Specifications
Model:
Kia Cerato 1.5 CRDi
Price:
From £10 425 (range starts at £8 995). The two-litre version costs R164 995
in South Africa.
Engine:
1493cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, 75kW at 4 000rpm.
Transmission:
Five-speed manual, front-wheel drive.
Performance:
172km/h, 0-100km/h 12.5sec, 4.93 litres/100km average.
Which? magazine in Britain runs a car survey every year based on car ownership experiences of Consumers' Association members. Good points, bad points, reliability, all such things are covered.
I remember one from a few years ago that made me chuckle. Listed under "good points" for both Skoda and Daewoo was "starting".
Most of us would take a car's ability to start as a given but not so the proud owners of these budget machines. These people had probably just escaped from the tyranny of the temperamental old banger and to have a car that started was a whole new world of sophistication.
"Does all I want from a car," you can hear them saying. "Gets me and the missus from A to B and starts first time."
By such excellence is customer satisfaction delivered and sales conquested. (Don't you love the language-battering world of businessspeak?). The Kia Cerato is just this sort of car, you might think. You know that in 30 years it will be forgotten; there's never going to be a "Kia Cerato Restored!" banner on the cover of Practical Classics.
Kia is a budget automaker from Korea whose heritage includes such duffers as the Shuma and the Mentor. Transport, yes. Desirability, no.
Ah, but Kia is on the up. Sales are soaring. The combined sales of Kia and its Hyundai parent will match those of the world's fifth-largest car producer by the end of the decade, if its plans become reality. We'll come back and check in a few years but the little Picanto supermini, the Sportage 4x4 and the bigger Sorento 4x4 (the spelling mistake is Kia's, not mine) are all good-looking, capable, competitive and good value.
The watershed has been crossed. Kia builds proper cars that are not cheap and nasty and for those who know no better.
The Cerato is a Focus-sized hatchback launched in Europe recently but due for eventual replacement by a new, Slovakian-built model. There's also a sedan, although rather fewer are likely to be sold in the UK.
The Cerato is a transitory car, Korean-made but designed, up to a point, for European tastes. Its styling is tidy enough but short on flair and recognisability; the crisp lines of the Picanto are absent and what on earth are those fussy little louvres either side of the main grille?
Inside, there's plenty of hard plastic but the surface sheen is muted and the pieces fit well. A fiddly aftermarket stereo from JVC imparts a dated air. Most cars have bespoke built-in units nowadays, but its sound is excellent.
Various engines are available, including 1.6 and two-litre petrol units, but it's the just-launched diesel derivative that is the excuse for this test. The engine is a neat little 1.5-litre, exclusive to Kia at this stage and not related to the same-sized three-cylinder engine in some Hyundai's.
It has a full complement of four cylinders and produces a very healthy 75kW. This puts it ahead the newest and most efficient small-capacity diesels from Europe, such as the Peugeot-Citroën/Ford joint-venture engine in the Focus, that manages only 68kW.
All the equipment's there
Even some two-litre diesels aren't as powerful as Kia's unit, although there's greater parity if you talk about torque - the abundance of which is the key reason why a modern diesel can be such a speedy and effortless drive.
Now consider this. A Cerato diesel costs around £3 000 (R36 000) less than a Focus 1.6 TDCi yet all the equipment and superficial sophistication are there. Are we missing something, or are we about to uncover a spectacular bargain? The dynamic refinement will surely let it down, won't it? European automakers will surely be hoping so.
Well, I'm afraid I bear bad news. This engine is sweet, smooth and punchy. You have to wait a while for the turbo to spin up to speed (a small diesel like this relies on its turbo to create its power and torque) but keep the momentum going and this is a lively car.
It cruises quietly on a motorway and is low on both wind rush and road roar. All of this suggests a proper engineering development programme and that notice has been taken of how a modern car should be in absolute terms, not just bargain-bucket metrics.
Maybe it will all come to pieces in bends or over bumps, then. Sorry, but no. The steering is a little woolly, true, but that's the result of a suspension blessed with suppleness and excellent aural insulation. Yet the Cerato doesn't wallow in corners or protest if driven briskly; it goes where it's pointed and very well-judged suspension damping lets it handle sudden changes in direction with poise.
The brakes have a progressive action and the right sort of weighting, too.
Some rough edges remain
To drive, then, there is nothing wrong with this car. It's not sporty but neither is it out of its depth when asked to get a move on. It's quiet and comfortable, with a good ride. Suddenly Kia-Hyundai's dream of Top 5 status seems credible.
All the more relief for European and Japanese carmakers, then, that some conceptual rough edges remain. The seat-belt warning chime is irritating, sounding as it does as soon as the ignition is switched on instead of waiting for the Cerato's motion. If I bought a Cerato I would have to have it exorcised.
The front seats are short in the cushion and the fabric is better suited to a quick rub down after a shower. And, weirdly, the front floor has gentle humps just ahead of the seats that the carpet mats skirt rather than cover, so there's an uncovered area which both looks odd and attracts detritus.
Against these quibbles, the Cerato has a properly folding rear seat with cushions that flip forward, six crash bags and the capability within its CD player to play MP3 files. It has emergency brake assist, powered and heatable door mirrors and a good air-conditioner.
And, yes, it starts first time.
All of this is yours for £10,245 (abut R123 000) and only brand snobbery would stop you writing the cheque. If the next model manages to look good as well, the balance of automaker power may just shift for ever.
THE RIVALS
CHEVROLET LACETTI 1.6SX, £10 495 (about R126 000).
Another Korean car, formerly a Daewoo. The Lacetti, recently launched but clearly engineered to yesterday's standards, looks neat but is no match for the Cerato. Neither is there a diesel version.
CITROËN C4 1.6 HDI LX, £12 695 (about R152 000).
Citroën is starting to give good discounts on the impressive and individual new C4 so it and the Kia could well share the same space on a bargain-hunter's shopping list.This version of the HDI diesel gives 91bhp.
FORD FOCUS 1.6 TDCi LX, £14 745 (about R177 000)
Here the PSA/Ford engine delivers 82kW and the Focus is one of the most pleasing cars to drive in its class. Its interior surfaces are hard, though, and it costs £4 000 (about R48 000) more than the bargain Kia. Is it really worth it?