Kia Cerato 2019 new car review
If you have an older sibling then you can probably relate to a Kia.
The South Korean brand often has to wait for bigger sibling Hyundai to finish playing with its new toys before it can have a turn. Take this new generation Kia Cerato for example; it’s largely the same underneath as the Hyundai i30 that first hit the road in 2017.
Kia had to bide its time before it could unleash its latest small car, firstly with the sedan mid-way through 2018 and now with the hatchback.
- Well presented cabin
- Excellent standard safety
- Affordable entry price
- Engine is loud and unrefined
- Ride could be smoother
- Expensive servicing
Is the Kia Cerato S right for me?
The Cerato has broad appeal, as demonstrated by it being the fifth best-selling small car in 2018, despite the new sedan only arriving in June. Small cars have grown - both in popularity and physical size - over the years so they are now a realistic choice for young families as well as singles and couples.
While mechanically there’s no major difference between the sedan and hatch underneath the sheetmetal, the latter offers a more practical package which, as a general rule, makes it a more popular choice.
What does the 2019 Kia Cerato S cost?
That’s a tricky question to answer because Kia is offering the new Cerato hatch range with drive-away pricing. So, on paper the Cerato S manual officially starts at $20,990 plus on-road costs but currently can be had for just $19,990 drive-away.
The automatic Cerato S tested here is priced from $23,790 plus on-roads, or $21,990 drive-away, which means the cost of the auto drops from $2800 to $2000 while the drive-away offer lasts.
Step up to the Sport model and it costs $25,790 plus on-roads or $24,190 drive-away. The Sport+ is priced from $28,840/$27,740 and the GT is $32,990/$31,990.
What is the Kia Cerato S's interior like?
It may sound like a bold claim, but in this reviewer’s opinion Kia designs some of the best interiors on the market today. Sure, they’re built to a price but just because a car is cheap doesn’t mean they can’t look nice. Some of the materials look and feel a little lower rent than the best in the class, but overall the Cerato S presents well for an affordable small car.
There are some nice design elements in the Cerato, including round air vents on the sides, and the layout itself is very practically thought out. There’s a small storage shelf just ahead of the gear selector that also houses the USB port, which means it’s an ideal place for your smartphone or music player to live.
The controls all fall easy to hand too, with the large touchscreen mounted high on the centre console for all the infotainment and the air-conditioning controls below.
How much space does the Kia Cerato S Hatchback have?
The Cerato has good space up front and the seats are supportive but a touch firm. In the rear there’s plenty of room, with enough headroom for adults despite the hatchback’s sloping roofline and respectable kneeroom if the front seat occupants are willing to give up some of theirs.
The boot offers up good space for a hatch, 428-litres, with a wide cargo area supported by extra under floor storage. It also comes with integrated luggage hooks and a solid parcel shelf.
What's the Kia Cerato S's tech like?
For the entry-level model in the range the Cerato S is impressively equipped. It gets the latest generation Hyundai/Kia infotainment system that’s easy-to-use, particularly on the move, thanks to its large icons and the option to use either the 8.0-inch touchscreen or the attached dials.
It incorporates Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, DAB+ digital radio and Bluetooth connectivity, but misses out on in-built navigation.
The six-speaker sound system does a good job too, with good power and clarity for this type of car.
How reliable is the 2019 Kia Cerato S?
The South Korean brand prides itself on building reliable cars to match the image of its Japanese rivals. While the Cerato is new for Kia much of the car is underneath the existing i30 and it has had no major issues since it went on sale in 2017.
Plus the 2.0-litre petrol engine is inherited from the previous model, so it’s a known quantity. It may be a new model but all things considered the latest Cerato has solid long-term potential.
How safe is the Kia Cerato S?
Safety is another area where Kia has ticked the right boxes for the Cerato S, including autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning and active lane keeping assist as standard. It may miss out on blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert that higher grade models get but given its starting price the Cerato S has the key areas covered.
There’s also a reversing camera and six airbags included.
What is the Kia Cerato S's warranty like?
It’s the best in the business covering the first seven years, regardless of kilometres. Even as more and more local brands have extended to five years Kia still stands out from the pack.
What are the on-going costs for the Kia Cerato S Hatchback?
Kia matches its seven-year warranty with a capped price servicing program for the same period. Unfortunately the costs are relatively expensive for a small car, with the cheapest you’ll pay $275 and ramping all the way up to $623 for the 60,000km check up.
Over the first three-years/45,000km you’ll be up for $1083 which is high compared to rivals such as the Toyota Corolla ($525 over the same period) and the i30 Active ($777 for the first three years).
Is the 2019 Kia Cerato S value for money?
It’s hard to fault the value of the Cerato S given its level of standard equipment for such a competitive asking price. Despite featuring all of the previously mentioned safety and infotainment gear, if you’re nit-picking it does miss out on alloy wheels (rolling on 16-inch steel rims with plastic hubcaps), gets cloth trimmed seats and no keyless entry or ignition.
What's under the Kia Cerato S's bonnet?
While the GT gets the newer, more advanced 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, the rest of the range, including the Cerato S, has to make do with the long-serving 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol that powered the old model.
Its outputs are unchanged, so it makes 112kW of power and 192Nm of torque and in the S is available with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
While that may not sound exciting on the road the Cerato does a surprising job. It may not be the most refined engine and gets a bit raucous under hard acceleration, but overall it provides ample motivation.
The automatic in our test car was well matched to the engine, so the initial step off was good and it held gears long enough to extract the best from the engine. It may get noisy but the Cerato feels sprightly when you put your foot down.
How much fuel does the Kia Cerato S Hatchback use?
Another downside of the older engine is its thirst. The official combined cycle rating is 7.4-litres per 100km, which is behind key rivals also powered by 2.0-litre petrol engines, including the Toyota Corolla (6.0L/100km) and Mazda3 (5.8L/100km).
What's it like to drive the Kia Cerato S?
One big benefit of Kia’s connection to Hyundai is benefitting from its latest developments, such as the i30's platform that has impressed so greatly. That has given Kia a great base to work from with its own tweaks for the Cerato, especially the local ride and handling program.
Even with the less-sophisticated torsion beam rear suspension (compared to the GT) the S feels composed on the road. Yes, the ride can get busy at times and will crash over bigger bumps, but overall it does a commendable job.
Kia offers four drive modes for the Cerato S - Normal, Sport, Eco and Smart - which alters the tune of the electronic power steering, throttle response and will allow you to hold gears in Sport mode if you shift manually. Regardless of the setting, the driving character of the car doesn’t change dramatically because the dampers are passive.
Even so, the Cerato S is a pleasing small car to drive. The steering is nicely weighted and responsive and the chassis feels well balanced when you push it.
How does the 2019 Kia Cerato S compare to the competition?
Kia has a fourth place finish in the small car sales charts within its sights this year on the strength of the all-new Cerato. But it has some strong competition in that segment too, with big-name key rivals like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30. Given how much shared DNA there is between the Cerato S and i30 Active a sibling rivalry is on the cards.
Drive's Verdict
There’s no doubt the latest Cerato moves Kia out of the shadow of its bigger sibling. It’s a stylish and spacious small car with excellent value and hard-to-beat ownership credentials.
A more potent and refined engine would help make it a more polished performer, as would the more sophisticated rear suspension. If that's what you want then pay a little more for the GT. But as it stands the Cerato S makes a strong argument to be on any small car shopping list.