Kia's All-New Ceed reviewed - The most significant change is the smallest. For the latest third version of its popular C-segment family hatchback, Kia have at last seen sense and done away with the silly apostrophe that made its name a complete nonsense.

Neil Lyndon from Slovakia for his first drive of the All-New Kia Ceed Hatchback

Now they are content simply to call the car Ceed. As car names go, it’s still far from a knockout, but at least we can say that progress is being made.

What does CEED mean? = 'Community of Europe with European Design'
The car is designed , engineered and built in Europe

The same is true of the car as a whole. The Cee’d was always an ordinary car whose major strengths were in its build quality and value for money. Those qualities continue in the new Ceed, which is better – though more expensive – than ever.

The launch was in Slovakia, where Kia make most of their European cars in a factory of serene cleanliness and order not far from the High Tatras where we stayed overnight. We drove up into those glorious mountains, very reminiscent of Switzerland, in the new 114 bhp 1.6 diesel version. Next day, we came down in the new 138 bhp 1.4 petrol version. Both had six-speed manual gearboxes and both engines were smooth and quiet. On the way up in the diesel, we averaged 54 mpg. On the way down in the petrol, the figure was 52 mpg. Considering the terrain, those numbers aren’t too far away from the manufacturer’s official claims.

The new car damps down any excitement over design that the Ceed might previously have offered. The new body is lower and wider while the windows are more shallow and the nose is higher. The overall effect is to place this car firmly in the school of family dumplings. It is unlikely to keep you awake at night marvelling over its beauty.