Kia Cerato Sport+ Sedan 2022 Review

The 2022 Kia Cerato Sport+ sedan as tested here starts at $31,140 plus on-road costs, with the hatchback version carrying the same sticker price.

By comparison, the entry-level Cerato S starts at $25,990 plus ORCs, and the Sport opens at $28,090 plus ORCs before we hit Sport+, although both lower-tier models require an extra $1000 outlay to bring them up to scratch in terms of safety equipment (more on that later).

The turbo Cerato GT sits at the top of the range, starting at $35,790 plus ORCs.

The Sport+ sedan is positioned close to four-door rivals such as the Hyundai i30 Elite (from $31,690), Toyota Corolla SX Hybrid (from $30,795) and Mazda3 G20 Touring auto (from $31,590).

Indeed, apart from Corolla’s petrol-electric advantage, there’s very little separating this group in terms of size, pricing, equipment and capabilities.

But as this isn’t a comparo, let’s look specifically at the recently-updated Kia Cerato Sport+ and see what it has to offer.

Without pretending the small Korean sedan is Mazda-elegant in terms of cabin presentation, there’s enough soft-touch surfacing, real stitched leather and shiny burnished trim to give the Cerato Sport+ a verging-on-quality air.

Along with a solid list of standard equipment, this makes passengers in the high-spec Cerato feel comfortable and entertained.

Piquing potential buyer interest is the tablet-style 10.25-inch screen at dash centre, the standard sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, electronic park brake, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity – sadly without wireless charging – and push-button start.

Other nice touches in the Cerato Sport+ include the air venting to the back-seat passengers (now common across all Cerato models), an electrochromatic rear-view mirror, auto-folding external mirrors and heated, manually-adjusted front seats.

Safety is a big deal here with the 2022 Kia Cerato Sport+.

The familiar list of electronic safety aids include high- and low-speed forward autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – and low-speed AEB in reverse – as well as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, automatic headlight dipping and adaptive cruise control.

The Sport+ also gains blind spot and rear cross traffic collision assistance, and a safe exit warning for passengers about to leave the car.

At this level, the Kia Cerato carries a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating. However, if you’re interested in lower-spec models, these have an inferior four-star rating owing to standard safety tech omissions that are lumped into a $1000 package.

In terms of ‘passive’ safety features, all Kia Cerato models are fitted with dual front airbags, front occupant side airbags and side curtain airbags front and rear.

With the exception of the 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo GT hatch and sedan (from $35,790), all models in the 2022 Kia Cerato range – including the Sport+ on test here – use a 2.0-litre normally-aspirated four-cylinder engine that produces 112kW of power and 192Nm of torque.

And where the GT drives through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the non-turbo models use the long-familiar conventional six-speed auto.

The previously-available six-speed manual gearbox has been dropped.

Normally you’d expect a natural-breathing 2.0-litre engine to be less than impressive in a 1320kg tare weight small car – the booted sedan tested here is fractionally lighter than its hatchback equivalent – but the Kia Cerato Sport+ feels surprisingly willing.

Its tendency to harshness and top-end rowdiness is mitigated by a noticeable serve of torque which helps its responsiveness and works nicely with the auto transmission.

The Cerato Sport+ sedan acquits itself nicely in off-the-mark acceleration, or when pulling out to pass on the open road.

There’s a price for that spritely urge: higher fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Compared with the bulk of its competitors the Kia Cerato drinks more fuel and emits more CO2. The official consumption claim, on 91 RON unleaded, is 7.4L/100km, which exceeds similarly-powered 2.0-litre competitors such as the Mazda3 (6.1L/100km).

To the Cerato’s credit though, our real-world fuel consumption experience at least wasn’t far removed from the claimed figures. The recorded average was 8.0L/100km over a week’s driving in mixed conditions.

The six-speed auto is pretty unobtrusive. It downshifts smoothly at the appropriate moments without getting too eager, or ‘hunting’ between gears on climbs.

We’re accustomed to the locally-influenced ride and handling qualities of Hyundai/Kia product, and the 2022 Kia Cerato Sport+, which has been worked over to improve the ride quality, delivers.

The steering is well-weighted, quite quickly-geared at 2.4 turns lock-to-lock (for a tight 10.6m turning circle) and, with decent amounts of grip provided by the 17-inch wheels wrapped in 225/45 R17 rubber, is lively and grippy enough on the road to justify its Sport+ title.

It’s not a GT, but it’s a neat halfway house between the turbocharged Cerato hotshot and its regular-spec stablemates.

The adoption of larger 284mm rear disc brakes (rather than 262mm on lesser models) on the Sport+ helps provide an added degree of surety as well.

As alluded to earlier, the Kia Cerato, even in Sport+ form, doesn’t quite reach the heady heights of a Mazda3 in terms of in-cabin finesse. But it does have a presence.

It’s well-served for legroom, headroom and shoulder space – the former noticeably more so than the Mazda3 – and the trim is tidy enough with leather seats, some soft-touch vinyl here and there, contrasting stitching on seats, doors and dash and the aforementioned venting to the back seats.

The muted all-grey interior of the review car still looked a little monotone though. And the sound system is pretty basic, limited to six speakers and somewhat lacking in depth and clarity.

Aided by the upsized centre screen, learning to operate the control systems is quickly done and not too complex.

The adaptive cruise control and audio systems are accessed by easy-to-find steering wheel rocker-style switches and, while Apple CarPlay/Android Auto is not wireless, connecting a mobile phone to Bluetooth is simple and quick.

At 502 litres, the Cerato sedan’s boot is among the largest in class and (assisted by a space-saver spare under the floor) it’s deep, cleanly-shaped and accessed from inside by 60/40-split folding rear backrests with boot-mounted releases.

Something of a surprise is that, despite its elevated status, the Cerato Sport+ sedan makes do with halogen headlights – although they are at least self-dipping.

Many things contribute to the popularity of the 2022 Kia Cerato in the small-car segment.

Although it may lack some of the cabin finesse of a Mazda3 – carsales’ reigning Best Small Car – the Kia Cerato Sport+ presents with clean, relatively unadorned styling, is safe, well-packaged, spacious and comfortable for at least four full-size adult passengers.

And Kia has nailed what people want from a small car in terms of handling, performance, versatility and around-town flexibility.

Equally priced as a sedan or hatchback, the Kia Cerato Sport+ sedan upholds the company’s traditional value-for-money ethos and its seven-year warranty is among the best in the business.

Yep, there are reasons for the Kia Cerato being one of the most popular choices in this category, and it doesn’t involve rocket science to figure out what they are.

How much does the 2022 Kia Cerato Sport+ sedan cost?
Price: $31,140 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 112kW/192Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 173g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)