Sedan News

Mazda says it has aimed to make its vital new small car, the fourth-generation Mazda3, more refined and upmarket than ever before.

Ford has whipped the covers off a new Mondeo at the Brussels Motor Show in Belgium, with the updated model to make its way to Australia in the second quarter of this year.

Tesla will cut seven per cent of its employees even as it attempts to ramp up Model 3 production, with company boss Elon Musk saying its workforce is more than the brand can support.

Kia Motors Australia (KMAu) now offers a hatchback body style for its popular Cerato small car as well as sporty GT variants to top the sedan and hatch ranges.

Hyundai has revealed its facelifted Ioniq hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants overseas just months after the model was launched locally in Australia.

“Increased presence, refined elegance” - that’s the apparent catch cry of the facelifted BMW 7 Series, which has been revealed ahead of an expected local debut later this year.

Pricing and features for Kia’s top-of-the-range Cerato GT small hatch and sedan have been revealed on the company’s website ahead of the car’s Australian launch this week.The ‘build and price’ configurator on Kia Australia's website shows the new-generation Cerato GT in sedan and hatch form lists for $32,990, or $31,990 drive-away.Standard features include an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital DAB+ radio, Bluetooth connectivity, sat nav, wireless phone charging, a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster and an eight-speaker JBL sound system.As for comfort features there's dual-zone climate control, leather trim, heated and ventilated front sports seats with the driver’s being eight-way adjustable, a proximity key and push button start.The GT is the sporty Cerato in the line-up and while it’s not a hot hatch (or sedan) by any means it’s definitely warm with a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 150kW and 265Nm.That’s the same output as Hyundai’s i30 N-Line, which is substantially the Cerato GT’s twin under the skin.Unlike the i30 N-Line the Cerato GT won’t give buyers the option of a manual gearbox, with the Kia only available with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. You’ll be able to read CarsGuide's full review of the Cerato GT later this week.Kia Cerato GT Pricing 2019Check out all Year Make Model price and spec info here.

Kia’s volume-selling Cerato small car has come away from the crash test concrete with a split decision on its safety rating.The Australiasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) awarded the Cerato S and Cerato Sport versions a four-star safety rating while all other Cerato variants, including the GT, won a five-star classification.Kia Motors Australia spokesman Kevin Hepworth said the company was very happy with the results as “the Cerato is still an extremely safe car”.ANCAP agrees. Its chief executive, James Goodwin, said the Cerato performed well in its protection of adult and child occupants, scoring 90 and 83 percent respectively.All Ceratos have comprehensive safety equipment including autonomous emergency braking (AEB). The four-star rating was given to the entry-level Cerato versions because ANCAP said its AEB system “offers reduced performance”.ANCAP said today that the Cerato S and Cerato Sport are fitted as standard with a camera-only AEB system.It said this system is not designed to react to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists and reduced the scoring of the two versions in the ‘Safety Assist and Vulnerable Road User Protection’ areas of the assessment, so reducing the rating to four stars. “A more advanced camera and radar fusion AEB system is standard on all other variants and available as an optional safety pack on the S and Sport,” ANCAP said.Mr Hepworth said the optional safety pack was $1000 and was a popular purchase by Cerato S and Sport buyers. It includes features such as lane departure warning and rear cross-traffic alert.Mr Goodwin said ANCAP strongly encourages buyers to select vehicles which offer collision avoidance technologies like AEB, however he said consumers should be aware there can be differences in performance across brands, models and variants.“Kia should be commended for offering an affordable vehicle which meets today’s demanding five-star requirements and we would recommend consumers opt for a five-star variant as they provide added safety benefit to all road users,” he said.The tests were done on sedan versions but the same rating applies to the hatch variants because the body structure is identical. The Cerato S and Sport scored 90 percent for ‘adult occupant protection’, 83 percent for ‘child occupant protection’, 55 per cent for ‘vulnerable road user protection’ and 71 per cent for ‘safety assist’. By comparison, the other versions scored the same results in adult and child protection, but 72 percent for ‘vulnerable road user protection’ protection and 73 percent for ‘safety assist’.Kia will launch two new versions of the Cerato GT in sedan and hatch this week, along with a new Picanto GT.Check out all 2019 Kia Cerato price and spec info here.

Nissan has uncovered its IMs concept at this week’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, a new autonomous, battery-electric “elevated sports sedan” aimed at breaking new ground for sedans as SUVs continue to dominate the market.

BMW Australia has detailed the launch line-up of its crucial new-generation 3 Series mid-sizer that will land in local showrooms in March priced at $67,900 before on-road costs for the oil-burning 320d and $70,900 for the petrol-powered 330i.