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Private Fleet Car Review: 2019 Kia Cerato GT Sedan & Cerato Sport Hatch
This Car Review Is About: The latest offerings from the long running Cerato range, specifically the restyled sedan and hatch bodies, in GT and Sport trim. There is the S, Sport, Sport Plus, and GT. The S and Sport can be optioned with a Safety Pack.
Under The Bonnet Is: A choice of a turbocharged 1.6L driving a seven speed dual clutch auto in the GT, against a 2.0L non-turbo and six speed standard auto for the Sport and S. The GT gets the powerhouse 150kW turbo which delivers 265Nm of twist across a flat 1,500rpm to 4,500rpm “torque curve”. The Sport has a very good 2.0L, with 112kW and 192Nm at 4,000rpm. The S is the only version with a manual six speed available.
Economy for the pair is tight; the bigger engine is quoted as 7.4L/100km for the combined cycle, with the turbo 1.6L at 6.8L/100km. Our highway drives saw 5.8L/100km for the 1.6L Cerato GT sedan, the Cerato Sport hatch clocked a 6.9L/100km. Overall activity saw 7.4L/100 for the hatch as a final average on its return, with the sedan at 7.1L/100km. That’s running regular unleaded from a 50L tank.
What Do They Cost?: Kia says $32,990 plus on-roads for the GT sedan, $25,790 plus ORC for the Sport hatch, and if you opt for the Sport+, that’s $28,840 plus ORC. There are ten colours available, with the GT getting its own Sunset Orange shade. Paints classified as Metallic or Pearl are a $520 option.On The Outside Is: A choice of a sleek sedan or a sleek hatch. They’re essentially the same until the rear of the rear doors, and the hatch has a manual tail gate, a more pronounced taper to the rear roof line, and BMW-esque LED tail lights. Essentially, as the GT has a full suite of LEDs for both headlights and DRLs, whereas the Cerato Sport Plus has normal headlights and LEDs for the daytime running lights. Both ends, though, have the indicator lamps set below a driver’s line of sight, rather than being up in the head and tail light clusters.
The GT also has specific wheels and tyres. 225/40/18s with Michelin rubber wrap ten dual-spoke design alloys. The Sport has 225/45/17 alloys of a similar yet different design. The spare is a temporary sized one with a steel rim.
Overall dimensions show just how big a modern small/medium sedan is. At 4,640mm in length, they’re bigger than the legendary EH Holden, which was 4,511mm. The Cerato’s height is 1,440mm except for the GT which is 5mm lower. The blocky EH stood 1,478mm. Where the classic Holden won was on weight. At 1,118kg it’s 200kg to 250kg lighter than the Ceratos.
There’s a couple of other minor differences too; the Sport Plus gets body coloured wing mirror covers, whilst the GT has high gloss black covers. Both have heating for the mirrors. The GT has twin chrome tipped exhausts, and the Sport Plus a single well pipe. There’s also a slight difference between the sedan and the hatch when it comes to opening the boot lid. There is a release button on the key fob, and a lever inside. But there is not a tab on the bootlid to open the boot. Once open there’s another design hiccup. The rear seats don’t have a shoulder mounted seat release mechanism. To flip the seats in the sedan the boot must be opened, a boot mounted lever puller for either the left or right hand seat, then it’s back to the rear seats to actually fold them down. The hatch does away with this ridiculous idea by having a boot-lid mounted tab.
On the Inside Is: A surprisingly low toned interior. The GT is black upon black, having only subtle red piping on the seats and alloy look plastics around the gear selector, air vents and dash strip, central steering wheel spoke, and door handles, to break up the black. Under the driver’s foot is alloy pedals in the GT. The Sport Plus as tested had a similar look to the dash but had a lighter shade of material from the doors upwards and a charcoal/grey cloth trim to the seats. The GT’s driver holds a flat bottomed steering wheel.
Actual plastics look and feel is cheapish. There’s little, if anything, to differentiate the upper echelon cars from the base model S in this respect, plus there’s a distractingly high level of upper dash reflectivity into the windscreen. The driver’s binnacle display is fully analogue and has a monochrome display screen, not colour. Sound comes from a six speaker system in the Sport Plus, an eight speaker setup in the GT, with DAB tuners across the range plus the now almost seemingly mandatory Android Auto and Apple CarPlay plus Bluetooth.
There are four cup, and four bottle, holders in the cabin. Just the driver gets a one touch up/down window switch. The GT gets a wireless smartphone charging pad and it’s a slightly tricky design. A small bump in the plastic on the left hand side will stop a phone from being charged properly if it’s not placed in the holder correctly. There’s a pair of USB ports and a single 12V socket up front as well.
As is the norm now, a touchscreen of 8.0 inches in measurement, and a simple one to use at that, is mounted up high on the dash. Default look is map and audio side by side. As is Kia’s wont, the interface is intuitive and makes using the various functions, and changing settings, fuss free.
On The Road It’s: Not quite chalk and cheese. The turbo in the GT is a firecracker, with verve, fizz, fire and brimstone, belying the 265Nm, as it feels as if there are more. The dual clutch transmission is beautifully matched and the performance potential is huge. Surprisingly, the 2.0L seemed not far off the pace in regards to response and driveability. The smaller engine is a free spirited and easily spun unit however the 2.0L in the Sport was nearly as easy going in how it moved the analogue needle around the dial. The more traditionally oriented six speed auto was nearly as slick and smooth, but simply couldn’t match the bang-bang nature of the dual-clutch in cog swapping.
Get and go in both is very good, with the torque spread of the GT’s engine making for a harder run from a standing start. There’s real excitement from the driveline as a straight line run sees the freeway limit reached in what feels like just a breath. The Sport’s 2.0L pulled hard too but in a side by side comparison would be noticeably behind. The dual-clutch also exhibited a trait peculiar to this kind of transmission. Anything from a mild press of the go pedal upwards has the brains of the ‘box working fine, go a little softer, or change from Reverse to Drive, and there’s that customary pause as the brains figure out exactly what the transmission is supposed to do before actually doing so.
Handling on both was neutral; the weight of the steering in both was excellent and allowed for a clean judgement of how much input was required to have the nose go where it was desired. On one particular corner the front end would run wide but only at a certain speed and was easily brought back to a controllable level with a back-off and a brush of the brakes. Highway driving has the pair change directions nimbly and the steering & engine choices, left in the default Eco mode, was never needed to be in anything other than that. The GT has a Smart mode which runs between Sport/Eco/Comfort, and effectively learns on the fly as well, helping the on board computers to adapt to an individual driving style.
Ride quality definitely tends towards the harder style yet the GT’s 18 inch rubber doesn’t crash through to the cabin at all. The Australian fettled suspension is well sorted, with work performed on the sophisticated multi-link independent system going to a specific sports tune all-round Braking is superb with the front brake discs growing in size from 280mm to 305mm, making braking a sensory experience and providing millimetre perfect judgement. The Sport lacked little here too, with its braking setup virtually on par. The Sport also has a softer ride setup, and perhaps one that more buyers would choose over the tauter GT for around-town driving.
GT stands for Grand Tourer and so it is with the sedan really showing its mettle on longer runs. The very nature of the torque deliver and the responsiveness of the seven speed DCT suits a good punt and taken westwards along the Great Western Highway, and eastwards on the freeways towards Sydney show what a beautifully setup long distance driver it is. In seventh geqar and barely off idle in cruise mode, the GT is a delight. The Sport’s sixth gear takes the rev point higher and it’s here that the slight coarseness of the 2.0L becomes apparent. It’s not harsh, just noticeable that it’s not quite as turbine smooth or quiet.
Of a final note is the aural extension of the engine note into the cabin for the GT. It’s a throaty and rorty sound, not unlike a worked over flat four. But it’s a generated sound, and played via the sound system. It’s a matter of personal taste and unfortunately not one that can be deactivated.
Safety Features Are: strong, naturally. AEB or Autonomous Emergency Braking, with Pedestrian and Cyclist detection, Forward Collision Warning, and Lane Keep Assist are standard. Rear View Camera with dynamic guidelines, Driver Attention Alert Warning, front and rear parking sensors, are also standard.
What About Warranty and Service?: Standard seven years, unlimited kilometres, and capped priced servicing, as per the information here.
At The End of the Drive. Kia has come a HELLUVA long way in the twelve years since AWT was selling cars alongside the brand’s then new cars. The level of technology, safety, the designs, and the change from a non-turbo range to the inclusion of a genuine sports oriented range, such as the Cerato GT, put Kia into a stronger position in the marketplace than it was a decade ago. In an increasingly competitive sales area, the Cerato GT stands out as one to choose from a drivers’ perspective. The Sport is the one for an around town lifestyle. The sedan and hatch have further information available.
Niki Lauda.
Speed, we are told, is a dangerous thing to deal with. It is, therefore, a true oddity that so few Formula 1 drivers, people that are amongst the fastest drivers in the world, die. It then makes the passing of a driver, current or past, all the more poignant and tragic.
Just days before the 2019 F1 race at Monaco, possibly the most picturesque location in the F1 calendar, Niki Lauda, well up there with Brabham, Schumacher, Fangio, and of course Hunt, passed away from complications following lung surgery in 2018, the flu earlier this year, and kidney dialysis. The Austrian born Lauda was, tragically, best known for his unexpected survival from a crash at the 1976 German F1 Grand Prix. His car exploded, trapping him in the cockpit, with rescuers taking close to a minute to extricate the badly burned driver from the cabin. Lauda said of the crash that it ripped his helmet from his head, leading to the horrific scars he bore. Taken to hospital he was not expected to survive, with last rites performed. Somehow, he was out out of bed and competing just 42 days later and would go on to win again.
Lauda celebrated his 70th birthday in February of 2019. Born in Vienna, Austria, Lauda found his calling in motorsport and by 1971 was racing in Formula 2. Sadly, his family, a wealthy one with his grandfather being a Viennese industrialist, saw his racing as unworthy of the name, leaving Lauda with little option but to cease contact with them. Progress came in the form of bank loans and willing assistance from The March team in 1972, before a change to the BRM team in 1973. This team was also in the doldrums, looking at collapse.
His then co-driver at BRM, Clay Regazzoni, left BRM to join Ferrari for 1974. This would prove fateful for Lauda. The great Enzo Ferrari had asked Regazzoni of his opinion of Lauda. The response was so favourable that Ferrari hired the Austrian. He quickly found form with a second place in his debut race. He would win the Spanish GP a few races later but reliability issues aw Ferrari’s lightning start fizzle. 1975 started slowly with no wins for the first four races then it all clicked for Lauda and the team. Driving the Ferrari 312T Lauda would win four of the next five GPs. he would also bag his first world championship after a win at Monza and Ferrari would also take out the constructors championship that year.
His rivalry and friendship with other drivers was growing, particularly with James Hunt. The pair had raced each other from 1973 and although their seemed a fractious relationship, there was strong mutual respect. That respect would be shown by Lauda after his Nurburgring crash, with Hunt winning the 1976 championship by a solitary point. Lauda had receovered to a point where he was able to race again, however his burns had left him with surgery required to rebuild his eyelids. 
The final race of the season, in Japan, was beset by heavy rain. Lauda had declared, just as he had before his Nurburgring crash, that safety should be the number one proviso. He raced just one lap before retiring, which gave his friend and rival Hunt the chance to win, which he did. Hunt’s energetic lifestyle was at odds with Lauda’s way of life, yet their respect was such that when Hunt passed away, Lauda said: “When I heard he’d died age 45 of a heart attack I wasn’t surprised, I was just sad.”
Lauda would go on to be a successful businessman, founding an airline, plus he was called upon by the Ferrari F1 team to be a consultant. In 2012 he would be employed by Mercedes F1 as a non-executive chairman and would be involved in having the team sign Lewis Hamilton. At the 2019 Monaco F1 GP, he was remembered in various ways.
Rest In Peace, Niki Lauda.
Getting It Right In A Roundabout Way.
Using an indicator seems to be the ONE major issue that the overwhelming majority of Australian drivers have. Pulling away from a curb, merging lanes, entering and exiting roundabouts, the little bit of flash seems to elude drivers on Aussie roads.
From the NSW Roads and Maritime Services website are the following regulations for indicating at a traditional four point roundabout.
Turning left: On your approach to a roundabout you must select the left lane, signal left, stay in the left lane to exit.
Going straight ahead: Do not signal when approaching the roundabout but always signal left before exiting a roundabout.
You may approach the roundabout from either left or right lanes (unless there are road markings with other instructions), drive in the same lane through the roundabout and exit in the same lane.
Turning right: On your approach, to a roundabout you must select the right lane, signal right, stay in the right lane and signal left before exiting into the right lane.
Making a U-turn: When you use the roundabout to make a U-turn on your approach signal right from the right lane, stay in the right lane, but signal left before exiting into the right lane.
Exiting a roundabout: If practical, you must always signal left when exiting a roundabout.
In many areas of Australia a three point roundabout can be found. It’s here that one part of the where to indicate equation isn’t really pushed as a safety measure. Once listed as a “complex roundabout” the regulations are to indicate in which direction you wish to go to then indicate left to exit, especially if making a major direction change as per the design. Here, though, the overwhelming majority of drivers coming into the roundabout from the right hand side and wish to continue to the left, do NOT, as per the regulations signal their intentions. Quite a few do not indicate from the lower left to the top left, nor from the lower left to the right hand side.
From the W.A Government’s site when it comes to merging: Always use your indicator to signal your intentions to other drivers when merging; Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you and take turns to merge if there are long lines of merging traffic; You need to match the legal speed of the road you’re merging into. Again this part of the road safety argument is forgotten. 
Finally, when parents that have themselves not had a driving lesson in ten twenty, thirty or more years and have accumulated a lifetime of bad driving habits are in a car with a L plater, and fail to have them adhere to the same basic laws, then our roads will continue to not see the zero level our governments purport to seek.
New Cars Due Shortly
Four cool new motor cars to keep your eyes out for that will become available in Australia shortly are interesting because they aren’t all that expensive, they look great and they offer some neat engine power options.
Let’s kick off with the next generation Hyundai Sonata. Going up-market, the Sonata looks very stylish with its sleek ‘four-door coupe’ design. If you stop and think why car manufacturers still offer a sedan in their line-up when so many more sales are made with SUV styling, it seems that there is a niche sector that still prefers a sedan over any other vehicle shape. So, in order to capture the hearts of a stickler sedan-buyer, manufacturers are creating upmarket sedans instead of your bog-standard sedan to grab buyer’s attention.
Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai’s latest Sonata sedan is a premium product that has gorgeous lines, sits 30 mm lower than before, and is 25 mm wider. The car’s short overhang, sloping roofline and low bonnet create a signature design that is appealing and head-turning. Also head-turning is Hyundai’s “state-of-the-art lighting technology” where the ‘Hidden Lighting Lamps’ appear to be of a chromic material when switched off and then become dramatically lit-up when turned on – very cool!
Head inside the new Sonata’s cabin and the ambient mood lighting illuminates the dash and doors. The car’s dash design is pretty, while a lower driver-focused dash, a big centre screen, a novel gear shifter, and rich leather seats give the classy upmarket interior the big tick.
The next-generation Sonata will launch in Australia in the second half of 2019, so if you like the look of it then you haven’t long to wait.
Renault Clio Interior
Moving to the exciting Renault Clio Hatch! Inside the brand new Clio’s cabin is a rewarding high-tech cabin that is pleasantly different with its elongated central touch screen and digital driver’s display. Seating space and comfort will be good, and on the practicality front, the Clio’s new rear has been designed to deliver a squarer boot with 391-litres of luggage carrying ability with the rear seats in place. That’s 40-litres more than the Volkswagen Polo, and almost 60-litres more than you get in the latest Toyota Corolla ZR.
Outside, the Clio’s exterior design is really smart with an F1-blade design incorporated into the front bumper, a larger grille and more pronounced air intakes. This Renault Clio has been tweaked and so becomes 14 mm shorter than the outgoing model and up to 30 mm lower in the roof. This has been done in an attempt to improve the car’s aerodynamics while delivering on a much sportier, more low-profile appearance. The new headlights are LED, with the same c-shaped graphics offered on the rest of the Renault range, while the rear lights have been revised to also include the brand’s signature ‘C’ keynote signature. Nice chrome highlights along the side and rear of the car, along with gloss black window pillars and hidden rear door handles keep the latest Renault Clio looking very smart and attractive.
Another new Clio trim option also boasts more sporty trimmings without changing engine power, so you can opt for this one and enjoy a racier styled new Clio Hatch with a honeycomb grille, a perforated leather steering wheel and aluminium touch points about the cabin without the added expense of a more powerful engine.
Powering the new Renault Clio is a huge range of petrol, diesel and hybrid powertrains. Renault Australia says it wants to launch the new Clio locally in 2020.
Mazda CX-30
Mazda CX-30 Interior
Mazda Australia has a new compact SUV in the form of the Mazda CX-30 which sits between the CX-3 and CX-5 sizes, and Mazda considers this new model gives them an edge in the highly-popular SUV segment, as buyers look for models that suit their particular tastes and needs.
Mazda’s current compact SUV, the CX-3, has been successful in its segment. It’s currently the second-best seller and a more popular choice with private buyers. Mazda Australia’s head of marketing, Alistair Doak, says there’s been some negative media coverage on the CX-3 being too small, but consumer demand and the model’s success would suggest otherwise. He also goes on to say, “But having said that there are also some people we know that say the CX-5 is a bit too big, something in between would be even better… you see the dimension (differences) between the cars (makes for a) clear differentiator between a CX-3, CX-30, and CX-5 – which is ideal because it’s a natural story we can tell customers and we can show them the options. And we are all about choices and having options.”
Mazda’s elegant CX lines are shapely and attractive, and this line continues with the CX-30 model which is likely to use the new range of SkyActiv-X engines. These new engines further optimise the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and bring the benefits of a diesel engine – such as a higher compression ratio and better fuel economy over a petrol powertrain.
Kia Niro EV
Coming to Australia soon will be the latest all-electric Kia e-Niro. The exterior changes bring new bumpers, a new quad-LED ‘ice cube’ daytime-running light design, the option of full-LED headlights, new double-arrow LED lights in the front bumper, revised LED tail-lights, a new rear bumper, and silver-painted skid plate treatment with revised reflectors and fog-lights.
New features inside the Kia e-Niro compact SUV is a soft-touch dash top, gloss black trim with silver or satin chrome highlights, an optional 10.25-inch widescreen central display with UVO Connect online apps, and an available 7.0-inch driver’s instrument display. An 8.0-inch central touchscreen and 4.2-inch TFT instrument binnacle is standard. Two colour packs are also now available as part of the refresh, allowing buyers to specify Red-Orange accents which extend from the contrasting stitching to the dash trims, or a Plum pack that brings plum-coloured perforated leather upholstery with warm purple stitching, plum-coloured door armrests and satin chrome dash trim.
Kia’s e-Niro will be competitively priced but still offer some fine features like Lane Following Assist (0-180km/h) for semi-autonomous driving ability, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, driver attention warning, automatic high-beam, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and intelligent speed limit warning.
The brand new Kia e-Niro will form one of the two EVs Kia Australia plans on bringing to us shortly – with the other likely to be the new-generation Kia Soul EV.
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