Updated Kia Cerato: Key changes explained

The Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2018 has brought us many new products that we’ve been waiting to get here in Malaysia. Once such car is the Kia Cerato. Kia put up the new Cerato on display at this KLIMS 2018. The second generation of this car has already seen the light of the day back in Jan 2018 at the 2018 Detroit Motor Show. So, what key changes Kia has implemented in the new Cerato to make it more appealing for the Malaysians, let’s find out.

Styling

In terms of looks, we get to see a few changes in the new Cerato. At the front, we’ve got Kia’s Tiger Nose grille with brand’s logo sitting above it in the middle. On either side of this grille are the new headlamps that are sleeker than before. They also feature a four-point LED daytime running lights (DRL) setup that is located inside the headlamp housing and really looks very cool.

Kia has placed the turn indicators at the side of the front bumper just below the headlamps. And the fog lights are also placed on the lower air intake. Maybe these are unusual places for these elements, but hey, they look pretty nice and we’re sure they’d perform well, too.

The side profile of the car is a very handsome courtesy to a long low hood and the striking 16-inch five-spoke alloy wheels that accommodate 205/55 profile tyres. The rear end is as gorgeous as always with the two-piece combination LED tail lights. The interesting thing here is the placement of the reverse lights and rear fog lamps on the bumper separately from the tail light cluster. This is similar to the style at the front.

Interior

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the interior of the new Kia Cerato at the KLIMS 2018, so we don’t exactly know what new changes have been implemented, or whether there have been any changes made or not. However, if we look at the US-spec model, we can get an idea of what to expect from the interior of the new Cerato.

It is being speculated that there would be a large touchscreen to take care of the entertainment needs and handle navigation duties. We are also expecting to see a new steering wheel with mounted controls. Kia might also update the instrument cluster. The interior would feature an all-black theme to keep things sporty.

The new Cerato specs display large dimensions when compared to the previous model. It measures 4,640mm in length, 1,798mm in width, and 1,440mm in height. This has helped Kia to improve the cabin space. There is more legroom than before, and the boot space has also been increased to 428 litres.

Engine

Just like the interior, Kia has not revealed any details regarding the engine of the new Cerato. The previous model used to run on a 1.6-litre engine with 128 hp. It is being expected that Kia might bring in a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine that we have seen in the US-spec model for our country. This engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. We could also get to see Kia’s new Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT).

So, by showcasing the new Cerato at the KLIMS 2018, Kia has given us hopes that it is going to launch this car in Malaysia pretty soon. However, there are no official dates revealed by the company. We don’t have any details about the Kia Cerato price as well. The previous model had a tag of RM 76,568. Let’s see when do we get to see Cerato in the showrooms.