2010 Kia Cerato Reviews

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Kia Cerato Koup as a used buy.

Graham Smith reviews the used Kia Cerato and Koup 2009-2013, their fine points and flaws and what to watch for when you are buying them.

Kia Cerato is a small-to-medium South Korean model that has been overshadowed in the past by its big brother Hyundai's i30 and Elantra (Kia is controlled by Hyundai these days). However, when the ultra-stylish third-generation Cerato was launched in Australia in April 2013 buyer interest increased. Sales lifted immediately and quite a few of the third generation cars are starting to appear on the used-car scene.The South Korean car makers are coming up with some excellent lines, and the Cerato is arguably up with the best of them. Interestingly, much of the design work is being done by Europeans.The Cerato first arrived in Australia in July 2004, these earlier models were the first to really benefit from Kia's determination to improve build quality and are generally trouble free if they have been driven and serviced correctly.As well as improving quality, Kia Cerato also continued the Korean marque's emphasis on the sort of good on-road behaviour that appeals to Australian drivers. The first two generations were good without being great, the third generation car is almost up with the Europeans' driving dynamics. The suspension is reasonably supple, although rough Aussie country roads can occasionally trouble it. Noise and vibration are well damped, particularly in the latest model.Kia Cerato is sold as a four-door sedan and five-door hatch. The sedans were often introduced before the hatches so there was on overlap of new and old bodies at times.Though it's technically listed as a small car in Australia, the Cerato is actually pretty large and interior space is good. There are no headroom problems front or rear. It also passes the four-adult test for rear legroom without those in the front seats having to compromise to any real extent. As is usually the way in this class in Australia, the Cerato is generally used by families with small children, something it handles with ease.Most Kia Cerato models are powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. This gives it enough power and torque for most owners, but some would like a bit more grunt to match the dynamics of the chassis, particularly on the most recent model.The Cerato from April 2013 has a new design 1.8-litre engine in place of the old 2.0. It provides more performance and uses less fuel whilst doing so. Definitely our pick of the powerplants if your budget is up to it.Five-speed manual gearboxes were used until they were replaced by a modern six-speed unit late in 2010. The latter is an excellent unit with a good feel through the lever and a wise choice of ratios.Four-speed automatic transmissions, fitted prior to March 2011, do a reasonable job, but you will find them hunting up and down for the best ratio at times. Far better is the six-speed auto, installed from 2011.Kia Ceratos have quite a simple mechanical layout and can be serviced and repaired by good amateur mechanics. Don't forget to buy a workshop manual.Spare parts and professional repair costs are reasonably priced.Kia dealers are mainly in metropolitan areas, but some of the bigger country towns now also have agents.Insurance is usually costed in the bottom third of the premium scale and we haven't seen any big variations from company to company. However, it's always worth shopping around, just make sure your making a fair comparison.While the Kia Koup, introduced in September 2009 carries Cerato badges it is generally regarded as a different model. It's an interesting car with an unusual shape and we love the fact it's called a Koup rather than a Coupe.Former crash damage usually shows up as ripples in body panels, colours that don't match correctly and even wheels out of alignment. If you're in the least bit unsure call a professional.Look for body damage in areas such as the rear bumper which often gets scarred by people carelessly resting stuff on it while loading the boot.Check that the engine starts easily and idles smoothly pretty well straight away. Ideally the engine should be started stone cold first thing in the morning.Gearboxes that are noisy and/or sticky in their changes may be due for major repairs.Automatics should go into gear almost at the moment you move the selector.Handbrakes can be over adjusted causing premature pad wear on the rear brakes. You may feel and hear the pads rubbing slightly on the discs during your test drive.Fuel remote release cables can stretch making it difficult to open the flap.Some Ceratos had audio unit failures, check the full range of modes in the system to be sure everything works correctly.Incorrectly serviced variable valve timing units can fail due to poor oil quality blocking the oil passage. As always, we suggest having a vehicle serviced by a professional, preferably one with people trained on the vehicle type.

Kia Cerato Koup, usually known simply as the Kia Koup comes from the lets-have-fun-with-names department of the ambitious South Korean car maker.

Once a thriving segment, the budget sports car market had shrunk almost to the point of extinction when Kia launched its budget-priced Kia Cerato Koup in 2009.

Kia Cerato has become more visible on buyer radars in the last year or so, primarily because of its excellent new styling.

When asked what medium hatchback to buy, wise man invariably say: "A Golf if you've got $30K, a Mazda3 if you don't." Thirty grand gets you an 118TSI - the best VeeWee this side of a GTI . A Maxx Sport 3 gets change from that sum.The VW's the best hatch money can buy, the Mazda's a close second. After an interval of daylight, there follows an ever more crowded field. None of them, however, including number one and two, can offer, the newly five door Kia Cerato's bang for buck. It's a convincing enough package to make a wise man question the order of things.Unbeatable. The base SI is $20,240 for the manual; $22,240 for the auto. Its fruit includes cruise control, manual aircon, Bluetooth set-up, telescopic steering, and steering-wheel mounted controls. The SLI - $24,040 manual; $26,240 auto ­- adds 17-inch alloys, reverse sensor, suede/cloth upholstery, alloy pedals, automatic headlights, paddle shifters for the auto and various bling bits.Kia's cousin Hyundai matches the otherwise peerless five year unlimited kilometre warranty, but while the Carsguide Car of the Year-winning i30 shares elements of the Cerato's platform and the Theta II petrol engine, the Kia's uniformly six speed transmissions best its relative's manual by one cog and its auto by two. In the case of the latter, this makes a big difference.Hardly the last word in this department with that Theta engine a bit too like yesterday's papers compared to the direct injection turbo petrol or diesel donks to be had for a few thousand dollars more.That's true too of the torsion beam rear suspension as opposed to the independent set-up of the Cerato's more sophisticated peers. The live rear axle allows for class leading 385-litre load space, rear seats up.But, as is the case with the Sportage SUV, it's the Australian connection that distinguishes the Cerato. Led by Graeme Gambold, the local team's take on the Cerato equips it with bespoke spring settings and steering wheel weighting - improvements that will find their way into the Cerato sedan and Koup.It's a looker, alright, another feather in the cap of head designer Peter Schreyer. Smart and elegant, it makes the i30 look plain, the Golf anal the Mazda3 like an over-folded piece of origami.Inside, the base model SI looks just like a sub-$21 grand base car should, a sea of (rather smelly as new) plastic. But the SLI lifts the game markedly, inside and out, without over embellishing the go fast bits. Which would be silly, because sporty ain't what the Cerato is meant to be.You have to applaud six airbags as standard on the both models. Ditto stability program, ABS and a full-size spare. But the Cerato will likely score four stars, not five, from the ANCAP program.The easy shifting manual's sixth gear is a bit of gimmick, actually. At 110km/h in top cog you're still doing 3000rpm - a few hundred less than in fifth. But you're doing it with a remarkable degree of refinement. Aside for a bit of wind noise about the mirrors, this Cerato cruises in almost silently. It's a bit boomier in the back, but quite a feat nonetheless.The auto's the go. The paddle shifters allow a degree of manual override, useful for engine braking or applying spurs to the recalcitrant Theta as a hill begins to prove too much for it. Left to self-shift, it's a fairly seamless unit that goes some way toward masking the ordinariness of the engine.Moreover, at 7.7 litres per 100km and 187g of Co2 per km, the auto is merely 0.2L and 1g less environmentally nice than the manual.While not so sharp as the Mazda3, the Cerato is nonetheless some way past dynamically adequate, especially for its likely buyers. Indeed, the local lads have done it proud, with a ride/handling compromise that certain other imports would envy.Get over the badge and yourself; this represents more than value for money.

The world has been looking desperately for something to take the place of the Celica and Integra. The benchmark Japanese coupes were killed when customers drifted away to something different in the 1990s, even if upmarket brands have continued to find strong support for selfish two-doors and cars for people who want more than transport.So now we have the Kia Koup. It's very different to the efforts of its sister Korean company, Hyundai, with everything from the nasty little S Coupe through to the impressive V8-powered Genesis that is only built with left-hand drive.The Koup is based on the Cerato, which makes it simple and cheap to create. It also has styling that is more chunky and Gen-Y friendly than the last of the Celica and Integra crew. It should be a huge hit but, so far at least, it is not doing particularly well in Australia. That mostly comes down to the way it drives, but more of that in a minute.The two-door Koup arrived last September and is basically a cut-down and funked-up version of the four-door Cerato. That means it gets the Cerato's 2-litre petrol engine, but the body basics are very different and it is 60 millimetres lower, 50 shorter and 10 narrower, but still has the same wheelbase. The suspension alone drops it by 10 millimetres and it rolls on 17-inch alloys.The design comes from a 2007 Kia concept car and the translation, like the boxy little Soul, is pretty faithful to the show car. The interior is obviously less radical, and the materials are cheaper, but it still show's Kia's commitment to doing cars that have some emotion. Kia claims the Koup is fun to drive and has a refined ride, but we're not talking about a BMW or a Porsche.The Koup is a major disappointment. The engine is perky enough and the gearbox is slick with good ratios, but the chassis is  . . . pedestrian. Kia needs to know that it's not nearly good enough to stick a coupe body over a midfield small car and expect it to win buyers. The Celica was never a great driving car, and the Integra relied heavily on great engines, but by comparison to the Koup the Toyota is a grand prix car.The Koup has steering and front suspension that fights you all the time, even without pushing hard on the accelerator. It is always tugging and fighting, even in the mildest curves, and you need to hang on tight if you try to go moderately quickly on a twisty road. If it rains . . . Well, then things get nasty and you have to slow down.Don't get me wrong, because I wanted to like the Koup. I've been missing affordable two-door driving in Australia and the Kia has the right price and a good look, both inside and out. The dash, in particular, will appeal to younger buyers and the sound system is good. The seats are ok, visibility is good and safety should be fine for the class and price.But you can see and feel the Korean quality in the Koup, from rattly doors with window glass that clunks and jerks, to the cheap finishing in the boot. It's also tough to get in and out of the back seat, and the big rear glass really needs a wiper for wet weather. So, bottom line, the Kia Koup is nothing special. Pity.I don't think there is anything special about the Koup. It does the job, but it doesn't deliver on how it looks. I'm not sure about the massive doors - they clunk and bang and might get droopy over time. The steering is the big letdown, especially driving on a wet road. That was terrible and not sporty at all. It also tugs a lot in corners when you want to put your foot down.Really, it was just standard stuff. A standard car. The boot's fine, the seats are fine, and the sound system is good. Thinking about the Celica, it looks sportier but inside it's just a regular car. But it does have that five-year warranty, which is important to a lot of people.Funky looks but an old-school drive.