Kia Cerato

Overview

The Kia Cerato is much like a king among its fellow peers, the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic. The upcoming model (2019 Cerato) was displayed at the Detroit Motor Show in North America and right since then, the Stinger-inspired design was evident. The company highlighted that this new model would be driven by advanced drivers’ assistance, comfort, and fuel efficiency.

The latest third generation of the car was spotted for the first time in the Malaysian market in January 2018 and was wrapped under heavy camouflage. It is expected to hit the showrooms by the end of the year or latest by the beginning of 2019. This new model would carry the company’s legacy of offering luxurious cars at competitive prices.

Interior & Features

The cabin of the KIA Cerato is pretty comfortable and wonderfully likeable. A complete black colour tone prevails all across the cabin. The company has designed the car to be relaxing for every passenger on both long and short trips. The leather upholstery is well ventilated (front seats only) and there is a sunroof too.

The steering wheel is heated, along with seat warmers, so that cold winter days aren’t difficult for any of the occupants. There is an automatic climate control, which keeps the temperature well maintained. There is also an automatic defogger on the windscreen which detects vapour condensation and activates automatically.

The three-spoke steering wheel has a lot of control buttons, including hands-free smartphone call receive and disconnect buttons. There are two big analogue dials on the centre console for the speedo and the tacho, along with a small digital MID display.

Exterior

The Kia Cerato is considered to be a wonderfully designed car and manages to look as good as the new Honda Civic. However, the current generation of the Cerato isn’t sporty on the aesthetics but looks more like a luxuriously built car.

The Cerato comes with standard 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels with 215-section tyres. The sleek front section and the sharp rear looks extremely proportionate to the 880 and 980 (mm) front and rear overhangs respectively.

On the first impression, the car looks like a bigger and more civilised version of the untamed Honda Civic at the first impression and has wider tracks and a lower stance. However, having said that, the car is said to be missing the modern punch and looks more like a corporate car.

Ride & Handling

The Kia Cerato feels extremely powerful, much more than what the spec sheet would suggest. As the torque is divided intelligently on lower revs and throttle, the car moves as smooth as an executive. However, upon pitching the throttle further and getting the engine to rev higher than the 2,000 RPM mark, the torque starts showing its true colours.

The acceleration of the sedan is seriously impressive. However, the lower engine variant does not seem to be quite apt for higher driving on a consistent basis as it lacks the extra punch as the 2.0-litre models.

Both the engine variants have a very sweet and impressive feel even after the tachometer shows the red line and the sound that fills the cabin isn’t very annoying. However, the engine drone sound from the bigger engine is any day better than the Gamma engine. For the people who are regular on the city driving, the 1.6-litre variant turns out to be the best. But that said, it can still pull off the occasional highway endings.

Speaking of the fuel efficiency, the actual Cerato comes nowhere near to what the company claims. But if you look at it the other way, the mileage is quite at par with its competitors as on an average, the 1.6-litre version can offer a little over the 14.5 kmpl while the 2.0-litre would happily clock 14 kmpl. Plus, if you ride the car more economically, you can extract a few extra kilometres on the same fuel.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Kia Cerato excels with its under-the-hood mechanism. There are two engine options on offer with the smaller one being more popular. The smaller 1.6-litre Gamma, four-cylinder engine makes 130 PS of maximum power at 6,300 rpm and 157 Nm of peak torque at 4,850 rpm.

The bigger 2.0-litre motor is an NU in-line four-cylinder unit which can churn out 152 PS of peak power at 6,200 rpm and 192 Nm of maximum torque at 4,000 rpm. As for the transmission, there is a 6-speed automatic gearbox unit in both the variants.

Braking & Safety

The Kia Cerato has disc brakes for all the wheels. ABS (anti-lock braking system), EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) and brake assist are added to the package too. There are also certain other driver’s assistance features which are quite mandatory for a car of this calibre. There is a vehicle stability steering assist which takes care of the over or under-steering of the car in sharp bends.

Plus, the hill start assist makes sure that the car does not roll back when the driver releases the brakes on an incline. Other such features include an electronic stability control and traction control, both of which are indispensable for a car in this price range.

There are a total of six airbags in the Cerato, which include airbags on the front, sides and curtains. There is a rear-view camera too, which assists while getting the car aligned on the parking lot.

Verdict

The Kia Cerato is well recognised for being a value-for-money pack for the price that it is sold for. It is a clear competitor to the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla Altis in the Malaysian market. When you take into account the features in the bigger 2.0-litre variant, the Corolla and Civic seem to be modest in the comparison.

Plus, on the comfort quotient, the KIA manages to give the competitors, a run for their money. However, the handling of the car could have been better and we feel that the Ford Focus manages to tip over.