Kia is considered to be an affordable premium brand in the Malaysian market and boasts a great quality of fit and finish. Right from the facelift, that came towards the end of 2016, the Cerato has been a great name in the sedan space.

In terms of the price, it is placed over the plethora of sedans, like the Honda City, but below the Civic and the Corolla. However, when it comes to the features, the value is immense and could compete with any of its higher competitors.

Thinking of buying a Kia Cerato? Here are five things that you need to know about the sedan before you buy it.

1. Styling

 

The Kia Cerato is a classic looking car and has a very luxurious appearance. The sleek swept back headlamps have HID projector units on them along with graciously carved DRLs. The rear has LED lights that split at the boot lid.

The front grille has seen a slight change over the previous model. The air-intake grille is now broader but slimmer than it was before. The fog lamps’ design has been made more streamline to match the contemporary style besides being placed at the perfect spot of the lower bumper lip.

It rides on 17-inch alloy wheels which are perfectly sculpted to look sporty and attractive.

2. Comfort

The Kia Cerato has a very comfortable cabin. The advanced climate system makes sure that occupants are comfortable throughout the journey. The dual-zone automatic climate control helps in maintaining the best temperature. The steering wheel is heated and the seats have warmers, all of which offer comfort during the cold winter days. The driver’s seat is ventilated so, that he/she can is kept cool even when the temperature outside rises alarmingly.

3. Dashboard

The dashboard of the Kia Cerato is very attractive. The way all of the things are aligned and placed is commendable. The centre console has an attractive layout of two analogue dials with a small digital display in the centre. There is also an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system on the dashboard that routes the view of the rearview camera and navigation.

The switch gears have a new layout and are finished in a fine quality material. The air conditioning vents have newly-added faux carbon fibre inserts around. However, unlike in some other markets, the Malaysian market does not get the sporty flat-bottom steering wheel.

4. Safety

The Kia Cerato has a very safe cabin and is loaded with a number of the safety features that just cannot be missed. Inside the cabin, there are six airbags, including for the dual front, side and curtain airbags. Moreover, as for the driver’s assistance, there is Hill-start Assist Control and parking sensors at both the front and rear. There is an additional ESC (electronic stability control) as well. However, the base 1.6-litre engine variant does not have the cruise control given as standard.

5. Performance

The Kia Cerato is powered by a 1.6-litre and a 2.0-litre engine which is extremely fine-tuned and apt for both city roads and highways. The smaller engine makes 130 PS of power and 157 Nm of torque. However, it is the bigger engine variant that manages to make a huge power and take on the likes of the bigger competitors.

The 2.0-litre Nu MPI motor is capable of making a maximum power of 161 PS and 194 Nm of torque and is extremely responsive on the throttle.

Conclusion

The KIA Cerato is one of the best available sedans at the price tag owing to the nicely-stacked up features and the classy design. It manages to do extremely well to topple the top end variant of the Honda City and catch on with the Civic.

Having said that, the features and power production is very much in line with the bigger cars despite having a marginally smaller price ask. Hence, looking at the value-for-money context, the Cerato is, indeed, rated very high.