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Kia Cerato vs Kia Rio

What's the difference?

VS
Kia Cerato
Kia Cerato

$20,990 - $39,999

2022 price

Kia Rio
Kia Rio

$19,975 - $28,990

2022 price

Summary

2022 Kia Cerato
2022 Kia Rio
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 1.6L

Inline 4, 1.4L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

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

6.0L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

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

  • Uninspiring drivetrain
  • Lacks active safety features
  • Hard, noisy ride
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 Rio Summary

Australia is experiencing a mass extinction event.

Like the dinosaurs before them, and hopefully not the bees in the near future, the sub-$20,000 car is nearing the bitter end.

An evolutionary dead-end, as higher emissions and safety regulations relegate older models (read Mitsubishi Mirage) to the great scrap-heap in the sky and prevent newer ones (read Honda Jazz) from leaving their local markets.

For you, this means there are quite literally a handful of brand-new vehicles left in Australia which wear before-on-road price-tags under the magic $20,000 number.

One of them is the car we’re looking at for this review: The Kia Rio S, with the catch being you’ll have to be happy changing gears yourself.

So, is this most basic Rio worth your while, or is it best left as a puzzling fossil for future generations to study? Let’s have a look.

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Deep dive comparison

2022 Kia Cerato 2022 Kia Rio

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