The XCeed hatchback is yet another knockout crossover from Kia

EVERY time I go on a road trip with my kids, someone gets punched. Not because they are fighting over the front seat. Or over the next song on Spotify. Or because one of them has trumped.

Although all of these things can lead to violence. It’s because we like to play Yellow Car. You know what I’m on about.

Whoever spots a yellow car first gets to thump the person sitting nearest to them. Thank you, AA, DHL, our heroic ambulance crews and now Kia for entertaining kids of all ages up and down the country.

Note. If you’re looking at these pictures while being driven somewhere, feel free to land a cheeky punch. It still counts. Now I must say other colours are available, of course, but I reckon this suits the new crossover best. It’s also a bloody good buy. A tasty ­proposition for families who value comfort, practicality and decent kit at a sensible price — topped, of course, by Kia’s seven-year ­warranty. Kia don’t cut corners on interior quality, either.

You might expect XCeed to be a jacked-up Ceed hatchback with stick-on cladding and roof rails. But it’s not. Every panel is new, apart from the front doors. It’s 4cm higher, 8cm longer and has a bigger boot.

Crucially, the cabin feels roomier too. It’s also the first non-electrified Kia to feature a digital driver’s binnacle and slick 10.25in touchscreen which can connect two phones via Bluetooth at once. At last.

This means you can switch between your partner’s phone and yours for music and podcasts and so on. Apple CarPlay is standard. As is air con and electric windows all-round. As is the reversing camera. As is cruise control with speed limiter.

As is intelligent stop and go, hill start assist and all sorts of other driver aids. As is the fully adjustable steering wheel — you’d be surprised how many new cars don’t have one. And it wouldn’t be a Kia if it didn’t have heated seats and a heated steering wheel.

I do have one grumble, though. There are no USB ports in the back. That needs sorting. The engine line-up is ­generous: There’s a 1-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol which squeezes out 120hp and a four-cylinder 1.4 good for 140hp.

Then there’s a 1.6-litre diesel. If you do more than 14,000 miles a year, ignore all the political clap-trap and go diesel. It is Euro 6d rated and uses SCR tech to trap NOx. There’s also a plug-in hybrid coming early next year which can do up to 36 miles on pure electric.

For now, though, I’d point you towards the 1.4 petrol with ­seven-speed DCT auto. It’s a great all-rounder, at home in sticky traffic thanks to the seamless gearshifts, but it’s also got the lungs for overtaking.

To conclude, then. Kia now has three choices in the booming crossover segment — XCeed, Stonic and Niro — and has just boxed off its best ever September in a declining market.

You could say they are punching.

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