THE facelifted Kia cee'd line-up will herald superior cabin quality, more refinement and efficient new engines when cars hit the streets later this summer.

The changes, which include the arrival of a new 1.0-litre ecoTurbo engine plus a seven-speed DCT gearbox, not only boost the cee'd hatchback, but also the Sportwagon estate and three-door pro_cee'd variants.

The upgraded model will come with a new ‘GT Line' specification across the range too, offering buyers the sporty looks and dynamics of the GT models.

While visual changes are on the subtle side, they are nonetheless very effective.

For instance the revamped cee'd gets a more angular and wider bumper with chrome trim around the fog lamps plus and an oval-shaped grille mesh.

A similar change has been made to the rear, with reshaped bumpers and sporty-looking reflectors while LED rear lamps complete the upgrade along with the option of 16 and 17-inch alloy wheel designs.

Heading the engine line-up is the Korean brand's new three cylinder 1.0-litre ecoTurbo unit, engineered to improve fuel consumption and emissions, while offering strong performance.

It is the first of Kia's upcoming range of downsized engines to make its debut in Europe, and will be available with a choice of two power outputs - 100 or 120PS - with both expected to deliver the lowest CO2 emissions of any petrol-engined cee'd to date.

In the case of the diesels, the company's 1.6-litre CRDi engine has also been upgraded, with the lower powered 110PS version available across both the standard cee'd and new GT Line range and CO2emissions falling to 102g/km - or 94g/km when fitted with Idle Stop/Go.

Meanwhile, the higher powered 1.6 CRDi engine now produces 136PS - up from 128PS - and the cee'd will continue to be offered with the 128PS 1.6-litre GDI petrol and 100PS 1.4-litre MPI multi-point injection engines, as well as the popular 1.4-litre CRDi diesel.

The arrival of the brand's seven-speed DCT double-clutch transmission, available exclusively on models equipped with the higher powered 136PS 1.6-litre CRDi engine, means drivers will benefit from faster gear changes than a traditional automatic transmission, as well as lower running costs.

When equipped with the new DCT, the 1.6-litre CRDi emits 109g/km of CO2, compared to the 145g/km recorded by the earlier engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

New safety and convenience features include Kia Connected Services, provided by TomTom, and including live traffic updates, speed camera locations and alerts, local search and weather forecasts.