Kia Cerato

Overview

With the Cerato, Kia is trying to lure those entry-level sedan buyers who aspire to own their second car after upgrading from a basic small hatchback. With a curvy design language and big-car appeal, the Kia Cerato offers pure sedan experience at a very affordable price point. The Kia Cerato is being offered in a single variant with a standard petrol automatic powertrain.

Interior & Features

The interior cabin of the Kia Cerato misses out on the magic of the classy styling of the exterior, as the overall design feels a bit old and belongs to a decade-old car. The V-themed steering wheel is huge and comes with a cluster of audio, bluetooth and cruise controls on it. What otherwise feels more modern is the comprehensive instrument console, with a detailed MID screen in between.

The rest of the dashboard has a decent rounded theme, which though looks a bit old school. This becomes even stronger with a dated 2-DIN music system with a coloured screen and conventionally looking controls for automatic climate control. The transmission tunnel, however, looks wide and premium with a nice and good to hold gear lever.

Where the Kia Cerato makes up for a rather lacklustre cabin is the sense of space and comfort inside the cabin, which really is something which can be termed as segment best. Also, while the Cerato needs the presence of few more comfort and convenience features, it still packs in some noteworthy goodies like a sunroof, auto cruise control, handsfree tailgate, and electrically adjustable driver’s seat.

Exterior

For its category, the Kia Cerato looks a bit bigger and more premium, thanks to segment-best dimensions and quality levels which feel from one segment above.

Taking inspiration from Kia’s bigger sedans, the Cerato looks quite wide with the elongated and large traditional tiger-nose grille, the adjacent to which are placed wing-like headlamps with projector units and upswept daytime running LEDs within them. The unique placement of fog lamps with faux air vents beside them completes the front fascia.

The side profile of the Kia Cerato looks quite long and sleek with a rounded roofline giving it a coupe-like stance. Apart from the machined alloy wheels, there is no other strong aspect, but still, it manages to look smart and stylish. The rear profile of the Kia Cerato looks big and bulky, and that’s all down to the large curvy tail lamps with LED inserts and high loading lip.

All in all, the Kia Cerato manages to look smart and stylish without going too overboard, with the word classy written all over it.

Ride & Handling

The Kia Cerato might not be dynamically rich when it comes to steering and suspension balance, but then the softer tune up for the suspension, which is a combination of Macpherson struts with dual path strut insulator at front and coupled torsion beam axle at the rear, makes it a comfortable ride. The seats offer good cushioning, especially that of the rear bench. The softer steering setup needs better weight balance at higher speeds, though.

Engine & Fuel Consumption

The Kia Cerato currently has only one powertrain on offer, which is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. With a maximum power output rated at 130 PS and a peak torque output of 157 Nm, the engine feels nice in terms of power delivery and refinement. 

Braking & Safety

For an entry-level sedan, the Kia Cerato is decently equipped with safety features like front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, front and rear parking sensors, reverse camera, hill start assist and hill descent control and traction control.

Verdict

The Kia Cerato might not be the most modern and contemporary option in the sedan segment right now, but it is the understated elegance of this car which brings attention towards it. It surely has got that much needed big car appeal in the way it looks and drives, save for the fact that it now needs some substantial upgrades to the interior cabin and list of comfort and convenience features inside.