Kia Motor UK (KMUK) is spending a wedge of money this year on marketing.

It needs to.

After a fortnight in our Kia Cee’d SW, the only issue with this small estate car I can see is the lack of product awareness.

Many motorists know nothing about Kia. Of those that do, plenty can’t have realised how far it has come with its Cee’d range.

The SW is a decent family runabout, and great value considering the kit that comes as standard on the £15,195 LS variant.

For those wanting low-cost new car ownership, it certainly has the potential to put prospective buyers off from spending another £3,000 or so for similarly specified Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra estates.

And for this quarter, KMUK has knocked off another £1,000 in a promotion that price-matches Cee’d diesel variants to its petrol equivalent.

The cheap plastics of old Kias are gone, replaced by better quality fittings that, although slightly behind Kia’s mainstream rivals, wouldn’t look out of place in the first generation Ford Focus.

Its European-styled exterior, clearly influenced by its Ford and Peugeot rivals, doesn’t scream down-market.

Fact file

Price: £15,195
Engine: 1.6 16v diesel; 113bhp @ 4,000rpm; 188lbs/ft @ 1,900 – 2,750rpm
Performance: 0-62mph in 11.7sec; top speed 117mph
Efficiency: 57.6mpg (official); 45.4mpg (actual); 128g/km CO2
Test period: Feb – August
Start mileage: 7,264
Current mileage: 10,345
CAP RV 3yr/30k: 28% 60k: 22%
Likes: Plenty of things
Dislikes: Slightly noisy