I’ll never turn the chance to visit Barcelona (even in this case it was for less than 24 hours), add in the chance to drive a brand-new car around a motor circuit and some super scenic mountain routes then I am there with bells on!
I joined a small group of lifestyle bloggers and journalists (including my good mate Lucie from Lucie Loves) from the UK who had been invited over to Barca by Kia to test out their brand new ProCeed GT both on the track and road. This was a trip that I very nearly never made though, due to me arriving at the airport to discover my passport was not with me. After the initial sheer panic had subsided and I had searched my bags to ensure it wasn’t there an Uber back to the hotel was in order where I located it under the desk of the room that I had earlier checked out of. What a way to wake up in the morning indeed!
A couple of hours later I arrived in the Spain feeling a lot more chilled out and picked up the keys to a shiny new red Kia ProCeed GT. I teamed up with Lucie as my driving buddy for the day and we set off from the airport car park on a familiarisation drive up to the Parcmotor Castelloli race-track just north of the city near the Montserrat mountain range.
Track driving always excites and terrifies me in equal measures. I love the wide empty straights and bends that I normally get to myself, but I constantly have the fear at the back of my head that I’m going to flip the car over. Thankfully, I never have but that overriding fear does force me to take the circuit a little bit easier than I’d like to. In any case it was still great fun and the ProCeed handled and sounded amazing as it made it through the twists and turns right up to the finishing straight.
The GT model of the ProCeed that I was driving is priced at £28,135 and the 7-speed automatic transmission model features a 1,591cc, four-cylinders, turbocharged, petrol with 201 bhp power and 195 lb ft at 1,500rpm so it most definitely packs a punch.
Inside the interior both felt and looked fairly premium too with really nice trim and a fantastic sound system which Lucie and I made great use of as we headed off to explore the nearby Montserrat mountain roads. I absolutely love routes like these. The dramatic shapes of the mountains provided the most breath-taking and at points surreal backdrop, so much so that on a few occasions we had to stop and simply take them in for a little longer.
To conclude, the Kia ProCeed GT is evidently a very versatile car that took us from motorway to track and then to the windy mountain road with ease. It’s spacious, comfortable and good looking. What’s not to love?
