KIA CERATO Review

Summary:

What we like: Low price, lots of storage

What we don't like: Noisy engine, Soft handling

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KIA CERATO review in detail:

Cerato is very well equipped and even comes with cruise control as part of the package, which is a rarity in this class.

The 2.0-litre engine is reasonably smooth in its output and bigger than average for this class. It has good torque from about 2000 rpm upwards.

The KIA Cerato is taller than average, but surprisingly spacious inside. There's good headroom and legroom in the back for two large adults, three if they don't mind rubbing shoulders.
Boot space is good with all the seats in use and this can be substantially increased by folding down the rear-seat backrests, which are released by using levers at the front of the boot.
Interestingly, this seat-back arrangement is also used in the Cerato sedan, though its somewhat shallow boot opening doesn't make it as versatile as the hatchback.
The seats are comfortable and the storage cubbies and cupholders are generous in size.

Handling is safe and predictable although you really wouldn't say there's anything sporty in the way it feels. The steering is rather light and understeer starts to set in at speeds not much more than those achieved by the average driver.

There's a more solid feel to the car than from any previous small-medium Kia, however. It cruises comfortably at freeway speeds and rough Aussie backroads don't knock it around too much.

The KIA Cerato stands out from the pack with a significant list of standard safety equipment built into a low price. It comes with standard front seat-mounted airbags, front-and-rear side curtain airbags and a tire-pressure monitoring system. Antilock brakes are optional on SX and Spectra5 models. In government crash tests, the Spectra earned a four-star rating for front and front-side impact protection. Rear side-impact protection rates three stars only. The IIHS rated the Spectra "Acceptable" (second best) for frontal-offset safety and "Poor" for side-impact safety.