2021 Kia Cerato hatchback detailed: Sporty GT flagship debuts new look and features for Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Mazda 3 rival

The fourth-generation Kia Cerato small car’s facelifted hatchback body-style has made its debut, with it to join its recently revealed sedan sibling in Australian showrooms by the end of the second quarter of this year.

Much like the sedan, the hatchback has a redesigned front fascia that features sharper headlights with divided LED daytime running lights, which run into a narrower ‘tiger nose’ grille, while the bumper is also new.

It’s also worth noting the grade seen here is the Cerato’s sporty GT flagship, which goes a step further with an array of red highlights, including on its carryover alloy wheels, while the rear end has also gone unchanged.

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Inside, a 10.25-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with capacitive shortcuts) can now be had alongside a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and an electric park brake,

Kia’s new logo is prominent throughout, including with the badges on the bonnet, alloy wheels, boot and steering wheel.

2021 Kia Cerato GT hatchback

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2021 Kia Cerato GT hatchback

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Meanwhile, the suite of advanced driver-assist systems now consists of Safe Exit Assist, Rear Occupant Alert and active blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

The GT sticks with its 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder petrol, while the rest of the local line-up is expected to retain its current 112kW/192Nm 2.0-litre naturally aspirated unit.

That said, the latter could mimic the Seltos small SUV and trade its six-speed torque-converter automatic for a continuously variable transmission (CVT), but we’ll see soon enough.

Pricing and full specification details for the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Mazda3 rival will be released closer to its launch, so stayed tuned. For reference, the pre-facelift model is priced from $22,190 to $34,190 plus on-road costs.