Kia Cerato Sport hatch 2019 review

The interior space surprised me because it easily fit my family of four. I’m not sure where we got the idea that we all need a giant car as soon as we start having children, but guess what? We used to fit and we still do.

Up front, Leg and headroom are good enough for both me and my taller husband.

Leg and headroom are decent enough in the front seat for both me and my taller husband, and my kids fit comfortably in the back seat. Granted, they are only little, aged five and seven, but I also fit in the backseat nicely at 161cm, with room to spare between my knees and the seat in front. 

In the back, two baby seats fit nicely. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

The boot is on the large side for this category, at 473L, it fits a pram, and you can also fit groceries around it or school bags if you need to. This particular pram won’t fit in some small SUVs, like the Mazda CX-3, so the fact that it gets in here is good. 

While the kids fit easily, bending over to do kids seat belts up is still harder to do in a regular car than in a higher SUV, so there is that to consider. There are two cupholders in the front, two in the back centre armrest, a spot to throw keys and a phone in the front and a centre storage bin, plus bottle holders in each door. 

Being low to the ground means the kids can climb in easily, and the boot is a good height off the ground so you can lift groceries into it without hurting your back. 

There are no air vents in the rear seats but the air flows very well through the car. I drove it during a particularly hot, Sydney summer week and my kids got out of the car one afternoon with cold arms, after only five minutes. So it doesn’t take too long to flow to the back either.

Despite not having rear air vents air flows very well through the car. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

It’s a good driving experience in the Cerato Sport, there’s nothing to complain about, and it’s a fairly standard driving experience - which I think is a good thing. You want the car to do what you ask and behave exactly the same way every time you drive it, which it does. 

There’s a 2.0-litre engine which is plenty to get up hills quickly and coast along highways. It handles really well and it’s not bumpy to drive, which is a great thing. It cruises along quite happily. 

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder makes 112kW/192Nm. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

The size makes it easy to park and I found myself doing more u-turns than three-point-turns this week, because the turning circle is smaller than most SUVs. There’s also a very clear reverse parking camera so you can see what’s behind you. 

The Cerato Sport comes with front and side airbags for driver and front passenger, plus side curtain airbags that extend to the back row. There is also auto emergency braking as standard which is great, but it received a four out of five star ANCAP rating because the AEB doesn’t have pedestrian and cyclist detection. 

You can upgrade for that or buy the $1500 safety pack which will also give you things like blind spot monitoring, lane departure alert and rear cross traffic alert.

There are two ISOFIX points and three top tether points for kids’ car seats. 

The Kia Cerato Sport comes in at $24,190, and that’s drive-away, so that’s a pretty sensational price. Fuel consumption is on the higher end for this category at a claimed 7.4L/100km. 

It’s covered by Kia’s seven-year/unlimited km warranty which is also pretty great and there’s seven years of capped price servicing, which is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km.