Kia Cerato Extra LE 2012 Review

Kia has made large strides into the passenger car market in the past few years and the Cerato was one of the first 'new generation' cars that got the ball rolling for the Korean company.

Arriving in Australia in early 2009 in sedan form, and a year later as a hatch, the Kia small car is now over three years old and the big 'K' is currently peddling the Cerato Extra LE hatch to stoke a bit of interest in the vehicle.

The Cerato Extra LE (Limited Edition) adds non-standard items like 17-inch alloy wheels and front fog lamps, which give the hatchback a sporty appeal, while the fitment of rear parking sensors and Bluetooth telephone and audio streaming make driving, parking and living with the car just a little bit easier.

Another bonus for Cerato Extra LE is a leather steering wheel and gear shift knob, which might sound trivial but actually add a pleasant tactility to proceedings. After all, these two touch points are where you hands will spend the most time.

The cabin is nicely dressed and makes a positive first impression; glossy piano black accents around the stereo and gear lever add a bit of class while the black/red/white dials are sporty, as is the red backlit tone of the centre console.

Front seats have ample contouring, though the cushions were a little soft in my opinion. Comfortable yes, but will they stand the test of time?

By and large Cerato hatch is a pleasant place to spend time. Electric windows and mirrors are easy to use, the stereo isn't too shabby and there's also USB and auxiliary audio input ports, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, plus cruise control.

Little things like the way the doors automatically lock when you start moving, then unlock when you shift the gear lever into 'P' when stopped also impressed.

Boot space is good at 415 litres, enough room for a several body boards should a once-a-year wave storm bear down on your local surf beach.

Priced at $20,990 drive away for the manual, we tested the six-speed auto version which adds another $2000 to the list price. And apart from the abovementioned niceties bestowed upon the Extra LE, not much has changed with the Cerato hatch since it arrived in early 2010.

Don't misconstrue that observation however, because the car remains competitive against much newer rivals and has enough character to take the tedium out of the daily drive.

The steering is light and doesn't deliver much feedback, but the chassis is lively enough. The suspension us compliant and, in tandem with the sporty wheel/tyre combo, means Cerato hatch can hustle through corners at a brisk pace.

Driven on some very twisty coastal roads, the Kia Cerato LE hatch was fun at a medium pace but at full tilt it felt a little unbalanced and tended to understeer.

Simply put, it's not as dynamic as some of the European offerings in the small hatch segment, such as the Golf, and is still a generation away from matching similarly-sized Japanese hatches.

The electronic stability control was another issue. To be blunt it's overzealous and intrusive. It kicks in before the car even begins to show any signs of losing traction and overstays its welcome, retarding torque for at least a couple of seconds after the initial instigation. This is great on a wet freeway, but during a spirited drive on dry country road is not so endearing.

Ultimately it can ruin a fun drive (and indeed did) and this issue is not isolated to Cerato. The heavy-handed stability control affects a number of Kia’s vehicles and was recently experienced in the Sportage during our medium SUV mega-test. If you’re so inclined, stability control can be toggled off.

Though the car has six airbags, Cerato scores a four-star ANCAP safety rating.

Another oddity was the speedo, which was out by 6km/h. It's probably an isolated case but it explains being constantly tail-gated on the highway... Perhaps it also goes some way to explaining the above average fuel economy, which was 8.2L/100km at the end of the roughly 400km test. The claimed fuel consumption was 7.7L/100km but that figure is comparatively good for an automatic petrol-powered hatchback.

While Cerato isn't the sharpest steer in the small car category, what it lacks in dynamism is makes up for in comfort. Ride quality is good -- surprisingly so considering the LE hatch rides on 17-inch alloy wheels shod with sporty looking low profile tyres.

Some of the nastier ruts encountered on our test loop can cause test cars to bang and crash when passing over them, but the Cerato had enough compliance to reduce their impact to only a slight dip. Combined with the soft seat cushions you're looking at a veritable lazy-boy on wheels.

As a daily driver the 1328kg Kia Cerato hatch is hard to fault. Comfortable and easy to steer, with good rearward vision and intuitive controls, the little Kia has loads of zing.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol unit generates 115kW/194Nm and realises the benchmark 0-100km/h dash in 9.8 seconds. But nail the throttle and the seat-of-the-pants rush makes it feel faster than Kia's claim. For the record, it has a top whack of 190km/h.

Kia's Theta II four-cylinder engine is not as refined as most of its rivals' but it is torquey and responsive. Compared to the Holden Cruze 1.4 turbo it's got more go, but isn't as refined. Indeed, the Cerato is showing its age in terms of drivetrain, and a little more noise suppression material would help. As a comparison, the latest i30 from sister brand Hyundai has leapt ahead in terms of NVH.

The six-speed gearbox is a neat piece of kit, possibly one of the best in its class. It's reactive to changes in driving style and can be efficient too, though the throttle was a over-sensitive during standing starts. On the open road the engine ticks over at 2000rpm in sixth gear at 100km/h so its possible to get good highway economy from the 52 litre fuel tank.

You get a fair bit of car for your $23K with the Kia Cerato LE hatch. Lots of interior room, one of the biggest boots in its class, a powerful engine and tidy gearbox combo, loads of comfort and convenience features, and Kia's unlimited kilometre, five-year warranty.

Compared to similarly priced models the Kia Cerato LE gets a lot more equipment, most of which would normally add a few thousand bucks to the sticker price. While the car doesn't push the envelope in any one respect, it does stuff that envelope with a cheerful drive.

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