2020 Kia Cerato review & buyer's guide
It’s easy to make a sports car and it’s not hard to make a comfortable, sensible family sedan or hatch. But both in one? Let’s find out…
Engorge or engage?
Unless you’re Ford, making a sporty car is relatively easy for a half-intelligent carmaker.
For most brands (the ones not clubbed by the GFC) it’s pretty easy to make a comfortable, sensible family-focussed sedan or hatch.
But can you truly have the best of both worlds? And do you even want to consider buying the automotive equivalent of Tony Hawk trying to be a school teacher (or vice versa)?
If you’re considering a Kia Cerato then you’re going to have to ponder this, because the top-spec GT is such good value, you’re loopy (or clearly on a strict budget) to not even entertain the thought of going for base-model bereavement.
I digress, some people are looking at a sedan or hatch like the Cerato because you’re specifically not interested in silly, poppy cars with red bits and paddle shifts. Fair enough. Allow me to store my inner adolescent away. One moment…
Range anxiety
Okay, so the Cerato comes in essentially four grades, the base model S, second-tier Sport, third-step Sport Plus and top-step GT. But it’s not so straightforward.
Stay with me because it gets a little confusing from here: car companies and their product planners. (Although, credit is due to Kia for making the safety pack available on manual versions - this is rarely the case these days, where brands will pony up the “it’s too hard to integrate with a clutch pedal” excuse”.
S is available with manual transmission as the Sudanese special for poverty packs, but you can have a “safety pack” with that, and further, you can have the S automatic which, as the name suggests, gives you an auto transmission, and there’s again a safety pack option available. It looks like this:
S Manual | S Manual Safety-Pack;
S Automatic | S Auto Safety-Pack.
Either of these can come as hatch or sedan. The difference in price is nil between body styles.
Right. Then we get to the Sport which does the same as S with the transmission and safety pack. Looks like this:
Sport Manual | Sport Manual Safety-Pack;
Sport Automatic | Sport Auto Safety-Pack.
Next is the Sport Plus which is free of the excessive choice. You get the standard 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine with peak power of 112kW available at 6200rpm, a six-speed automatic transmission, and some interior niceties we’ll get into shortly.
And then you arrive at the GT which gets everything, including a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission mated to the Hyundai/Kia equivalent of an M777 Howitzer (at least in my mind) - the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine you’ll find in the i30 N which, in the Cerato, gives you a very potent 150kW and 265Nm of torque. These are of course completely meaningless stats if you’re not shopping for a luke-warm performance car.
In which case, you might want to skip the next bit.
Pick of the range
Cerato GT sedan
I don’t usually go straight for the top-shelf model, but the Cerato GT is such a surprisingly good thing to turn liquid fuel into forward energy. At a price hard to ignore.
For the sake of retaining the practicality most people mistakenly use to justify buying a bigger, heavier, less useful SUV, I suggest grabbing the sedan with 428L of storage (seats up) and 741L (seats down).
But even better than the rear cubes is the performance you’re offered between $33,000 (pre-on-road costs) and $36,000-ish (driveaway). Think about it in terms of we call “accessible performance”. It’s a term used by motoring journalists all the time, but they’re usually too busy fellating the carmaker to actually explain to the consumer what that means. It is the performance - be it straight-line speed, cornering grip, steering response, braking ability or lap times, or a combination of them all - which you the actual human can extract from the car. Essentially separating you from an actual racing driver.
Example: the accessible performance of the Hyundai i30 N, in either hatch or Fastback, is different from, say Sheep-shagger Hayden Paddon, who is the Obi Wan Kenobi of driving really, really fast, sideways. I, on the other hand, cannot access the kind of performance from the same car as he.
Output from the Hyundai/Kia 1.6 Howitzer, as I’ve dubbed it mostly because the Howitzer is a relatively small piece of artillery with quite a destructive, is 150kW @ 6000rpm and 265Nm of torque from as low as 1500rpm up to 4500 revs. But that 1.6 in the Cerato is like putting a big red button on the Howitzer so even a novice heavy artillery operator like you or I can access most of its performance on the public road.
We’re talking sports car-esque performance from the likes of a mid-spec Toyota 86, which admittedly has less torque and a fraction less power, but is 160kg lighter. At least with the Cerato your friends can come too.
Power is all channelled to the front wheels through a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission with a sport mode accessed by pulling the gear-shifter towards you, enabling punchier changes and a sharper steering map. But don’t get ahead of yourself - those gear changes aren’t perfect and there’s some work to do on planing the corners, which is to be expected. It’s a brilliant first crack at putting that fire-spitting engine - down there - under the bonnet, in a Kia.
Refinements will come in due course, probably not Hyundai’s E-Differential designed in conjunction with Jedi Engineering, but if you’re looking for a more family-focussed sedan or hatch with some moderate performance you can tap into when you’re alone, on a back road, Cerato GT for thee.
You also get a locally tuned suspension setup, performed by actual Australian engineers to make this car work on our notoriously crap roads. And it’s a pretty good balance they’ve struck between softer comfort settings on dampers and spring rates, versus harder mechanical grip expected with the sticky Michelin tyres and big (for a Cerato) 18-inch alloys on a car weighing about 1400kg. Kia has managed to keep about 25-30 kilos out of the Cerato GT compared with the Hyundai N-Line Premium (about $2k dearer), which gives the Cerato a slight power-to-weight advantage at 107.5 kW/t vs 105.3 kW/t - all without having to drink premium unleaded.
This is why I continue to recommend normal cars despite the national - and indeed global - infatuation with SUVs.
For mid-30 grand you take home:
Safety tech: auto-emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, forward collision warning, lane keep assistance, smart cruise control, driver attention warning, six airbags, speed limiter;
Visual aids: rearview camera with dynamic guidelines, front and rear parking sensors, 18-inch alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring;
Driver gear: three drive modes (sport, comfort and eco, although plenty of cars have similar these days), eight-way electric driver seat with two memory positions and ventilation (cooling), a modest body kit, twin exhausts, paddle-shifters, alloy sports pedals and a flat-bottomed leather sports steering wheel;
Toys: 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with voice recognition, wireless phone charger, 8-speaker JBL Premium sound system with Bluetooth connectivity, climate control air-conditioning and ventilated front sport seats.
Premium paint is an extra $520, but personally I think the white adds a sleeper element to what is otherwise a somewhat ordinary looking (but sure-as-shit not boring) car. They certainly won’t be expecting you to pull away on the freeway on-ramp.
Bombe suprise
It’s a testament to the research and development Hyundai and Kia have put into their respective brands over the last decade, to produce such a multi-purpose, strong performance engine which works in both an off-the-hook domesticated rally car, as well as a small-ish family sedan.
The four-cylinder 1.6-litre turbo engine produces 150kW at 6000rpm and 265Nm of torque from 1500-4500rpm all channelled to the front wheels through a 7-speed DCT gearbox. It’s a particularly sweet compromise, reigning in the mauling attitude of Hyundai’s i30 N hatch/fastback pitbull, but not going toward the flaccid family barge end of the spectrum.
The main engine option in the Cerato range is the 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder. It does a pretty decent job of turning fuel into energy without going full axe murderer on tyres, and your wallet.
Output is modest, particularly when compared to its Hyundai/Volkswagen/Toyota rivals, but if you’re shopping here, kiloWatts and Newton-metres are not your primary concern. But for the sake of covering bases, you get 112kW @ 6200rpm and 192Nm @ 4000rpm, and weighing in at 1345kg tare you’re getting an 83.3kW/t power-to-weight ratio, which is not awful, but not blistering. It’ll do the job for 90% of mortals like yourself.
If you’re a functioning member of society, paying your taxes, raising a family on a modest budget, with on-going costs in mind, the lower-spec Cerato with the milder engine will get you to the shops and back times 1000 with ease.
Features & pricing
For an affordable small sedan/hatch, Cerato gets a good bundle of features that doesn’t exactly spell anorexic. For the sake of simplifying that convoluted S, auto/manual and safety pack with/without malarkey, here is the maximum offering of each spec-level and its respective price. Seriously, don’t even waste your time with the pov-pack versions, and statistically, nobody buys a manual these days either, so there’s a simple solution to a problem that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
Cerato S (auto + safety pk): $23,790 driveaway:
Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, adaptive cruise, front/rear parking sensors, rearview camera w/ dynamic guidelines, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping, driver attention alert, auto-emergency braking w/ forward collision warning, pedestrian & cyclist detection, auto headlights, cloth seats, 8-inch touchscreen, DAB radio w/ Bluetooth, 16-inch steel wheels.
The fleet manager’s special.
Cerato Sport (auto + safety pk): $25,990 driveaway:
Adds: Satnav w/ live traffic, 17-inch alloys w/ (wider) 225/45 tyres, aero-design wiper blades, different cloth seats… adjustable headrests…
No, really, that’s it. Moving on?
Sport Plus - $28,040 driveaway:
Heated leather seats, smart key w/ push-button start, dual-zone climate control w/ rear vents & auto de-fog, auto-dimming rear view mirror, LED daytime running lights, auto-release boot, sliding front centre console armrest, soft-touch upper door trim, some glovebox lighting, oh, and a passenger seat-back pocket.
And last but not least…
Cerato GT- $33,000 driveaway:
1.6L turbocharged engine, 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, bigger 305mm brakes, multi-link rear suspension, 18-inch allys w/ 225/40Z Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, LED headlights & rear combination taillights, ventilated sports leather seats w/ driver dual-memory positions, flat-bottom perforated leather steering wheel, dual exhausts, 4.2-inch driver LCD display, alloy sports pedals, wireless phone charging, 8-speaker JBL premium sound, gloss exterior trims, Sunset Orange premium paint (+$520 unless you negotiate hard).
Party crasher
Before you head straight to the ANCAP website and feel outraged at the idea Kia has somehow shortchanged you on safety by looking at the Cerato’s four-star and five-star mixed ratings, hold your horses.
ANCAP’s constantly changing rating protocols have for the last few years become frustratingly confusing for the average consumer, with datestamps, old ratings higher on older cars than newer safer cars, and a scoring system which is trying to appear simplified but is anything but. Let me elaborate >>
Cerato S and Sport without the “safety pack” were rated in 2018 as only earning four stars because they did not include features such as “A more advanced AEB system capable of detecting and reacting to Vulnerable Road Users (which) is available as an option as part of Safety Pack 1 for Cerato S and Cerato Sport variants and standard on other variants” such as the GT.
Therefore ANCAP says the Cerato’s crashworthiness - how well it protects you in a proper bender - is brought down by lacking crash-prevention. The problem with this is it tells consumers older cars such as, say, the 2014 Cerato - yes, the old one - is safer with five stars six years ago than the new one is today with a superior crash performance. In 2014 “safety assist” or collision avoidance was not factored into a cars rating. Today it is, the Cerato minus the full safety pack still has some safety assist features, but is penalised despite being emphatically and measurably safer in every respect than the previous model which still holds a higher rating score.
Old Cerato: 5 stars, 95% equivalent adult occupant protection in 2014 (35.5/37), zero collision-avoidance features, optional blind-spot monitoring, lane support, daytime running lights (all of which are standard on base-model new Cerato today).
New Cerato S without safety pack: 4 stars, pass-mark at 90% current overall adult occupant protection score (34.3/38), includes:
-AEB (Interurban): 1.95 out of 3
-Lane Support System: 3.25 out of 4
In fairness to ANCAP, it is trying to encourage manufacturer brands to make features like AEB cycling and pedestrian detection available on the most popular variants on the market and it does beg the question of Kia why they didn’t just save themselves and their respective fleet buyers and private buyers the headache just absorb the $1500 into the price and have two options in Cerato S: auto or manual; both with the safety kit standard.
As the #6 car brand in Australia, one would expect a range easier to digest for consumers and not driven by accountants. Even worse is how it looks when the Sheep Shaggers across the ditch get blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise, AEB Vulnerable Road User, rear cross-traffic alert all standard.
Above all, regardless of whether you opt for the safety pack or not - but you definitely should for the sake of a paltry fifteen-hundred bucks - the Cerato is structurally very safe. Check out Cerato’s full ANCAP report here >>
Luxury or ludicrous?
Despite the somewhat lagging sales of passenger vehicles, small and medium cars still sell hand over fist in Australia. It’s not all SUV buses and Bogan-special dual-cab utes. If you’re looking for a comfy, but easily-tempered small hatch or sedan, then surely you’d look at something German, right? Dead wrong.
Cerato GT
$33k before on-road costs
Less Engine: 1.6L turbo 4-cyl, compression 10
More Power: 150kW@6000 rpm, p/w 109.5 kW/t, 265Nm@4500rpm
Greater Storage: 502L boot space
Better Legroom: 2637mm wheelbase, 1796mm wide, 1416mm height
Cheaper Fuel: 91 RON premium, 50L tank
Less Tare weight: 1370kg
Affordable Safety: Rear cross-traffic, fwd collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, low-speed AEB w/ pedestrian/cyclist detection, lane keep assistance, adaptive cruise, driver attention warning, six airbags, speed limiter.
Stress-free Parking: front/rear sensors, reversing camera w/ dynamic guidelines
Extras not standard on Audi A3: Rear fog lamps, heated electric door mirrors, power tailgate w/ remote boot release, dual exhaust, lower body kit, DAB+ digital radio, flat folding rear seats, ventilated drivers/passenger seats, driver fatigue warning.
Sorry, which one is the prestige car here?
Audi A3 40 TFSI sport
$50k before on-road costs
Engine: 2.0L turbo 4-cyl, compression 11.6
Power: 140kW@6000 rpm, p/w 96.6 kW/t, 320Nm@4200rpm
Storage: 425L boot space
Size (interior space): 2637mm wheelbase, 1796mm wide, 1416mm height
Fuel: 95 RON premium, 50L tank
Tare weight: 1450kg
Safety: Rear cross-traffic, fwd collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, low-speed AEB w/ pedestrian/cyclist detection. Seven airbags incl. knee.
Parking +$500: front/rear sensors, reversing camera
Extras not on Cerato GT: advanced satnav, auto LED headlights, CD/DVD, electric parkbrake.
Costly options:
Assistance package $1,500: rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise, “Audi pre-sense front – provides extended collision warnings up to 200km/h” (completely irrelevant above 110km/h in Australia), active lane assist, blind spot monitoring.
Comfort package: Electric front seats (heated only - no ventilation/cooling available), driver electrically adjustable lumbar and massage, convenience key (same as smart key), electric door mirrors heated, folding and auto-dimming w/ kerb-tilt.
Style package: 18-inch alloys, sports suspension. Separately, electric panoramic glass sunroof: $1,990
Technik package: Sport steering wheel, “multifunction in leather” (whatever that means), flat bottom with paddle shift, DAB+ radio.
Naming rights
The word Cerato means horn-like and is a much better returning label than the Ceed some five years ago, but there’s a second meaning to the name.
If you wind the clock back, I dunno, a hundred of million years or something, a family of prehistoric lungfish were among the earliest forms of amphibious critters trying to decide whether it wanted to swim in the sea or crawl up onto land. So much indecision, and not magic eight-ball to help decide.
A unique Australian species still around today, it’s believed it can live for a century and breathes through both a set of gills and a proper pair of lungs. This is highly appropriate because the Cerato GT in particular does try very hard to walk the line between warm performance hatch/sedan and comfy normal-people daily driver. It does a good job at both without being exceptional like, say, a Golf can, but for what you’re paying and Kia’s level of customer service, you certainly wouldn’t regret avoiding the German.
The rest of the range does a decent job of the softer, more pedestrian commode - and that’s exactly what we want it to do. It’s just a nicer place to sit than say a Corolla, but it certainly doesn’t match the Mazda 3 on refinement. AT least in my view.
You should drive both Cerato and Mazda 3 in either the sedan or hatch body you’re seeking and decide if you want to pay a bit more for the plusher Japanese car or the not-quite but slightly more affordable South Korean. Cash in-hand is usually the winner here, because it’s your cash, not mine.
Upon reflection
If you’re about to join Club Breeder and make yourself known to the maternity ward but you think that relegates you to the default ambition of coughing up for an SUV, kerb your enthusiasm. Think for a moment before you’re so sleep deprived you can’t remember your own name.
You need a safe car, with good boot space, an economical engine, with a servicing program that won’t rob Junior of their university savings, but at the same time you need comfort, ergonomics and wipe-down surfaces in all the right places. Cerato offers all of this without the frivolous stuff you actually don’t really need, like electric seats or automatic parking.
Pull your moth-to-a-flame gaze away from the pov-pack Corolla Weetbix Australia has gorged itself on for far too long and sink into something nicer for the same money which at least comes with 21st century radio.
You’re about to go onto one income, you don’t need to buy up into a Golf or get less for your coin in a Corolla. Spend it on wipes and nappies instead.
It’s easy to make a sports car and it’s not hard to make a comfortable, sensible family sedan or hatch. But both in one? Let’s find out…