Kia Cerato 2006 News

Kia is looking to get back into the hot hatch business after pulling the unloved Proceed GT out of the local market last year.

While the company has launched the Sportage with a locally-tuned suspension and played with a Koup to make it handle, the Korean brand has critical vehicles coming.  Kia Australia national marketing manager Steve Watt says the next-generation Rio - due in the latter half of next year - is a critical car for the brand."I've seen the clay of Rio, it's a game-changer, the packaging is more for a small family because it is so clever, that's second half of 2011," he says.  The line-up is far from set, but Watt says the range will need to retain the brand's sharp-pricing as well as cover a broader range of body options."We're known for sharp prices - entry level we need a presence, hopefully we'll have access to different body shapes, sedan and wagon and hopefully a three-door but that's not confirmed, the greater coverage we have the better we'll do," he says.  The company will add the Cerato five-door to its line-up following a Sydney motor show debut in October.The medium sedan - still known as TF for now  but likely to use the Optima nameplate - will be unveiled at the Australian Open in Melbourne early next year, with even more suspension and steering work done by the Australian tuning team than the Sportage."The TF we have started chassis dynamics testing on that car, that determines when it goes on sale - when the work is finished.  It costs the same to put a poor as a good suspension system in the car, the trick is to get a good suspension." he says.Watt says the brand is still considering tactics like a seven-year warranty and says it has to expand its catchment of customers and agrees that the company's line-up need to be seen as "more than A to B" transport."A to B suggests being disconnected with the car, our designs now are for more engaging, you notice the car now - my view is the drive needs to match the style of the car.  We need to talk to a new market, we need to talk to people who wouldn't have considered us before," he says.

Headlining Kia’s stand is a preview of the new and stylish Cerato sedan, due for release to the Australian market in early 2009. It will be the first Kia to feature the 'new face of Kia' design from the pen of Kia's global chief design officer, Peter Schreyer, who joined the company in 2006 from the Volkswagen Group.Schreyer's corporate H-grille echoes his car design philosophy. According to Schreyer, design is the number one purchase influence but it is essential that new designs match both the Kia brand value and the vision of the Kia brand.In striking electric blue at the show, straight lines are feature on the profile, following the base of the side glass from the A-pillar to the boot, while the headlights are integrated into the grille; blistered guards visually lower the car.The new model will bridge the gap between small and medium cars with space, performance, features and value. Longer and wider than the current Cerato sedan, the new model is actually roomier than the first generation Toyota Camry.New Cerato will feature a new, efficient 2.0-litre engine with Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) for class-leading power and torque, delivering the pulling power and responsiveness of a 2.2-litre engine without the fuel consumption of a bigger engine.Kia is also involved in other initiatives, including sponsorship of the Australian Open tennis and a Kia Young Drivers program. Kia is also involved with a new 14 part TV series on Channel 10 called ‘Pat Callinan’s 4x4 Adventures’, where Pat spent three months driving a Kia Sorento CRDi around Australia.

THE first Kia aimed at the best cars in Europe might miss the mark in Australia. As yet, there is no plan to bring the new model, codenamed ED (for European Design), Down Under.It has already been overwhelmed by existing product plans at Kia Motor Australia, which is more worried about introducing the new Magentis, a short-wheelbase Carnival people mover, and an updated Cerato.The ED would probably compete with the Cerato if it came here."The ED is not under active investigation at the moment because there are other priorities. We have to get a vehicle here to evaluate and check the likely pricing," Australian Kia spokesman Jonathon Fletcher says."We haven't yet decided on anything. Because it's been designed for Europe and will be built in an Eastern European plant, left-hand drive is their main focus. After that, right-hand drive for Britain comes next."Beyond that, it comes down to production capacity and how and where it might fit into our range in Australia."The ED has just been previewed in Britain and will be launched in September at the Paris Motor Show. It was designed in Europe and Kia describes the approach as "tough not rough".It is a five-door hatch available with four engines, from a 1.4-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel to a 2.0-litre petrol powerplant.The car will be built at Kia's new factory at Zilina in Slovakia, where production will grow to include a three-door hatch and a station wagon next year.Kia is part of the Hyundai-Kia group, but there is no indication yet of any product-sharing on the ED program.H YUNDAI'S own plans to begin carmak ing in Europe have stalled in the wake of corruption action against company chiefs at home in South Korea.But Kia is proud of the new hero car and confident it will do well if it comes to Australia."It's all new from the ground up. It looks good," Fletcher says."Of course, nobody here has driven any kind of version of it. But if it has been designed to compete with the Volkswagen Golf and Opel Astra in Europe, it won't have been designed to do worse than them."While the ED simmers on the back burner, Kia is turning up the heat on other new-model plans for Australia. It has been battling to get close to sales targets that were set when it became a full factory operation earlier this year and Fletcher says a new wave of cars will help."Magentis is obviously the priority at present. It's coming up at the beginning of August," he says. "And we have the short-wheelbase version of the Carnival, which is more of a family wagon. Then there are facelifts of Sorento, which will be pushed out to the end of the year, and Cerato."