IT was only a matter of time before Kia added perfomance cars to their their range of accomplished family cars.

The Korean car maker has made startling progress in the UK and in a short time has gone from low rent, mediocre quality, to cars competing with established European brands.

Certainly the three door GT tested here meets a criteria Kia set out of combining sparkling performance with high end quality.

Priced from £20,000 it throws down the gauntlet to its competitors bags of standard equipment and backed up with a seven-year warranty - a major factor for business users.

The GT bows to nothing in its class when it comes to styling and with its turbocharged version of Kia's Gamma 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine, it delivers warm to hot-hatch performance, but family saloon driving manners. Economy is decent too, with 38.2mpg claimed and emissions of 171g/km.

The sporty version of the pro_cee'd also features a re-tuned suspension and steering, painted sport disc calipers and dual exhausts to reinforce its sporty credentials.

It looks as good as anything in its class and has the performance to back it up and would not look out of place in any company car fleet.

It is also practical with a 380 litre boot, which expands when the 60:40 split rear seats fold down to 1,225 litres. In addition there are storage compartments in the front, rear and centre console, plus an under-floor storage area.

It sits on graphite grey 18-inch alloy wheels, with a lower, broader bumper and air dam, high-gloss black inserts housing ‘ice-cube' LED daytime running lamps and foglights. The signature Kia grille includes a smart ‘GT' badge on the black high-gloss mesh as does the rear tailgate. It also features electrically folding mirrors with puddle lights.

The rear end is just as impressive with steeply angled tailgate glass and combination LED lamp units which give a unique signature at night and when braking, plus the ‘GT' badge on the tailgate, which has privacy glass, as does the rear windows.

The interior mirrors the sporty theme with black trimmed, part leather upholstery with red stitching trim, powered figure-hugging Recaro sports seats for driver and front passenger, leather trimmed steering wheel with ‘GT' logo and stainless steel pedals with non-slip rubber inserts.

Dials and instrumentation are dominated by the three-dial sporty instrument layout with a TFT screen to its left which allows the driver to switch between analogue-type or GT performance digital information and controls major functions such as sat nav, climate and audio.

It feels a premium car and the performance is excellent. The 201bhp petrol unit is mated to a slick, six-speed manual gearbox and is the first turbocharged petrol unit to be offered by Kia in the UK.

It zips away from a standing start to hit 60mph in just 7.4 seconds. But the best part is the torque, or pulling power, which feels almost diesel like with 265Nm available from 1,750rpm. This means the unit is flexible and its mid-range acceleration gives it great overtaking capability on the motorway. Ideal if you are a rep clocking up thouands of miles a year.

The handling matches engines performance and the uprated suspension means the car clings limpet-like to the road when cornering hard. The ride, although firm is no uncomfortable.

It is also refined and quiet, with just the blip from the twin exhausts under heavy acceleration.

Standard kit includes air conditioning, cruise control with a speed limiter, automatic lights, cornering lights, reversing sensors, Bluetooth phone connectivity with music streaming and voice recognition, a six speaker radio/CD player with iPod connectivity and electric windows.