix base and child seat on the back seats was no issue, too, as finding the slots for the Isofix mounts is simple work. The only slight annoyance was that having it behind the driver鈥檚 seat did mean I couldn鈥檛 have my chair as far back as I鈥檇 have liked.

The Proceed GT is also quite stiff over lumps and bumps, which isn鈥檛 exactly surprising given its sporting intent, but does wake up babies who are trying to sleep. A Skoda Octavia vRS or VW Golf R Estate are as entertaining to drive while remaining more comfortable at the same time.

Still, as I say, it is genuinely fun on country roads; it has a strong engine, its steering is light but quick and precise and it turns into corners and controls its body through them well. If there鈥檚 a weak link it鈥檚 Kia鈥檚 automatic gearbox, which can feel sluggish to kick down and respond to manual gear changes.

Nevertheless, as family transport goes, it鈥檚 ticking the important boxes and a few more besides.

Update 1

Choosing our latest long-termer聽got us thinking 鈥� if you鈥檙e looking for a stylish car that鈥檚 also practical is an SUV your only option? Well, our latest long-termer 鈥� the Kia Proceed GT 鈥� show that it isn鈥檛. It鈥檚 a shooting brake 鈥� a car that blends the sloping roofline of a coupe with an estate-car style boot. Our car鈥檚 the GT model, so it comes with a body kit that includes side skirts, unique front and rear bumpers, GT badges and red highlights that are easy to spot against its Fusion White paint.

The paint鈥檚 the only option 鈥� pushing the Proceed鈥檚 price up to just shy of 拢29,000. Equipment levels are also pretty good 鈥� even basic Proceed models come with an eight-inch infotainment screen, auto-dipping headlights, rain-sensing wipers, front seats that are heated along with a heated steering wheel and automatic emergency braking. In this GT trim you also get LED headlights, a faux leather interior and an additional 4.2-inch display between the analogue instruments behind the steering wheel. Choosing the GT model means you also only get one engine choice, but it鈥檚 the-pick-of-the-range 1.6-litre turbo petrol with 201hp and a standard seven-speed automatic gearbox.

Impressions? Well,聽our first jaunt with the Proceed was a marathon 1,000-mile trip north and back with a big load. The Proceed gobbled up a naked bicycle frame without us even needing聽to put the back seats down and聽had room for another complete bike once we did fold away the seats 鈥� not bad for a car that grabs the attention of BMW and Mercedes drivers, at will. We can also attest to it being a brilliant distance car,聽the Proceed鈥檚 performance might not leave it competing聽with hardcore hot hatches such as the Hyundai i30N or the Honda Civic Type R 鈥� but it still has plenty of go for overtaking. In fact, the Proceed is a car that鈥檚 easy to live with every day, so its engine聽doesn鈥檛 have the laggy low down responses of the

Honda, while its passive suspension (no adjustable dampers here) is more comfortable than you鈥檒l find in the Hyundai. You do聽get a Sport button聽to press聽if you鈥檙e in the聽mood聽and its increased throttle聽response聽makes the Proceed feel nippier, but聽it also pumps a synthetic engine noise into the聽cabin that sounds very fake, particularly when you鈥檙e not driving around like a lunatic. Another black mark is the gearbox which is fine in normal use but slow to respond if you attempt F1 style shifts using the steering-wheel-mounted paddles. So the Proceed is a mixed bag then 鈥� almost as stylish as coupe, nearly as practical as an estate car, close to hot hatch quick, yet just about as comfortable as normal family. Question is, is the Kia a jack of all trades and a master of none? Stay tuned for the next report to find out.