2018 Honda Civic vs Kia Cerato

What's the difference?

A comfortable and convenient daily driver that ticks all the safety and tech boxes, the VTi-LX is a compelling offering given it is better value than the RS, and not overpriced for its spec level. 

What it lacks in an interesting powertrain it more than makes up for with its huge cabin space and well sorted ride. Whether you choose it or not could very well come down to the looks…

The third generation Cerato is small, nimble, looks handsome and can carry four in absolute comfort. It’s safe as houses, great value and cheap to look after, too. 

What’s not to like? Well, it’s not as easy to hop in and out of as a small SUV, the engine is a bit harsh, and Kia’s suspension crew needs to really look at horses for courses – a base model small sedan doesn’t need to feel like it’s heading for a rally special stage.

Still, the new-gen Cerato is set to hold its position as Kia’s best seller, and with very good reason.

We'd pick the $23,690 Cerato Sport as the sweet spot in the range, thanks to its 17-inch alloys, nicer interior trim and standard sat-nav. We'd also add the optional driver aid pack for $1000 to create an even safer Cerato.

The look of the 10th-generation Civic is best described as polarising. There's a slew of hard angular edges pointing in all directions, which makes an overall design theme hard to pinpoint. The elegant curvature of the Mazda3, or the more conservative lines of the Hyundai Elantra and Subaru Impreza perhaps appeal to a wider audience.

As I mentioned earlier, the almost-as-well-equipped RS spec comes with some touches that could make all the difference here. The blacked-out bars across the RS’s front, side and rear compliment those angles a lot better, and the rear looks far more resolved with a spoiler (what are those rear light clusters pointing to?).

In comparison, the LX looks incredibly plain and, aside from those LED lights, it is honestly difficult to tell it apart from the VTi-L or even the base-model VTi. While subtlety might appeal to some, it’s an odd card to play for a flagship variant given the overall design of the Civic screams ‘look at me’.

The ‘Modern Steel’ grey colour of our test car rammed the plain-Jane look home. If it were my choice I’d go for the ‘Brilliant Sporty Blue’ as it suits the car’s angular aesthetic a little better. The only free colour is ‘Rally Red’.

The 17-inch alloys were also a topic of controversy in the office. Over my drive week I came to appreciate the milled-alloy with gloss-black highlight designs. Matt Campbell disagrees. I will concede they look smaller than 17-inches, likely due to the black highlights.

Inside is a better story. The angular design trend continues, but it’s all very ergonomic. None of the materials appear cheap or nasty, and there are more than a few soft finishes in the right places. It doesn’t have the symmetry of the Elantra’s interior, but I became very used to how comfortable it was.

Of particular note is the chunky, leather-bound steering wheel, and I have to give props to the low, sporty seating position.

Housed in the dash is a digital display which well laid-out, presents all the important information to the driver well, has a high frame-rate and seemed to never be subject to glare. It’s no premium bells & whistles experience like Audi’s Virtual Cockpit but is a nice addition nonetheless.

Kia claims the new fastback-style exterior design is inspired by the larger Stinger, with the bluff nose and stylised roofline the obvious keys. Its dimensions have grown 80mm in overall length, despite having the same wheelbase as the previous generation Cerato.

The large grille and wider lower front bar is reminiscent of the Stinger, for example, along with larger headlights and the sculpted bonnet. The windscreen has been pushed back 127mm which lengthens the bonnet, while the rear spoiler has been replaced by a small ducktail swoop to tidy up the airflow over the roof and boot lid.

If you’re looking for a more complete body kit, you’ll need to wait for the Cerato GT, which will come later in the year.

The interior treatment is new, too, with a wider dash, turbine vents in the dash, redesigned seats and a multimedia screen that sits higher on the centre console.

Does the Civic sedan look a little… big to you? That’s because it is. It’s massive inside. But somehow, it shares a wheelbase with the hatch.

It’s kind of magic, but that’s one of Honda’s fortes. Big practical interiors with some hidden surprises.

What surprised me the most though, is the ridiculous rear legroom. I had leagues of space behind my own driving position. How can this be if it has the same wheelbase as the hatch? 

Well, some investigation revealed that despite its near-identical looks, the sedan's cabin is physically different from the hatch, and an additional 34 millimetres of legroom is granted in the back. It doesn’t sound like much but makes a world of difference.

It legitimately has far more legroom than even some ‘large' sedans I’ve driven and ridden in, and the centre seat could fit an adult-sized human in decent comfort for a long-distance drive. Impressive.

The boot is also close to largest in the class. With the seats up, there’s 517 litres (VDA) of space on offer, which compares very well with the Mazda3 (408L), Elantra (458L) and Impreza (460L) but is just barely eclipsed by the new Kia Cerato (520L).

In the cockpit too, there’s plenty of stowage space under the centre console including two large movable cupholders (although without those little variable edges, so a tilt-risk for small stuff) plus some smallish cubbies in the doors for front and rear passengers. These won’t hold larger belongings or bottles, but they’re sufficient for smaller objects like wallets, books or keys.

Everything is also very easy to reach, but the sunroof eats a little headroom which could be a challenge for those over 182cm tall. I also had to question the choice of not including a dial for volume control. There are wheel-mounted buttons and a touch interface on the screen itself. But that’s kind of clunky when you need volume down in a hurry.

It hasn’t gotten much bigger from gen to gen, but the four-door, five-seat Cerato is still a pretty decently sized little car in its own right.

There are two cupholders line astern up front, nestled next to a manual handbrake. Partitioned door cards front and rear can accept medium bottles, while a pull-down armrest provides another two cupholders. The top spec Sport+ is the only one to offer rear vents, but there is only a single USB port up front, next to a 12-volt point.

There’s an additional 20 litres of boot space for a total of for 520 litres (VDA) luggage capacity, with seat-back dropper switches located in the boot space – but frustratingly, there’s no boot lid release on the actual damn boot lid. No roof racks are fitted as standard.

Firmer seat cushions and new seat frames make for decently sized pews, while the multimedia screen is 68mm higher on the dashboard, which is itself 18mm wider. The Stinger makes its presence felt again, too, via a pair of circular turbine-style air vents on the dash.

In the rear, there’s a surprisingly generous amount of leg and toe room, and head room is also sufficient even for a tall adult. The rear door aperture is relatively small for the space, which could make tossing small children into their ISOFIX mounted seats a bit of a back straining pain.

The $19,990 drive-away price for the base model S in manual remains in place, while a six-speed auto will add $1500. In fact, Kia officials were at great pains to tell us how much negotiation took place to keep that sub-$20k price in place for the new generation car.

And it’s even managed to improve the list of standard kit that comes with it. All of the models in the range now come with features like AEB, lane guidance assist and forward collision alert as standard, even in the base model. 

All Ceratos have front and rear parking sensors, six airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, six-way driver seat adjustment, cruise control, an eight-inch multimedia infotainment display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with voice recognition, a six-speaker sound system with DAB digital radio with Bluetooth connectivity (bye bye CD player and DVD player), single zone air-conditioning and power windows with auto-down on the driver’s window.

Do a model comparison with other brands at that entry-point and the Cerato starts to look pretty good, even taking into account the S’s 16-inch steelies and lack of full size spare.

From here, it all changes. The S Premium, Si, and SLi variants are gone, now replaced by Sport and Sport+ models. The Sport costs $23,690 (driveaway), and adds 17-inch alloy wheels, a navigation system with live sat nav traffic monitoring that uses GPS, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter and fancier cloth-trim seat trim.

The Sport+ will cost $26,190 drive-away, and includes an upgraded version of AEB known as 'Fusion II', which adds pedestrian and cyclist recognition ability to the AEB system. 

There’s also advanced smart cruise control, LED daytime running lights (no LED headlights, though), a smart key with keyless entry and push-button start, leather seats, electric folding exterior mirrors, dual-zone climate control air-conditioning and rear air vents. 

There’s no sunroof, though, and you’ll need to argue with the dealer about floor mats and other accessories.

Colours include three all-new additions to the palette. The base colour is 'Clear White', and there are eight premium colours (each with an $520 uptick), including 'Snow White Pearl', 'Silky Silver', 'Platinum Graphite Grey', 'Gravity Blue', 'Aurora Black Pearl'. There are three new ones, too; 'Steel Grey', 'Horizon Blue' and 'Runway Red'.

Kia reckons the sales mix will go 40 per cent to the S, 40 per cent to the Sport and 20 per cent  to the Sport+, while about five per cent of S customers will want to change gears by themselves.

Oh, there will be a Cerato GT coming down the track, in both hatch and sedan form.

Up this end of the Civic hierarchy, there’s just the one drivetrain. A 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, producing 127kW/220Nm, mated only to a CVT auto. The Civic is front-drive only and, much to the dismay of old-school Civic fans, there's no manual option in sight.

That engine puts it middle of the pack compared to small sedan competitors. The enthusiast’s choice may be either the Mazda3 SP25 with a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre (138kW/250Nm) or the Hyundai Elantra SR Turbo which has an impressive 1.6-litre turbo (150kW/265Nm). Both of those can be had with a six-speed auto or DCT respectively (or, better yet, a six-speed manual option on either).

But the Civic still outshines the Cerato’s ordinary-all-round 112kW/192Nm 2.0-litre offering (which is also a bit thirsty) and Subaru’s infamously underpowered 115kW/196Nm non-turbo 2.0-litre engine which is also asked to pull a much heavier AWD layout.

There’s not a lot of change in the specs here, with Kia opting to retain the same four-cylinder, 2.0-litre non-turbo MPI petrol engine from the second-generation car.

Modest engine specs of 112kW and 192Nm are the result. Both the manual and the automatic transmission have been updated slightly, but the engine is a direct carryover.

Kia did look at its inventory of drivetrains around the world to see if it could go down a different path - even considering a CVT auto/Atkinson-cycle motor combo with an engine size of 2.0-litres - but it elected to stick with the status quo.

It’s not the quietest nor the most inspiring producer of horsepower on the planet, but the MPI four-potter – which runs a timing chain, not a timing belt – has a great reputation, with few if any engine problems reported over the years.

It’s the same for automatic transmission problems; Kia’s in-house self-shifter has a terrific reputation. 

While a towbar can be fitted, towing capacity is relatively modest at 1100kg of braked trailer, with a very low 75kg downball weight limit.

In the obvious questions department, the front-wheel-drive Cerato doesn’t come in diesel or LPG, nor does it come in 4x4 or indeed 4WD guise – so brown roads are a no-no.

Honda’s smaller engine choice and CVT is designed to be frugal. On the combined cycle, Honda claims the VTi-LX will drink 6.0-litres to 100km. There’s not too much variation in the field with Mazda also claiming 6.0 for the SP25 Astina, and at the other end of the scale, there’s Kia’s Cerato which is touted to drink 7.4L/100km.

After a week of driving over a tank of petrol I scored 7.7L/100km which is closer to (but surprisingly less than) Honda’s urban estimate of 8.0L/100km.

Despite being turbo'd the VTi-LX will happily drink bargain-basement 91 unleaded, and the tank holds 47 litres.

At a kerb weight of between 1295kg and 1332kg, the Cerato is about 19kg heavier than the outgoing car, despite a slightly lighter body, and it’s actually a tiny bit thirstier than the outgoing model, at 7.4 litres per 100km on the combined fuel consumption economy cycle.

At 7.6L/100km, the mileage from the manual is also slightly higher than the auto. Remember when fuel consumption figures for manuals were always lower? Not any more… There is an 'Eco' mode button in the Cerato, which changes the throttle and gearbox maps, but it won’t save much fuel.

Over 120km, we posted a combined fuel economy figure of 7.9L/100km in an auto Sport variant.

The fuel tank capacity is 50 litres in size.

The Civic presents a strange dichotomy between the luxury spec and its sporty frame. As mentioned earlier, you sit nice and low in the Civic, and you have this chunky, well weighted steering wheel, giving you the illusion of sportiness at the helm.

It lives up to that by feeling nicely planted in the corners. This is largely due to all Civics having a more sophisticated independent rear suspension. Thankfully, it’s not a stiff tune either. It’s well sorted over bumpy stuff, there’s not a rattle to be heard in the cabin, and you don’t have to cringe every time you spot an incoming car park speed bump or unfortunately-positioned pothole.

The engine won’t exactly have you setting lap-times, however, and it’s a tad noisy in the cabin when it comes to really getting the power down somewhere past 2500rpm. 

Then, there’s the CVT. It truly isn’t the worst CVT I’ve ever driven (I’m looking at you, 1998 Nissan Micra…) and in terms of actual driving the experience isn’t dulled much. You should know it creates a slightly unpleasant rubbery characteristic, where your inputs feel delayed because it takes time for the CVT to react to changes through the driveline. 

For example, when laying off heavy acceleration, it will keep accelerating for half a second after you’ve taken your foot off. It’s a minor issue, but a noticeable one.

It also produces an annoying high-pitched whining sound at low speed and when you come to a full stop. You won’t be bothered by this if you drive around with the (actually great) 10-speaker stereo on most of the time, but you shouldn’t have to rely on it.

In terms of your ability to alter the engine’s characteristics, there’s an ‘Eco’ button which seems to make the CVT fight you as you try to extract revs out of it, and a sport mode on the transmission which seemed to make the accelerator a little more responsive and forced the CVT to act a bit more like a traditional auto.

Paddle-shift appears on the VTi-LX and RS grades but while the ‘gear changes’ they trigger didn’t have a long delay on them, they proved unsatisfying anyway.

Kia is known for ‘localising’ its suspension set-ups – or perhaps more accurately, improving the often compromised set-ups that come standard from the factory.

As is par for Kia’s course, the end result for the Cerato – which has MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam rear end - is a firm ride at lower speeds which relaxes as loads and road speeds start to climb. 

It’s a deliberate ploy by Kia to separate itself from its Korean sibling and rival, but I reckon the company could roll back from that stance a bit. 

Around town and on broken surfaces at lower speed, the Cerato can be a bit fussy and overbearing, especially from the passenger’s side, though it’s tempered by gold star body-roll control and surprisingly pleasant steering. Ground clearance is on par with a typical small car at 150mm.

A new steering column gearbox has been added, which basically realigns the column in relation to the steering rack, and gives a better, more natural feel under the driver’s hand. 

The six-speed auto is the pick of the two gearboxes, too; the manual feels flimsy and underdone in the palm, and while the clutch is lightly sprung, it’s got very little feel. Brakes, on the other hand, are great, with a nice, firm, well-modulated pedal feel.

The powertrain won’t set new 0-100km/h records, but the acceleration of the naturally aspirated engine is acceptable, if not shattering. Engine noise is a bit of an issue when it’s being stretched, but it’s quieter than before.

The Cerato sports an excellent array of active and passive safety kit, including six airbags that have been ‘depowered’ for a more controlled deployment, AEB, front and rear sensors, a rear camera and more included as standard. 

As well, a $1000 option pack will add the upgraded AEB, smart cruise control (auto only), blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, electric folding mirrors and a leather-wrapped steering wheel to the S and Sport models. 

A second pack will add blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert to the Sport+ for $500; it already carries all of the other features.

Kia also claims big increases in the use of high-strength steels in key areas like the B-pillar.

There isn’t a Euro NCAP score that Kia can use as a basis for a local ANCAP score, and Kia is currently working with the Aussie agency to crash-test the vehicle locally.

Honda offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty across its range. This is great but should be the minimum.

It compares well in this segment to fellow Japanese competitors, the Mazda3 and Subaru Impreza, which fall behind with outdated three year/unlimited kilometre warranties. 

Hyundai is bang-on par with a similar five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, but the bar to beat, as ever, is Kia with its seven-year/unlimited kilometre promise on the Cerato.

The seven year/unlimited km warranty is the headline act here, along with a seven year roadside service offer and a seven year capped-price servicing schedule (up to 70,000km). The warranty can also be transferred to the next owner.

Servicing is recommended at 12-month or 10,000km intervals, and seven years of servicing will cost $2447, according to Kia – so you won’t have to worry about knowing the oil type. 

To grab a figure at random, the 30,000km service cost will cost $365. Just keep that owner’s manual up to date.

It won’t cover things like the battery, though.

While this is a new platform for the Cerato, there are almost no common problems, issues, faults or complaints about reliability to mention. Resale value is on par with other small cars in the class.