Kia Pro_cee'd GT spied in Sydney

It’s called the Kia Pro_cee’d GT and while the marketing department deserves a pull-through for such an awkward name (I’m going to call it the Kia GT hatch from this point because the proper way hurts my head and my keyboard) it shows Korean car-makers ha

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It was designed by a Frenchman, engineered in Germany and is made in Slovakia which, incidentally, produces more cars per capita than any other country. All this possibly explains why it’s the most un-Korean Korean car to date.

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There are three models in the Kia GT range in Europe starting at the equivalent of $32,990 and stretching to $42,990. Australia will likely get two models when it goes on sale in March 2014.

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The local starting price is yet to be finalised but bank on it being close to or less than $30,000, undercutting the enemy from within, the Veloster Turbo coupe from sister company Hyundai.

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In Europe top-line models get a full-length glass sunroof, Recaro seats, navigation, push button start and illuminated scuff plates on the door openings.

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Meet the hot hatch that might finally change people’s perceptions about Korean cars once and for all - the Kia Pro_cee’d GT.

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The birth certificate of this car has a few stamps on it. It was designed by a Frenchman working at Kia’s German design studio in the heart of Frankfurt, and the engineering was completed down the road at Kia’s European research and development centre at

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Perhaps the French connection explains why the Kia GT has Renault-like lines, particularly at the rear. Kia insists this is a coincidence as the Renault Megane RS had not been released when the design of this car was signed off. So, great minds then.

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Nice touches include the “ice-cube” style daytime running lights above the sleek fog lights, the wide blacked-out grille and the red VW Golf GTI-like flash across the front bumper.

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The Kia GT is the first Korean hot hatch developed and tested on Germany’s Nurburgring, the same high temple of horsepower used by Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz AMG, to name a few.

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Australia will have its own locally-developed suspension setting for the Kia GT hatch but if the cars we sampled were a guide there wasn’t much work left to do. The high-speed stability was phenomenal, even at 220km/h on an autobahn.

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The 1.6-litre engine might be small compared to the hot hatch hierarchy but it still feels effortless, with a good spread of power through the rev range (unlike other turbos which have an all-or-nothing approach to power delivery).

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Points for improvement? The six-speed manual shift feels a bit plastic, the steering wheel itself could be of a more sporting design and the exhaust note, while great from the outside, can barely be heard inside (tip: take lessons from the air intake soun

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The Kia GT is an impressive hot hatch with sharp looks and a convincing fun-to-drive package at a relatively affordable price.

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But we reckon it’s so good Kia now needs to build on its confidence to go the whole way and fit a 2.0-litre turbo engine and a mechanical limited slip differential to its star car, a halo for the rest of the range.

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Kia cautiously didn’t want to tackle the hot hatch heavyweights head-on, and their respect for this trio of highly capable cars is well advised.

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Enthusiasts: dismiss the Kia GT hatch at your peril.

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Early adopters: a bargain hot hatch is around the corner.

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The faux-LED rings in the tail-lights look cool, as do the black accented 18-inch alloys, among the more original wheel designs of late.

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The digital instrument display is like something out of a fighter jet. There is a choice of two images: a traditional analogue dial or a digital speed readout with gauges either side that show how much turbo power you’re using. It changes at the press of

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Kia's new Pro_cee'd GT sports coupe has been spotted in Sydney, five months ahead of its official Australian launch.

Keen-eyed Carsguide reader Alan Wirth spotted this undisguised development mule in the suburb of Silverwater this week, not far from Kia Australia’s headquarters in Homebush.

A sticker on the GT’s dash confirms its purpose as an "engineering evaluation" vehicle for the "evaluation and development of vehicle components and systems", and only to be driven by "authorised Kia personnel".

The mule is likely the pre-production version of the Pro_cee'd GT recently imported by Kia Australia for local chassis tuning.

Kia Australia confirmed previously to Carsguide that the local evaluation program began in August, and the mule’s bug-splattered nose suggests that it’s seen its fair share of development kilometres.

The sporty Pro_cee'd GT is equipped with a 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbochaged engine shared with the Koup Turbo and Hyundai Veloster Turbo, and its dynamically focused chassis is being polished to suit local roads.

This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn

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