Kia Cerato review and buyer’s guide
Still considering an SUV? The Kia Cerato is a solid value proposition, which could save you thousands while offering greater space, more features and build quality as good as any Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3. There’s even an affordable performance version. Let’s talk about Cerato…
The Kia Cerato should absolutely be on your shortlist if you need an affordable, well-equipped and safe - yet practical - small hatchback or sedan.
If you’re also shopping for a small SUV like Hyundai Kona, Kia Seltos, Subaru Crosstrek, a Mitsubishi ASX or a Mazda CX-3, you might want to save some money buy getting a Cerato which is strong on value by comparison, because it does the same job.
Against a Cerato you should also compare it with Hyundai i30, the Toyota Corolla, a Mazda 3 or the Subaru Impreza.
If this is you and you need the most amount of car for your cash, you need to seriously look at a Cerato before buying because wheelbase and cargo space really matter here. And this notionally ‘small car’ offers both as inherent strengths, without the slightly higher price tag. Keep scrolling for the full model range and analysis.
Download the official Kia Cerato specifications here: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/8...
If you’re not interested in driving dynamics and performance, then the rest of the Cerato range offers insane value for money. The price is still a good proposition than haggling for hundreds of dollars over a second-hand version.
Getting your hands on a Cerato is also a good news situation because dealers will not have to work very hard to get rid of small SUVs like Seltos or Kona - because they’re so popular - but you can absolutely squeeze the sales person to do you a better deal on this proven, reliable, well-built little car. Being less popular, but still in good supply, means you can find one at a better price elsewhere (and use that to leverage a better deal).
The overarching benefit to you in buying a Cerato is that it can do just as much running around and small family related work, for less money than a Seltos. The only notable compromise you’re making is in the ride height - which is all small SUVs are - a raised hatchback, more or less.
FEATURES & PRICING
The latest Kia Cerato range spans from the S, Sport, Sport+ to the range-topping GT. Let’s take a walk through these to discover which variant is best for your needs.
Starting at the tempting top-end of the range, the Cerato GT. This isn’t quite a hot hatch but damn near as good as one. Power comes from a revised but well-evolved 1.6-litre turbo that falls under Hyundai Motor Group’s latest Smartstream engine family philosophy. It produces a healthy and usable 150kW and 265Nm. Not that long ago, outright hot hatches were struggling to meet that power level. The others in the lineup use a pretty basic but durable 2.0-litre petrol, generating 112kW and 192Nm.
Kia offers a sedan and hatchback layout for versatility, but really the hatch is the one to go for. Boot space measures in at 428L compared with 502L in the sedan, but the big access cavity left by the hatch lid makes it much more convenient. It's like having a little wagon. In the sedan you have to bend down and reach in awkwardly to retrieve distant items, but at least everything is locked away where prying eyes can’t see.
The other factor here is the cost of a Cerato sedan or hatch in comparison to the additional expense of a Mazda CX-30, a small-to-midsize SUV which has less luggage space - just 317 litres, that’s 25 per cent less luggage space. It’s even worse if you compare the CX-30 to Cerato sedan - 36 per cent less in the Mazda.
It’s the same case for Seltos which has 433 litres, but is still 13 per cent less practical than the Cerato sedan, and just 1 per cent less than the hatch. Admittedly, 1 per cent is nothing and Seltos would be a viable alternative to Cerato, hatch, but you’ll pay more for an additional 30mm (3cm) of ground clearance and the same engine, but worse performance because Seltos is 7 per cent heavier.
The new Subaru Crosstrek (formerly XV) paints a similar picture: 291 litres of luggage space (47 per cent less than Cerato hatch). The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has the same issue: 405 litres (5 per cent less than Cerato hatch, or 23 per cent less than Cerato sedan). Yet an Eclipse Cross is several thousand more, when a Cerato sedan GT is ~$40K driveaway.
The CX-30 is $42K before on roads, new Crosstrek is $41,500 for a base model 2.0S and that’s before on-road costs.
Say what you want about notionally small cars being out of vogue, but they still absolutely smash small SUVs on value and family practicality. And is 3cm in ground clearance really going to make a difference to getting things in and out of the boot, or getting your arse in and out of the front seat?
Certainly there’s a case for elderly drivers in small or midsize SUVs getting in an out with much less strain on their hips, legs and lower backs, but that’s about as far as they go against the practicality edge of the humble but mighty Cerato.
Kia interiors are always well-arranged with plenty of convenient storage areas and logical positions for controls and buttons. Everything is where you’d expect it to be; it’s very intuitive. The GT comes with leather trim and racy red stitching for the doors and seats, and there’s a sports steering wheel which is a nice size and it looks appealing.
The GT is neatly dressed in sporty attire on the outside as well, donning a subtle aero kit with skirting around the body and some red pinstripes to help it stand out. It also rides on a set of unique 18-inch alloy wheels that wear very grippy (but expensive) Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres. More on the GT below.
But the Sport+ is probably where most buyers are going to land because for a few grand less you get all the necessary equipment, a bunch of nicer, more premium-feeling features, without going all the way toward the sportier ride and more flamboyant red stitching trims and highlights.
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DRIVING
Is Cerato a proper hot hatch around corners? Almost, but not on quite the same level as a VW Golf GTI or Subaru WRX kind of deal. But that’s a good thing if you don’t actually have that performance driving illness that plagues car enthusiasts.
Yes, the body remains flat and composed, with a gentle tug from the steering wheel under power around inviting curves. This is an enjoyable car to drive. And best yet, you don’t need to be going at breakneck speeds to induce smiles.
But it’s not a proper boy racer kind of car. That means it’s actually comfortable to drive normally, the suspension doesn’t pulverise you in shopping centre carparks at speed humps, and nor does highway driving leave you deaf from the roar of tyres on the road and wind hitting the mirrors. Cerato is much more civilised to drive to and from work in, but still be able to enjoy some weekend regional touring. Especially in the ‘Sport’ or ‘Sport'+’ variants.
The ride is firmer than the rest of the Cerato range due to a bespoke sports tune for the suspension system. It can be jittery and choppy on poorly-maintained country roads, for example. But everywhere else it copes just fine for a sporty hatch/sedan. The GT also uses the more comprehensive multi-link independent rear suspension system over the torsion-beam arrangement fitted on all other variants.
One aspect that will divide opinion and potentially make or break your buying decision is the gearbox. The GT uses a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Now, these types of transmissions are great for providing millisecond gear shifts when driving at higher tempos.
However, in regular conditions they tend to allow some roll-back on hills (unless there is an auto-hold function, as with the Cerato), and they can be a bit jerky when moving about in tight car parks, when you’re shifting from reverse to drive and vice-versa. This is the case with the Cerato GT. There are delays that you will need to get used to and compensate for. And generally just keep your foot on the brake at the lights instead of creeping forward and adding premature wear to the clutch. This isn’t a fault or criticism, it’s just the nuance of such a transmission.
It can be really frustrating at times, especially if you’re always in a busy rush. On the contrary, performance and efficiency are usually improved with these types of gearboxes. In fact, the GT offers an official consumption average of 6.9L/100km in the sedan and 6.8L/100km in the hatch, compared with the 7.4L/100km rating of the 2.0-litre non-turbo engine and six-speed auto, fitted to all others.
So, let’s just recap. The GT is the most powerful yet the most fuel efficient. That’s the magic of turbochargers and a dual-clutch transmission.
What about the rest of the range? Moving down, the Sport+ is perhaps the best all-rounder. It doesn’t come with the turbo engine or the compromised dual-clutch auto, but it looks very similar inside and out.
The alloy wheels are downsized from 18 to 17 inches, but a similar bodykit is applied with black trimmings for that cool contrasting look – in white, it is a fresh bit of gear. The Sport+ also features the larger 284mm rear disc brakes (up from 262mm on the S and Sport) with an electronic park brake and auto-hold functionality.
The Sport+ also comes with a heap of safety technologies, some of which are not presented on the lower-spec models. Highlights include blind-spot warning and assist, rear cross-traffic alert, autonomous emergency braking with cyclist detection, and adaptive cruise control.
All variants come with a rear-view camera with guidelines, front parking sensors, and lane-keep assist. But the Sport+ and GT add collision avoidance (autonomous intervention) for the rear-cross traffic alert and blind-spot assist systems. As such, only the Sport+ and GT have been awarded the full five-star ANCAP safety rating whereas the S and Sport have been given four stars.
Basically, the Sport+ is equipped with an additional layer of protection, just like the GT.
INTERIOR
Front passengers are greeted with the larger 10.25-inch touch-screen inside as well, reserved for the Sport, Sport+ and GT. The entry S uses an 8.0-inch unit.
Strangely, the 8.0-inch screen is capable of connecting to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wirelessly, whereas the bigger screen needs a connecting cord. The bigger screen does come with in-built sat-nav though, and the GT adds a superior eight-speaker sound system by JBL.
Dual-zone climate control is standard on the Sport+, with rear air vents for all models, fortunately, and heated front seats are on the GT only. Sport+ doesn’t get the sporty seats like the GT but they are leather-trimmed, which is great if you’re constantly wiping up messy kids.
What about the Sport? Well, now you’re moving into a company-car type of vehicle, or even Uber spec. The latest model is surprisingly well-appointed for a lower-end model, featuring that bigger touch-screen inside with digital radio and sat-nav. But, really, that’s the only motivation to step up to the Sport over the S.
The Sport does look decent on the outside with its 17-inch alloy wheels, compared with the steel, hub-capped rims on the base S. Aside from that, the Sport is essentially the same specification as the S - but there’s nothing about its interior that should leave you feeling stooged on quality or comfort.
Putting to one side the litany of plastic trims (that you’d expect on such an affordable little car) everything is where it should be, there’s a good level of gear (for the price, and the seats are more comfortable than the simplistic cabin design would have you believe.
In that case, the Sport is the pick if you’re on a tight budget. But if you can live without the bigger touch-screen and its apps, and care very little about alloy wheels, then the entry S is excellent value for money.
ENGINE
Cerato uses two engines, a 2-litre naturally aspirated (non-turbo) petrol 4-cylinder that makes 112kW of peak power in the ‘S’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’ model grades. It’s front-wheel drive, as is the second engine, the 1.6-turbo petrol engine that makes 150kW - that’s 33 per cent better performance - in the GT.
The 1.6 is the same engine powering the Kona, i30 (and its ‘N’ performance derivatives), the Kia Seltos, and it’s the combustion engine connected to the electric side of the hybrid systems in Sorento, Sportage and Santa Fe.
What makes the Cerato GT particularly inviting is that it has that old-school model grade line-up where the premium engine and transmission is packaged into the top-spec variant - as opposed to the same mild engine being shoved into every variant to save costs and offer the consumer no performance-based reason to buy higher up in the range. Remember when the SS Commodore meant you were getting the 5.0-litre V8 engine and the six-speed transmission, but the lower grades only got the 3.8-litre V6?
So you get the hot engine and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission which are a match made in heaven, for those who like to get stuck into their driving, on the top-of-the-range Cerato. And on the inside, you get the performance trimmings to match the powertrain.
But if that’s not for you, the Sport+ is very highly equipped, and certainly isn’t stripped of much, for potential buyers who need more of a suburban runabout for commuting, dropping the kids at school and getting the shopping done - but you also just want a modest vehicle that looks respectable, and not some hotted up boy-racer.
And what’s great about choosing either engine in Cerato is that you’ll consume less fuel than the equivalent Kia Seltos, Kona, Mazda CX-30 or Subaru Crosstrek. Why? Elementary.
Because in its heaviest configuration the Cerato only weighs about 1400kg, and not closer to 1500kg (using GT-Line variants with the 1.6 for argument’s sake), the Cerato returns a fuel economy combined cycle figure of 6.8 litres per 100km - not 7.4 like Seltos. That’s almost 9 per cent better fuel economy, to carry the same 5 passengers, and with the same size boot, and costing about $8500 less.
The same 50-litre fuel tank on both vehicles means the Seltos absolutely cannot use less fuel doing the same driving as a Cerato, with the same amount of payload. Speaking of which, there’s exactly 5 litres’ difference between the boot in Seltos and the one in Cerato.
SAFETY
It’s not entirely unreasonable (or unexpected) for most people to perceive smaller cars as less safe than bigger cars when it comes to safety - and that’s kind of true. In the scenario of a physical crash, where the vehicle hits another one, or an object, it is safer for the occupants to be in a bigger vehicle rather than a smaller one, primarily because there’s more vehicle to distribute the load and ‘take the impact’, so to speak.
But there is also a n equally viable argument for smaller cars being better at avoiding crashes thanks to their lighter weight (making them quicker to slow down at comparative speeds), while also having a lower centre of gravity making them better for making emergency swerve type manoeuvres in times of crisis. You could argue the merits of each angle all day, mostly because they’re based in fundamental physics.
But let’s look at how a Cerato crashes under the presumption that you didn’t have time to swerve or hit the brakes hard enough to engage the ABS.
The Kia Cerato was last tested by ANCAP back in 2019 to get a 5-star rating, but it was conditional. You can download the full Cerato technical report here >>, with tests conducted locally by ANCAP in Sydney and Melbourne. It got fairly decent scores back in 2019 when the tests weren’t quite as stringent as they are today.
It was also rated for 2024 using current protocols by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Check out the latest IIHS scorecard for Kia Cerato here >>
Some tests that were a breeze for Cerato a few years ago are no longer so easy to pass. Cerato is called the ‘Forte’ in the US market and here it is (below) undergoing the brutal ‘small overlap’ test where just 25 per cent of the vehicle’s frontal area has to resolve all the kinetic energy from the vehicle at an impact speed of 60km/h.
Hold onto your lunch:
What’s good to see about Cerato’s performance here is that the front airbags were excellently deployed and prevented the dummy driver’s head from slipping between the front steering wheel airbag and the side curtain airbag, where often the head will slide into the corner and contact the A-pillar.
The IIHS report said:
frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury…
And the Cerato’s strong passenger safety cell performed very well in gruelling circumstances:
The driver's space was maintained well in both tests, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.
The bigger, notionally ‘safer’ Toyota Camry suffered from the head-airbag-slippage issue in the same test, whereby the dummy slid between the front airbag and the curtain airbag, when it was tested in 2018.
Happily, Cerato earned perfect scores for the small overlap test back in 2019. However, when it came to the ‘moderate overlap’ test in 2022, Cerato/Forte didn’t hold up quite so well.
While the front occupant dummies recorded sufficiently low loads to earn Cerato green ‘Good’ scores, the rear occupants copped ‘poor’ protection scores for the head/neck loads, and ‘marginal’ scores for the chest, and seatbelts that didn’t hold the dummies in place correctly. The IIHS stated:
The rear passenger dummy's head approached the front seatback, which increases the risk of head injuries
This 2022 test was conducted at 40mph (64km/h) with two dummies, one male adult in the driver’s front and one 12-year-old child dummy in the rear seat, whereas the original 2019 test involved just only one larger male driver dummy. This revealed the Cerato had some lax seatbelt protection with recorded excessive loads for the head and neck. Despite kudos for the shoulder seatbelt remaining in the ideal position on the dummy’s chest:
Rear passenger dummy injury values indicate a likely risk of injury to the head or neck and a moderate risk of injury to the chest
In addition, what changed for the Cerato in the side impact test was the trolley, which from 2019 to 2022, gained about 450kg in weight, and travelled at 60km/h instead of 50km/h. That’s a significant increase in kinetic energy and momentum for the Cerato to deal with. Here’s what it looked like:
What this latest round of Cerato safety rating means is that against stricter testing expectations, Cerato doesn’t hold up as well. But does that make it unsafe or dangerous? No. It means that in modern traffic, it’s going to hold up pretty well in most crash scenarios, but against bigger vehicles doing higher speeds, it won’t quite protect as well as smaller vehicles doing lower speeds.
However, you’ll want to place a greater emphasis on not relying on the crash prevention systems (not that you should ever do that anyway) because in the IIHS evaluation for 2024 the halogen headlights tested were given a ‘fail’ mark because both high beam and low beam sucked (non-technical term). On all four curved tests:
visibility was inadequate
As a result (although it’s unclear if it was a direct cause), the pedestrian collision avoidance failed to stop in time to prevent a series of impacts at varying speeds. On only one test, the ‘Crossing child — day (12 mph)’ test, it avoided the crash, but on five others was unable to prevent the collision - although speed was significantly reduced.
But on average, in most mundane traffic, it’s going to be okay. It’s certainly safer than any older vehicle it might replace.
DRAWBACKS
This generation of Cerato was given a midlife update in 2021 but first arrived back in the middle of 2018. So it’s about six years old and will be due for some kind of model refresh in the next two years in order to see it out to about eight years of service.
At that point we should expect to see some variety in powertrain offering emerge, but that’s going to be determined by sales and costs, especially in our little Aussie market. Surely a hybrid is at least coming with the next generation Cerato because currently, Corolla is the undeniable victor in the small car sales race.
Cerato sits in a kind of middle ground between the Mazda 3 which feels premium and suave, while the i30 N-Line offers quantifiable performance with an ‘N’ sub-brand behind it that screams out to hardcore driving enthusiasts. But Cerato is kind of the jack of all trades; master of none. It lacks that character and doesn’t even get the battery-assisted green credentials that a Corolla hybrid has, and nor does it offer that unique all-wheel drive system of an Impreza.
The poverty pack ‘S’ still rocks hub caps over steel 16-inch alloys, and the interiors in model grades below the GT do feel a little strong on the recycled fake trims and plastic-on-plastic materials choice.
MAIN COMPETITORS
Subaru Impreza (hatch): $35,400 - $42,100
The only small hatchback you can have with all-wheel drive, great for anybody with steep and potentially slippery driveways, who visits or lives in regional areas with dirt roads or mountainous areas with snow or ‘black ice’ on corners.
Even just taking off from the lights in the pouring rain, and cornering on wet roads, it’s a significantly safer undertaking with AWD compared with a front-wheel drive. CVT saves fuel, Boxer engine offers low centre of gravity,
Boot size: 291 litre (back seats up), 883L (back seats down)
Ground clearance: 130mm
Wheelbase: 2.67m
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission, 8-speed
Engine: 2-litre Boxer | Fuel: 91 RON petrol (Tank: 50 litres)
Power: 115kW @ 6000 revs | Weight: 1472kg | Power-weight ratio: 80.1 kW/t
Economy: claimed combined fuel 7.5L per 100km
Hyundai i30 (hatch/sedan): $26,300 - $42,000
Good value with a generous boot, the choice of either a turbo-petrol 1.6 performance engine, hybrid, or low-spec economical 2-litre engine. Hybrid specs not cited below.
Dual-clutch transmission is ideal for sportier driving while the regular 6-speed epicyclic auto will favour more modest daily-commuter stop-start driving. But either can do a decent job of the other driving scenario. Sedan i30’s styling might be a bit aggressive for some aesthetic tastes.
Boot size: 395 litres (back seats up), 1301L (back seats down)
Ground clearance: 135-140mm
Wheelbase: 2.65m
Transmission: Auto 6-speed OR dual-clutch 7-speed
Engine: 2-litre 4-cyl OR 1.6L turbo 4-cyl
Fuel: 91 RON petrol (Tank: 51 litres)
Power: 120kW @ 6000 revs OR 150kW @ 6000 revs | Weight: 1382kg (auto), 1472kg (DCT)
Power-weight ratio: 88 kW/t (Elite 2L auto) OR 109 kW/t (N-Line hatch)
Economy: claimed combined fuel 7.1L (DCT), 7.4L (auto) per 100km
Mazda 3 (hatch/sedan):
Certainly the most attractive vehicle of the bunch with the nicest interior to sit in. Lovely cabin layout, premium-feeling materials (especially on Astina) and styling that Alfa Romeo should be reverse engineering because the Mazda 3 looks timeless, borderline classic even.
Moderately sporty 2.5 SkyActiv engine is naturally aspirated and a peach to drive if you want something much more exciting than the Corolla and Impreza without going as aggressive as the turbo 1.6 engine in the i30 N-line. But either engine, with the same transmission, is going to make daily driving in mundane traffic and weather a much nicer routine.
Boot size: 295 litres (back seats up)/ 444L (sedan)
Ground clearance: 150mm
Wheelbase: 2.72m
Transmission: Epicyclic auto 6-speed
Engine: 2.0L aspirated 4-cyl OR 2.5L 4-cyl turbo | Fuel: 91 RON (Tank: 51 litres)
Power: 114kW @ 6200 revs OR 139kW @ 6000 revs | Weight: 1383kg (G25 Astina hatch)
Power-weight ratio: 103 kW/t (G25 Astina hatch)
Economy: claimed combined fuel 6.6L (2.5L), 5.9L (2L) per 100km
Toyota Corolla (hatch/sedan):
The hatch or sedan you buy if you don’t want to think too hard about which one to buy - that’s not a criticism. Corolla is a very good little car and has more than proven its chops. The multi-point engine (prioritises fuel economy) and CVT transmission aren’t particularly exciting to drive, and that’s okay because not everybody wants an interesting car; some just want a tool for the task. Offered in front-wheel drive only, it goes and steers okay, but is a bit numb and the cabin is bit boring, but again - that’s okay.
Corolla hybrid has taken the hybrid concept to a wider consumer audience and while it will struggle to save you money on fuel long-term due to the higher overall retail cost, it does reduce emissions during take-off by using the kinetic energy captured during braking and coasting that would’ve otherwise been wasted.
Boot size: 333 litres (back seats up)/ 470L (sedan)
Ground clearance: 130mm
Wheelbase: 2.64m
Transmission: Epicyclic auto 6-speed
Engine: 1.8L hybrid 4-cyl OR 2.0L 4-cyl | Fuel: 91 RON (Tank: 43L (hybrid), 50 litres (combustion-only))
Power: 103kW OR 126kW | Weight: 1430kg (hybrid), 1410kg (combustion)
Power-weight ratio: 75 kW/t (ZR hybrid hatch), 72 kW/t (ZR hybrid hatch)
Economy: claimed combined fuel 3.9L (hybrid), 5.9L (combustion) per 100km
CONCLUSION
Overall, the Kia Cerato offers one of the biggest cabins of its class, very good driving dynamics for its class, and all are backed by Kia’s class-leading seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.
If you never visit a single dirt road and spend close to zero per cent of your life camping or touring the regions, then a front-wheel drive Kia Cerato is absolutely going to fit the bill as a modest family car that sips fuel, takes a bunch of stuff in the boot and happily takes a couple of child restraints in the back with a pair of grown-ups in the front.
For about 36 grand, you can have all the benefits of a modern, affordable and practical SUV, with all the modesty of a hatchback or sedan.
Still considering an SUV? The Kia Cerato is a solid value proposition, which could save you thousands while offering greater space, more features and build quality as good as any Toyota Corolla or Mazda 3. There’s even an affordable performance version. Let’s talk about Cerato…