KIA CEE'D SW CRDI 2 ECODYNAMICS (Price, as tested, £15,805) (From Living Northeast)

KIA CEE'D SW CRDI 2 ECODYNAMICS (Price, as tested, £15,805)

12:55pm Saturday 17th July 2010 in

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IT doesn't matter what colour your car is these days, chances are the salesman that sold it to you will have told you it was green.

Unlike the old days, where big was best and bigger was even better, these days, unless you're in the market for a supercar, the future is small and environmentally friendly.

In order to meet EU emissions standards, manufacturers must even out the amount of pollution they pump out into the atmosphere over their entire production fleet.

As a consequence almost all car makers are adding eco-friendly models to their range, including the likes of Aston Martin, a company famed for its sports cars, but which is soon to start selling a small city car called the Cygnet.

Kia has been riding the wave of this technology for a little while now and EcoDynamics models can be found right across the South Korean company's range.

All stand out, not just because of the lime green badges on their rears, but because of their modern designs, level of kit, quality of their build and that well-publicised and unrivalled seven-year warranty.

The SW, the estate version of the cee'd, is my favourite among their ranks, largely because it caters for all my needs as a middle-aged man, with two children and an inordinate amount of stuff to cart about.

For a green vehicle, however, this car either wasn't feeling too well or was trying to hide its light under a bushel, belching out a huge cloud of diesel smoke and fumes on start-up.

As unpleasant as it was, having driven other like-minded cee'ds I put it down to a quirk of this particular car and not a family trait.

The clouds having dissipated, the next thing you notice is the noise of the diesel engine. It's far from agricultural, but nor is it like the proverbial church mouse.

Once underway, however, the noise level drops and what becomes apparent is just how much poke - relatively speaking of course - there is.

Progression is brisk and the six-speed gearbox feels nice and chunky with smooth passage through the box.

Stopping is where the cee'd EcoDynamic's main party trick kicks in. OK, so it's not exactly unique these days, but this car's ISG system, or Intelligent Stop and Go for the uninitiated, is one of the best I have come across. Unlike some, in some much more lauded marques I must add too, it both stops and gos when it should do and is virtually instantaneous in its delivery. In part due to this, C02 emissions come in at 119g/km which is just below the benchmark 120g/km mark than ensures that company car drivers pay less tax.

It must be pointed out, however, that the stop and go system is only really of any benefit if you do a lot of urban driving. If you spend most of your life driving up and down our glorious motorway system then it's probably neither use nor ornament, though an average of almost 63mpg is not to be sniffed at.

In addition to ISG, the SW - facelifted for 2010 - also has energy saving low-rolling resistance tyres, a six-speed gearbox to further aid fuel economy and a gearshift indicator to encourage better driving.

Aside from these planet-saving measures, the ceed SW is a good all-round family car.

Fixtures and fittings, while short of being premium, are still manufactured to a high standard and give the interior a classy feel.

As you might expect of a vehicle with an SW tag, theres plenty of room inside as well. The boot is particularly spacious, ,offering in the region of 530 litres of loading capacity. With the seats down, that space is more than doubled and whats more theres a hidden luggage tray beneath the boot floor to stow things out of the view of prying eyes.

The ceed handles well for a large car, and rides okay, if not perfectly, over bumps and undulations. Light steering makes for easy negotiation of urban areas, but it can be somewhat unnerving if you have to make sudden changes at speed.

There is noise from both wind and road, but its not overly excessive and compares well with other cars in its class.

Kia is out to prove that it is paying more than lip-service to the environmental lobby and this car, for its type, is about as kind to the planet as it gets.

Proof that it is possible to drive and have a clear conscience.