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Kia Cerato vs Kia Picanto

What's the difference?

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Kia Cerato
Kia Cerato

$20,990 - $39,999

2022 price

Kia Picanto
Kia Picanto

$16,888 - $24,999

2022 price

Summary

2022 Kia Cerato
2022 Kia Picanto
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 1.6L

Turbo 3, 1.0L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
6.9L/100km (combined)

5.2L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Harsh ride quality
  • Unrefined, noisy cabin
  • Ageing interior design

  • Not a hot hatch
  • No auto option
  • Lacking some driver-assist safety tech
2022 Kia Cerato Summary

Three years after the fourth-generation Cerato small car rolled into Australian dealerships, Kia launched a mid-life facelift for the sedan and hatch range in mid-2021.

It ushered in styling tweaks including new headlights and Kia’s new logo, as well as more safety tech and a multimedia upgrade.

At the top of the range sits the warmed-up Cerato GT. It’s not quite Hyundai i30 N-level performance, more i30 N-Line. In other words, more than enough performance to keep most people satisfied and enough poke to get away quickly at the lights.

But is the updated version of Kia’s Cerato trying to be something it’s not, or is it a performance bargain?

Read on to find out.

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2022 Kia Picanto Summary

The difference between ‘cheap’ and ‘inexpensive’ is the difference between the Kia Picanto and most sub-$20,000 cars.

Kicking off from $15,990 before on-road costs (ORC), the popular hatch represents Australia’s only complete sub-B supermini experience, with a full range, affordable pricing, excellent aftersales and a welcome absence of obvious cost-cutting measures.

By not being feeble, flimsy, expensive or hopelessly outdated like all the rest, the Picanto is serious about treating budget buyers with respect while offering consumers real choice. Nobody else seems to provide such qualities quite like Kia can.

To that end, we take a long look at the most-expensive – or, if you like, Australia’s least-expensive sporty hatch – version of the Picanto, the intriguing GT.

 

 

 

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    2022 Kia Cerato 2022 Kia Picanto

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