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By
EWAN KENNEDY
2 February 2009
Kia likes to think of itself as ‘the wallet-friendly car
company’ and has certainly excelled itself with its all-new
Cerato. Introduced to Australia by a heavy advertising blitz
during the Kia-sponsored Australian Open tennis tournament, Cerato
is bigger than ever before, carries an impressive range of
standard equipment, has superior handling dynamics to the old
model – yet has a starting price of just $18,990.
Having said all that,
we’re not sure that the major German car makers are quaking in
their corporate offices as suggested by Kia's TV ads. Good though
the Cerato is, it’s still not up to the exemplary standards of
the Europeans in its on-road feel. Then again, the Kia costs many
thousands of dollars less, and comes a lot closer than you might
expect. And in any case, we’re sure there's a tongue-in-cheek
component to the ad.
Incidentally, the clever
TV campaign is an Australian one, shot in Sydney, not imported
from overseas.
Talking of Australia, ours
is the first market outside South Korea to receive the new Cerato,
showing the importance of our country. In the minds of those in
charge of Kia's head office, pleasing our demanding drivers and
coping with our even more demanding roads is an important
milestone in the life of this new car.
Cerato is set up with
Euro-style driving dynamics. The suspension is supple and worked
well even on the rough roads chosen as part of the launch of the
vehicle to the motoring press. Noise and vibration were well
damped and coarse-chip surfaces didn’t upset the equation
overmuch. Indeed, we have driven European cars that didn’t do as
well.
On the other hand, there
was quite a bit of gravel rattle under the rear-wheel arches as
Aussie rough roads sent hundreds of little rocks up into them.
Some more sound-deadening may be in order.
The steering is slightly
slower in the on-centre position than we like, but once past that
stage it’s nicely weighted and Cerato responds promptly to
driver’s requests, even when asked to change direction suddenly.
Interior space is
impressive. Though it’s slightly lower (but longer and wider)
than the outgoing model, the new-generation Cerato is still quite
a tall car. So there's space for four adults to get comfortable
without having to bargain with one another. Three large kids will
fit in the back seat with a minimum of territorial disputation.
Getting in and out is easy.
The boot is huge, and made
even better by a nicely regular shape that makes it easy to load.
Cerato comes only as a
sedan at this stage, so you miss out on the added versatility of a
fully-opening rear end. A five-door hatch variant is in the back
of the designers’ minds, but could be some way down the track.
Styling of the new Kia
Cerato takes an interesting new direction. In particular, the
radiator grille is the first showing of a new shape that will
eventually be seen in all Kia models. Its chief feature is
widening of the top and bottom surfaces in their centre areas.
While not dramatic when viewed in photographs, the effect works
well when seen in the metal. Pop along to your local Kia dealer to
see what you think.
Also interesting on the
styling front is a different interpretation of the
‘blister-guard’ look at the front. The complete body works
nicely and shows the talent of Kia's new chief stylist, Peter
Schreyer, previously with Audi, where he designed the TT.
The engine is a new-design
2.0-litre four-cylinder unit producing 115 kW, and 194 Nm at 4300
rpm. On the road we found it to be competent, with decent torque
at lower revs and a willingness to respond quickly. It’s happy
working at the high end of the rev band, though it’s not really
that type of car.
One of the four Ceratos we
road tested during the press launch had a squeak inside the
dashboard. All cars on the launch were pre-production models of
the first ever right-hand-drive Ceratos so this problem isn’t
likely to reach full-production Ceratos. We will carry out a full
road test in our home area in a few weeks and report back to you
afterwards.
Standard features on the
$18,990 Cerato S five-speed manual are six airbags, four-wheel
disc brakes, air conditioning, an MP3 compatible audio system with
USB and iPod inputs, power windows and door mirrors (the latter
heated) and keyless remote locking.
The $22,990 Cerato SLi
gains ESP, traction control, alloy wheels, a chromed grille, front
foglights, climate-controlled air conditioning, cruise control,
jersey-knit trim, a trip computer and rear parking sensors.
Cerato S can be optioned
with ESP, traction control, cruise control and remote audio
controls for $1000.
Automatic transmission is
a $2000 option on all variants.
Kia
Cerato is on sale now and when used privately carries a five-year
warranty with no limit on distance travelled (five years/130,000
km if used for business or commercially).
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Marque Publishing Company
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