Hyundai i30 sedan vs Kia Cerato sedan 2024 Comparison

The sedan versions of the 2024 Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato present themselves as strong alternatives to their popular hatch siblings, offering more boot space and a raft of other major changes.

We’ve already compared the two Korean small cars in five-door hatchback guise, so now it’s time to dig deep into the four-door sedans – based on the auto-equipped entry-level Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato S models – to help you choose between the two.

No. The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan (elite pictured) with automatic transmission has a list price of $29,000 plus on-road costs, against the Kia Cerato S sedan auto at $27,060 plus ORCs.

That means the Cerato S sedan is the same list price as the hatch version, whereas the i30 sedan costs $2000 more than the i30 hatch.

Both are front-wheel drive with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the Kia with more power and torque (112kW/192Nm) than the Hyundai (110kW/180Nm).

For the price difference, the Kia has front parking sensors, high-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, as well as lane keep assist with passive steering that the Hyundai doesn’t have as standard.

The i30 sedan comes with alloy wheels – including its spare wheel – and has cloth seats with leather-look inserts. That gives it an edge over the Cerato S sedan, which has steel wheels and cloth seats.

The i30 also has adaptive cruise control the Cerato S lacks. You have to pay an extra $1000 for a Safety Pack with the Cerato S to gain adaptive cruise, along with a variety of other safety systems.

Prestige paint – that is, any colour other than white – also costs more for the Hyundai i30 sedan ($595), compared to the Kia Cerato S ($520), although there’s not much in it.

The 2024 Kia Cerato S sedan has a longer warranty but the Hyundai i30 sedan has a better aftersales package.

The Kis Cerato is covered by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is two years longer than what Hyundai offers with the i30 – five years/unlimited kilometres.

Both cars have 12-month/15,000km service intervals, but the Hyundai is cheaper for each service.

Kia also limits its service plan for up to seven years or 105,000km (whichever comes first), while Hyundai’s service plan has no mileage limit or time limit and is transferrable to the next owner.

It can be handed on to subsequent buyers for the life of the vehicle, which is a good selling point for the i30 in the used car market.

Let’s call this one a tie. The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan has not been crash-tested by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). The hatchback has a five-star rating based on testing carried out back in 2017, but the sedan goes unrated.

The i30 sedan is likely to have earned a four-star rating if testing was carried when it was launched in 2020 (under tougher protocols than those in 2017), but Hyundai Australia did not submit cars for testing and ANCAP hasn’t funded the testing itself.

The Kia Cerato S sedan has a four-star ANCAP safety rating achieved in 2019 and updated in 2021. You need to spend another $1000 for the optional Safety Pack to bring the Cerato up to a five-star standard.

The i30 sedan comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist and pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, an intelligent speed limiter and six airbags – front driver/passenger, side airbags and curtain airbags.

As standard, the Cerato S sedan has six airbags, AEB with car and pedestrian avoidance and lane keep assist.

The entry-level i30 sedan and Cerato S appear, on paper, well-matched on safety features, but without an ANCAP assessment for the i30, it’s difficult to pick a clear winner here.

No. The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan has a longer wheelbase than the Kia Cerato S sedan and offers marginally more cabin space, but the Kia is also spacious and has wireless smartphone functionality.

The i30 sedan has a wireless charging pad but lacks wireless smartphone operation.

The Kia wins when it comes to boot space, too. The Kia Cerato S sedan’s boot is massive – with 502 litres, it offers more space than many larger sedans, and more than the Cerato hatch’s 428L.

It also shades the 464-litre boot of the i30 sedan, which is also generous despite it being less than the Cerato’s boot space (and again, easily exceeds the i30 hatch’s 395L boot space).

The second row in both vehicles features a 60/40-split folding seat and a centre arm rest.

They also both have rear passenger air vents, two ISOFIX child seat mounting points and three top tether strap anchorage points.

The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan wins this one.

At the entry level, both the Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato S use a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that drives the front wheels via an automatic transmission.

The Kia Cerato has a slight power advantage – 112W to 110kW – and more torque – 192Nm against 180Nm.

You may notice the term ‘Atkinson’ used in Hyundai’s description of the i30 sedan’s engine, which refers to a focus on fuel efficiency.

The i30 sedan has a combined official fuel consumption figure of 6.1L/100km, which is significantly better than the Cerato S sedan’s 7.4L/100km.

That’s enough to make the power deficit negligible in terms of running costs and drivability.

Also aiding the i30 sedan is a more efficient continuously variable transmission (CVT), whereas the Cerato S sedan has a conventional six-speed automatic.

No. The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan is built upon a newer platform than the Kia Cerato S, and this has given the Hyundai an advantage when it comes to the driving experience.

As per the comfort section, both cars are similar in terms of achieving a good driving position and have an 8.0-inch central touch-screen. Both have a digital speedometer but conventional non-digital instrument display.

In terms of dynamics, the i30 sedan and Cerato S sedan are close, being similarly sized and with near-identical power. The Hyundai is 60kg lighter than the Kia which counters the Kia’s minor power and torque advantage.

It’s the CVT in the Hyundai that some drivers may not enjoy as much as the conventional automatic in the Cerato S when it comes to time behind the wheel.

Both cars have the same front and rear suspension configurations, and 16-inch wheels – the alloys on the i30 provide a minor weight saving over the Kia’s steel wheels.

There’s very little separating these two, but our experts favour the 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan over the Kia Cerato S sedan – at the entry level of each respective range.

If you add the optional Safety Pack on the Kia Cerato S, the two cars are even more closely matched.

How much does the Kia Cerato S sedan cost?
Cerato S petrol automatic – $27,060
* Price excludes on-road costs

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