Kia Cerato

Does Kia's cheapest sedan make sense for small car buyers with a modest new car budget?

The Kia Cerato became a strong small-car contender due to its features, space and comfort. But have recent price rises – and its age – started to remove some of the shine?

Kia’s Cerato GT is a niche player offering sporty looks and warm hatch poke, but ultimately presents as a compromised package.

We compare the 2022 Mazda 3 sedan and 2021 Kia Cerato sedan across commonly-asked questions about cost, fuel economy and performance.

The Kia K4 sedan – which replaces the long-running Cerato – has been approved for sale in Australia ahead of its arrival early next year.

Police in New South Wales have defected a Kia Cerato after the 76-year-old owner fitted racing harnesses to the car.

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Find out what cars are eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2024 – Best Urban Car Under $30K category.

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I have a 2014 Toyota Corolla Ascent hatch, and I'm thinking of replacing it. What would be a good new car to buy, another the same, or what else?

I don't own the car it was a rental but I did drive it for over 10 hours and did 800kms in the thing which is about as long as I have in any car I haven't personally owned. So I won't comment on reliability. I can say though I think if you need something practical and have about 15-17k in your pocket one of these would be great. All over the Hunter / Tamworth area it was all you really need in a car. Comfy, spacious, great visibility, fairly ergonomic, decent economy. I love the weird 'ribs' they put on the passenger side of the dash and the front door cards, and the way the screen is canted towards the drivers side. Actually I really liked the interior full stop - very impressive for a base model car. Love the fat white on black touchscreen but it was quite distracting so probably best use the buttons on the wheel if you aren't stopped at a light. Easy Bluetooth streaming my partners ipad, good quality sound. We were mostly country driving and averaged 7.2l/100km. The 5 speed auto is mostly good but hunts around a bit between 4th and 5th; I tried the manual mode and it was fine. I don't mind the up for up down for down mode but unless you are on a steep highway the auto is fine left to its own devices. Low points are the highly raked front windscreen holds rain drops longer than any other car than I have been in. It also reflects the dash which is a bit annoying but I got used to it. (that said all around visibility is excellent and in the scenic area we were driving the fact that the front of the car seems to be just glass is great). The steering after my MX-5 initially was full of slack and devoid of feel but after a few hours I got over that and happy twirled around basically 1 fingers worth of pressure and that's kind of nice - I'd like to see more luxury cars with effortless racks instead of "sporty" artificial resistance which is just crap. I think the tyres (Nexens) on the car weren't very good in terms of lateral grip - combined with the lack of feel it's not a fun car to tip in corners. Fine 90% of the time but you'd be disappointed if you found a nice twisty road and wanted to get a fizz on. The segment says ride and handling which I have only given a 5.5 but the ride quality itself was fine - I can't remember any sharp hits or anything. I'd say it was really quite good in terms of keeping your tailbone and other bits from getting too familiar with the seat frame. Comparing it to a same year Golf Mk7 1.0 TSI we rented in England a few years ago and drove all over that country, I'd say the Golf was better to drive (being a proper manual may have helped) but the KIA was much more practical, had a better interior (Yes!) and basically would be the one I would buy out of the two if it had a manual transmission, gripper rubber and a tiny bit more steering feel. I kinda like boring cars that just do what they say on the tin and grow on you over time and this was definitely one of those. I've even owned a couple (323, Micra) If anyone here has actually owned one for a bit and can comment on reliability I would be interested to know because I would definitely consider one of these if I had a kid on the way and needed something with back seats.

The Kia Cerato is one of the best cars going around these days for value for money. Being my first new car purchase I was very careful in determining which car would suit my purposes and give me the best bang for my buck. I was set on a small size car in a sedan as I detest hatches and their horribly small back windows. I ended up compiling a list of the cars that suited this category; the Kia Cerato, Hyundai i30, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, Holden Astra and the Mitsubishi Lancer. I was mainly looking for reliability, good warranty and connectivity. Right of the bat I removed the Mazda 3 and the Lancer. The Mazda is by far the worst ride of any car ever (with a horrible warranty) and it is very over-rated. The Lancer was getting a little old and the value just wasn't there, I had a friend buy a 2012 one for more money than my Kia fully new, bit of rip off and it shows. The Toyota Corolla lacks the connectivity, which continues in the new 2019 model somehow, beyond me how they haven't got Apple Carplay. So it became a choice between the Kia, Hyundai, and the Astra. I decided against the Astra due to then Holden's warranty, it was a new model (therefore sort of untested), and unfortunately Holden continued with a horrible name - Astra's are cursed. It does have a punchy engine, but the ride isn't great. The Hyundai lacked good value, plus Automatic transmission is much dearer and the engine choices are better in the top-specs, so Kia was the obvious choice, with only one engine across the range and free auto (at the time). The Kia Cerato is one of the best cars out there. It has a very reliable engine, does lack a bit of punch and could do with a turbo but it is very reliable. The connectivity is fantastic, with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, and never an issue like with a Holden Colorado which I also have driven with Carplay. The front and rear sensors are great and work perfectly, as does the rear camera. The 16 inch wheels are far better on the base model than the 17's on the higher specs and they hold up well, even though they are only Nexens. The interior is good, the model was towards the later part of its life so it wasn't revolutionary, but much better than the Lancer and Toyota. My only gripe is with the gear changes, they hold too long and it doesn't fare well in any high acceleration, sort of needed with the idiots that get behind you when you pull out on the road these days. As they hold long, you can feel the stress in the pedals, something a more powerful engine might help reduce. Nevertheless no car is perfect, but the Kia Cerato is damn close and I don't regret my purchase for a second.