Cerato is a Cartier Korean

Cera

The Cerato It has some really attractive features such as a black mesh grille, narrow-eye headlights, sunken fog lights, large air intakes, a smartly carved bonnet and bat-ear wing mirrors.

Korean vehicles are constantly improving and Kia, in particular, hoists its brand's image higher every time it brings a new model to the market. The newly unwrapped Cerato is probably the best-looking, most spacious, safest, techno-savviest, nice-to-drive sedan to wave the Kia flag in this country.

Kia has really shed its ugly, lame duck feathers in recent years and with all the advances and improvements on board the latest Cerato it is no longer just an also-ran in the challenging company of Toyota Corolla, Chev Cruz, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus, but a strong alternative.

The local sales target is set at 600 a month from now until the end of 2013 and considering the value of the package on offer this could prove to be more than just marketers howling at the moon.

You have choices

The new Cerato comes with a number of choices - two engines, three models, all available with either manual or automatic transmissions and varying in price from R219,995 to R289,995.

Obviously the fancies increase with price but even the lowest-priced option comes standard with fog lights, LED running lights, welcome home lights, alloy wheels, automatic headlights, Bluetooth, MP3/iPod/USB connectivity, cruise control, electric mirrors, six airbags, Isofix child seat anchors, ABS with EBD, aircon, six-speaker sound system, steering wheel remote controls, 60:40 split rear seats and a full size spare wheel.

The general set up and arrangement of the cabin impressed.

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The fancy flagship SX version has all of that plus flex steer, electric stability control, vehicle stability, leather seats, alloy pedals, Xenon headlamps, park distance control, rear view camera, boot spoiler, hill-start assist, and 17-inch wheels.

In fact, the Cerato is so well decked out that the only two optional extras are metallic paint and on the bigger engine models only, a sunroof at R5,263 and R6,000.

The two entry-level manual and automatic transmission versions are powered by a 1.6 multi-point injected, 16-valve DOHC engine that produces 95kW and 157Nm which is enough for the zero to 100km/h sprint in about 10.1 seconds (manual) and 11.6 (automatic) and to top speeds of 200km/h and 195km/h.

The four other models have 2.0-litre engines that kick out 118kW and 194Nm, a slightly better 210km/h top speed and a quicker dash time of 8.5 for the manual and 9.3 for the automatic.

Some really attractive features

Fuel and emissions figures were not available at the local Media launch in KZN.

The players in the C segment of the market generally don't really qualify for knock-down beauty stakes although they are attractive enough in a reserved, suburban manner which is exactly the uniform the Cerato wears.

The cabin insulation also impressed the motoring media.

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It has some really attractive features such as a black mesh grille, narrow-eye headlights, sunken fog lights, large air intakes, a smartly carved bonnet and bat-ear wing mirrors and also being longer, lower and wider than the previous model it certainly has a prettier pavement presence.

The cabin is spacious and comfortable and leather seats come as standard in the EX version I drove at the launch. It also has a Dot Matrix LCD cluster and a flex-steering system which offers the choice of Normal, Comfort or Sport setting at the flick of a switch.

Needs improvement

Our drive did not offer enough time, distance and road variances to experiment with the various settings but during my brief spell at the wheel I could detect very little change between Comfort and Normal. However, in Sport mode things do tighten up and happen slightly quicker. The steering also becomes slightly weightier and sharper although this remains one of the brand's few weaker areas where there is room for further improvement.

It handles quite well and has enough cling and stopping power for a bit of fun under the whip.

I drove the manual version and the shift is shortish, quick and slick although in traffic and on undulating stretches quite a bit of stick-shifting is required, The top three gears feel a tad too long for the power on tap and this could translate into a bit of hunt-and-search in the auto version.

The box is obviously geared to keep the engine ticking over at the lowest revs possible so that fuel and emissions figures are kept down. This will please the polar bears, more sedate drivers and commuters who spend more time on motorways than short-hopping in congested city centres.

It responds quite well to the whip

The audio set-up has a smart upmarket sound and the aircon is quick to respond to adjustments.

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However, those of us who prefer manual shifts will probably use more juice by playing with the gears because if you keep the revs up the Cerato is quite happy to show its sportier inclinations. It handles quite well and has enough cling and stopping power for a bit of fun under the whip.

We were particularly impressed by the well-insulated cabin and the nifty lay-out of the switches and dials. The audio set-up has a smart upmarket sound and the aircon is quick to respond to adjustments. Drivers will no doubt also be pleased with special touches such as the interior rear view mirror that dims automatically to reduce the glare of vehicles approaching from behind.

These days buying a car requires careful apples for apples comparison and price evaluation. Compare the Cerato with the opposition and you will see how many brownie points it scores in terms of on-board kit, safety, driving aids, comfort, looks and pricing (which includes a 5-year/150,000km warranty, a 5-year/90,000 km service plan and a 3-year/unlimited road side assistance).

Despite the odd niggle the latest Cerato is a Cartier Kia.

The models and prices:

Cerato 1.6 Manual - R219,995
Cerato Automatic - R229,995
Cerato 2.0 Manual - R249,995
Cerato 2.0 Automatic - R259,995
Cerato 2.0 Manual SX - R279,995
Cerato 2.0 Automatic - R289,995

Specifications

Brochure

Kia Cerato TopGear Kr Track day

2013 Kia Cerato Review

2013 Kia Cerato