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The third and final Kia cee'd variant has been revealed ahead of next week's Paris auto show. The cee'd sport wagon has the same front end appearance and the same length wheelbase as the cee'd 5-door hatchback, head to the rear of the car, and you'll see some differences.

Unlike the cee'd 5-door with its traditional-looking taillamps, the wagon apes the European estates that it'll be competing directly against and implements tall taillight assemblies that extend up the rear pillars. On top of that, the cee'd wagon is also fitted with an "Inverted L" shaped tailgate whose hinges are set into the roof further than normal to provide better access to the storage area. If you have a hard time visualizing this, think of the way the Dodge Magnum's hatch is configured and you'll get the gist of it. The cee'd wagon sounds like it has a similar configuration. Finally, the wagon gets a set of roof rails that's absent on the hatchbacks.

The cee'd wagon will join the cee'd 5-door and the 3-door pro cee'd concept on the Paris show floor. All three cars will go into production and be built in the new Kia plant in Zilina, Slovakia. The 5-door leads the way, going on sale in December 2006. The wagon we just described is next up, hitting showrooms a year from now in September 2007. Finally, the c'eed 3-door hatch will arrive in December '07.

Unfortunately, all three cee'ds are Europe-only vehicles, so we'll just have to appreciate them from a distance.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source; Kia]

Today in London, Kia released photos of the new European-market family car that the company will debut later this year at the Paris auto show. Known only by the code name "ED," the five-door will do battle with C-segmant stalwarts like the Ford Focus, Renault Megane and Opel Astra.

"ED" stands for European design, and the car will be produced at Kia's Zilina, Slovakia plant. Underhood, "ED" will be available with three different gasoline engines and one diesel. A station wagon and 3-door variant are also in the cards. If you're outside Europe and want one, you're going to be disappointed. "ED" is a Europe-only effort.

Kia will keep the name under wraps until the car gets it's formal introduction in Paris this September. Whatever it's called, it looks like a nice little car. Too bad it's not in the company's North American plans.

(Additional info, photo after the jump)

[Source: Kia]