Deal hunter: Kia Cerato Sport for less

Kia already offers the equal-longest factory warranty in the Australian auto industry (seven years/unlimited km), but it’s also extremely fond of a good drive-away deal.

One example is the offer currently available for the 2023 Kia Cerato Sport automatic, the second-tier variant within Kia’s small-car portfolio.

Usually retailing for $28,390 plus on-road costs, the Kia Cerato Sport is now available from a very attractive $29,890 drive-away, marking a saving in some states of more than $2300.

Rolling on 17-inch wheels as standard and fitted as standard with sat-nav, smartphone mirroring, cruise control, leather steering wheel, a six-speaker sound system and 15,000km service intervals, the Sport is reasonably well-equipped and offers more passenger and cargo room than almost any of its rivals.

Factor in a crisp locally-tuned ride/handling package and leading aftersales care, and it’s an attractive proposition made even more tempting when there’s a couple of grand to be saved.

But if you’re one of most Aussies that now prefer an SUV or dual-cab 4x4 ute over a traditional passenger vehicle, then MG and Isuzu Ute have their own special offers.

MG actually matches Kia’s warranty policy and has long offered many of its cars with a complimentary gift, just to help sweeten the deal.

The 2023 MG HS Vibe automatic is one such vehicle being offered with a free gift – if its $31,990 drive-away price tag and seven-year/unlimited km warranty wasn’t tempting enough.

Meantime Isuzu Ute, which offers a six-year/150,000km warranty, has just slashed close to 10-grand off its top-spec D-MAX.

Even with the MY23 updates we detailed previously, the flagship 2023 Isuzu D-MAX X-TERRAIN 4x4 automatic is still being offered from $64,990 drive-away.

That circa-$10,000 saving follows the axing of statutory on-road costs, as well as a discount off the usual $67,500 sticker price. No wonder the X-TERRAIN has a roughly six-month wait list…