2018 Kia Cerato Sport+ Review

Kia has freshened the Cerato small sedan with a new skin and revised interior but carry over powertrains.

The sedan is first cab off the rank with a ‘new’ hatch coming soon.

Cerato has been responsible for a good part of Kia’s rapid growth in this country driven by almost unbeatable value for money and warranty along with other factors including styling and local calibration.

The new model takes all this to a new level offering buyers a stylish small sedan with Lexus looks and plenty of kit in certain models.

The Sport+ driven has all the goodies some of which were previously only optionally available.

Exterior

The Cerato Sport looks like $10 grand more car than it is with sleek styling lifting it out of the mainstream copy-cat idiom prevailing in the segment.

Quite a large small sedan, the Kia Cerato has an aggressive frontal appearance with the family Kia shape grille and multi element headlights.

Strong style lines adorn the bonnet and sides ending with a European looking tail treatment reminiscent of something from the Audi catalogue.

The result is a handsome little sedan with real presence on the road, heightened in the Sport+ by 17-inch bright alloys and other bright exterior trim details.

Interior

Inside is fairly standard Kia issue, functional and well laid out with all controls readily accessible and easy to see. The dash is a tad techno with a handy power box down in the front of the centre console, decent audio and standard issue dials and switches with a good looking multi-function wheel in the drivers cockpit.

The tones are rather sombre dark but splashes of fascia material liven it up.

There are well shaped seats and belts for five inside and a reasonable amount of room for all.

Cerato Sport+ is comfortable and well-appointed with an air of quality you don’t expect in a car at this price point.

Features

At the $28,290 ask, the Sport+ is the one to get is it has goodies like;

• Leather
• SmartPhone connectivity
• Heated front seats
• Four drive modes
• Reverse camera
• User select options
• Generous storage
• 8-inch touch screen
• Hard wired SUNA satnav
• Dual zone climate control

Drive and Engine

Power comes from a venerable 2.0-litre, petrol four cylinder engine with old school multi-point fuel injection and not the newer, better direct injection.

Doesn’t really matter as output is a reasonable 112kW and 192Nm – adequate to push the 1320kg Cerato sedan along with some verve.

Fuel economy is pretty good too rated at 7.4 litres/100km which I nearly achieved on test.

It’s noisy when you rev the engine hard but Cerato sedan isn’t that sort of car even though it’s called the Sport+ in this instance.

All that means is a bit more standard equipment and 17-inch alloys.
The auto transmission is smooth and quick while overall drive feel is slightly to the sporty side of the ledger.

It uses regular 91 fuel into the bargain so some savings there.

Safety

Cerato scores a five star ANCAP rating but the Sport+ goes further with an array of advanced driver assist technology helping keep you safe.

Autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning are part of the package along with blind spot detection, lane keeping, rear cross traffic alert and driver attention assist.

I will say the forward collision alert is a touch pessimistic and can activate too early in some instances.

Good Bits

• Attractive styling
• Good performance
• Impressive value
• Unbeatable warranty
• Comfortable on long trips
• Relatively economical
• Impressive amount of advanced driver assist kit

Not So Good Bits

• Pessimistic forward collision alert
• Proximity unlock a pain
• Reverts to nanna mode on switch off
• Black on black inside

Summary

Kia’s Cerato sedan has some hot competition but is way ahead of some on plenty of scores not the least being styling.

The Sport+ offers no additional sportiness apart from the wheels but the extra luxury and safety kit commands attention.

Shop it with confidence against all comers in the small sedan segment, even VW Golf and Honda Civic.

Facts and Figures: 2018 Kia Cerato Sedan Sport+

• Engine: 2.0L four-cylinder petrol producing 112kW/192Nm
• Transmission: Six-speed automatic
• Warranty: 7 years/unlimited km
• Safety: Five stars
• Origin: South Korea
• Price: from $28,290