This month, Richard Jones and family experience the flair of the Kia XCeed in the Oswestry countryside. Read on to hear how the family reviewed this handsome number.

Kia launched the Ceed in 2018 as a genuine rival to the biggest selling cars in the hatchback sector. I remember the first time I drove one at a UK launch event and thinking how impressive it was.

Then came the Ceed GT, the ProCeed and a Sportswagon; all of which have a place in the ever-growing range of cars that we demand these days.

But what is the newest addition to the range, the XCeed all about? To find out more I drove it around Oswestry and the surrounding areas to find out if this ‘urban crossover’ could handle both town and rural life.

But before any of that, I just sat back and looked at it for a while, as without doubt the XCeed is, in my opinion, the best looking Ceed of the bunch. I mean, just look at it! The only question in my mind would be whether to opt for one over a Volkswagen T-Roc (but that’s a decision only the buyer can make, as both are excellent cars).

You’ll be pleased to hear that the XCeed’s muscular and assertive appearance is echoed on the road. When driven through Oswestry, even during peak traffic, the XCeed was incredibly easy to manage. It is an agile car with excellent all-round viability.

Out on rural roads it is equally capable. As we headed up to the Old Racecourse for a walk through the woods there was little evidence of body roll, while the steering wheel offered a reassuring amount of feedback for a car of its class.

I had the three-cylinder 118bhp 1.0-litre T-GDI petrol on test and although the acoustics are a little challenging when pushed it never felt underpowered. It held the road well and with two children in the back it felt a really safe family car.

And with a healthy 426-litre boot, or to put it in layman’s terms a boot with enough room for a pushchair, picnic, baby bags, favourite Christmas toys and all of our walking gear, it’s also a practical family car.

Prices start at £20,795, but unless you’re willing to go for the absolute basic of everything you should expect to pay a touch more. Check out Kia’s website for a really good ‘Build Your Kia’ section if you want to find out the exact price your dream XCeed. For me, the addition of side body mouldings (£135), 18” alloy wheels (£245) and door mirror caps (£135) adds a bit of polish to an already good-looking car.

And what about our day in the woods? Sold to Isabelle (nearly three) as a mud walk, we had great fun. We’d been to the Old Racecourse before but this was the first time we ventured off the track. Evan (now five months old) slept on Elinor’s front for the majority of the day so we will have to go back in a few years but I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. The children particularly liked the dens that had been created for them to hide in. I guess I could say, it was an XCeedingly good day out!