Kia Cerato S 2016 Review

Kia Cerato S
Road Test

If you’re in the market for a small car in Australia then you’re in luck as your list of quality choices is extensive. The Kia Cerato has been a mid-pack player for a while but has recently cracked a spot in the top-five small car sellers behind established favourites, the Hyundai i30, Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 and Volkswagen Golf. As the Holden Cruze drives into the distance, the Cerato is sure to hold onto its fifth place spot for the year. Does it have what it takes to climb even further?

Kia has updated its Cerato line-up to include a single 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The range is available in four trim levels – S, S Premium, Si and SLi –each available as a five-door hatch or four-door sedan.

Kia is clearly serious about continuing its strong sales performance for the Cerato as the entry model hatch S we tested has been introduced with a compelling sub-$20K drive-away price including free automatic transmission.

It’s a magic price point which is sure to create genuine purchase interest in the Cerato. After all, in this hyper-competitive segment small car buyers are looking for the best value for money offerings.

The Kia Cerato S hatch has some good features at that price including six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, keyless entry and Bluetooth audio streaming. While a reversing camera is not standard, the test vehicle was equipped with a $500 option pack which adds a rear view camera, Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay later this year) and dusk-sensing headlights.

Although the Cerato S is the entry model, the cabin certainly doesn’t feel cheap. Kia has used a good combination of materials and metallic trims which are all well-finished to give the Kia a stylish feel. As with all Kia cabins, all controls are easy to use and clearly labelled, so everything is quick to find and operate.

While there’s no leather-appointed trim available in the S models, the plain yet functional black cloth trim is of high quality and the seats are comfortable and easy to adjust in the front.

Storage options are generous and well thought out with deep pockets in the front doors and a total of four cup and four bottle holders throughout the vehicle.

Rear passenger accommodation is quite spacious for a small car, with headroom adequate for a six-foot-tall passenger.

The 60:40 rear seat split adds extra flexibility to the cabin, taking the boot capacity from 385 litres with seats up to 657 with the rear seats folded flat. The hatch also offers a handy storage area to stop small items from rolling around in the boot.

The inclusion of front and rear parking sensors and optional reversing camera add to its flexibility and will afford new or less confident drivers more surety when parking or manoeuvring in tight spots.

More accomplished drivers will appreciate the steps that Kia has taken to make the Cerato perform on Australian roads.

Kia places much focus on its localisation work for cars sold in Australia, and for good reason. Australian road conditions are quite unique and a suspension setting developed for vehicles with high quality tarmac may suit some countries well, but can prove themselves less than ideal for Australia.

When a car company invests the time and money to address our uniqueness, it really pays off. A case in point is the composed road handling evidenced in the new Cerato. Dedicated Australia suspension settings for the updated model include revised front springs and upgraded dampers that deliver a smooth driving experience, even on pitted road surfaces.

While the car is not a dynamic sports model, its handling has clearly been tweaked to appeal to drivers who enjoy getting behind the wheel as it is confident on twisty roads and can be pushed into corners if you feel like it.

Unfortunately, where the ride and handling really delivers on country roads, it is let down a little by the Cerato’s handling on freeways where its electric steering calibration shows up a few deficiencies. Steering is vague on centre so you’ll be making frequent tiny inputs to the steering which are exacerbated exponentially in strong cross winds. Initially I felt that the hatch may be light on the road and that the wind was particularly strong, yet the same sensation also presented in the sedan, tested a week later.

Another failing of the Cerato was its ineffective cruise control which copes perfectly on flat roads, but came unstuck on hills, particularly declines. I found the Cerato washed a fair bit of speed off on inclines yet accelerated on the decline taking the car well beyond the set speed to require some urgent application of the brake pedal.

The multipoint 2.0-litre petrol engine is a shade down on power from the outgoing direct injected Cerato model (112 to 129kW) but for most buyers this will not be of too much concern, given the Cerato is not a performance model. Acceleration through the six-speed automatic transmission is adequate but not swift and if anything, the transmission seems to not quite keep pace with the speed of the engine.

But rather than speedy performance, the Kia Cerato’s engine and transmission package is about comfort and fuel efficiency and encouragingly, it appears as though it is entirely possible in everyday driving, to get close to the claimed combined fuel usage of 7.1L/100km.

Over the 600 kilometres travelled in the Cerato S – with a good mix of country roads, urban driving and freeway cruising – its trip computer registered fuel usage of 7.8L with no attempt to moderate driving habits or routes.

Small car buyers value fuel economy, features, great value for money and safety as some of the most important aspects of their car purchase, and the Kia Cerato delivers on a lot of those expectations.

It may not have the caché of the Volkswagen Golf or be as well recognised as the Mazda 3 or Toyota Corolla, but its price and value for money stack up well.

Add in Kia’s outstanding seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and that free automatic transmission drive-away offer, and Cerato is sure to have its top-five small car sales spot secured by the end of the year.

2016 Kia Cerato S pricing and specifications:
Price: $20,490 (as tested, drive-away)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 112kW/192Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 169g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Holden Cruze Holden Cruze Equipe (from $22,090 plus ORCs)
>> Hyundai Elantra Hyundai i30 (from $18,990 driveaway)
>> Honda Civic (from $20,490 plus ORCs)