Kia Cerato Koup

Brawler said:
I try to stay out of the KIA threads lately as I seem to be have been labeled a KIA fanboy :P I have had my sedan for just under half a year and still EXTREMELY happy.



Hmm, quite true. 2/3 years ago if you told me I was going to be driving a KIA I would have laughed at you. The way KIA has transformed in the last few years is amazing, I guess the Hyundai takeover and Peter Schreyers appointment in 2006 had a lot to do with it.

Hyundai/KIA are as reliable (or even more so in some cases) than the usual value car brands(I'm looking at you Toyota) who lately seem to be pricing themselves rather close to the Germans. Couple that with the good looks (thanks Peter) they seem like very decent cars.



It comes down to affordability, you have R320 000 lying around by all means go for the Audi, it is a better car.

If you have only R205k to spend there is not much, if anything that can touch the Cerato. How much does a Polo 1.6 with service plan cost?
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Personally I think the Polo 1.6 is a better car. Much nicer to drive. Might not have all the bells and whistles, but over all a better car if you ask me.

I am not dissing the Kia, still a good car, but I don't think you can compare it to the VW.
 
Paul_S said:
I have the 5 speed Cerato 2.0 SX sedan.
I'm quite happy with the 2L engine although a turbo would help at Highveld altitudes.
The 0-100km/h sprint takes about 9.3 to 9.4 seconds which isn't bad. A BMW 320i does the sprint in 9.1 seconds.
The engine has a fair bit of low down torque and I usually cruise in rush hour traffic in 3rd gear at 1000RPM and then just hit the accelerator pedal to pull away without gearing down.
With relaxed driving you don't need to rev the engine beyond 3000RPM to keep up with traffic.



Yip, that has to be the most annoying problem on the Cerato and it only seems to affect the South African model.
It's a firmware issue.

One word of caution: The Cerato and the Koup use torsion-beam suspension on the rear and it does not perform well on rough surfaces!
If you want a car that handles well pick a vehicle with independent multi-link rear suspension like the Mazda 3, Audi A4, etc.
This is becoming an issue for me as the back roads I drive on have been potholed and re-patched so many times that the ride becomes uncomfortable and the car tends to buck and jump around all over the place. It cannot hold a straight line on rough surfaces.

That being said, the car is a lot of fun to drive and very economical (averaging 6.3L/100km on the N1 at the moment with everyone on holiday).
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Thanks for honest post Paul. Nice to know these little things.
 
Paul_S said:
Yip, that has to be the most annoying problem on the Cerato and it only seems to affect the South African model.
It's a firmware issue.

One word of caution: The Cerato and the Koup use torsion-beam suspension on the rear and it does not perform well on rough surfaces!
If you want a car that handles well pick a vehicle with independent multi-link rear suspension like the Mazda 3, Audi A4, etc.
This is becoming an issue for me as the back roads I drive on have been potholed and re-patched so many times that the ride becomes uncomfortable and the car tends to buck and jump around all over the place. It cannot hold a straight line on rough surfaces.
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The flat spot is my biggest issue to. A few Cerato owners have been complaining to KIA and they have promised us a software upgrade.

I can't say I have noticed any issues with the handling but I have not driven on any dodgy roads over the last 6 months.

Grimspoon said:
Personally I think the Polo 1.6 is a better car. Much nicer to drive. Might not have all the bells and whistles, but over all a better car if you ask me.

I am not dissing the Kia, still a good car, but I don't think you can compare it to the VW.
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Well its OK to disagree.
I just don't see how a person can think a 114kw car is too sluggish but then say the 77kw CITI golf engined R200k Polo is a better car. I am an ex-VW owner to and have driven the polo extensively and your statement does not compute :)

I actually like the Polo, I think it looks great not overstyled like most little hatches these days but it is overpriced and it would be a lot better if we got the decent engines like they get overseas. Not Uitenhages left overs.
 
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Brawler said:
The flat spot is my biggest issue to. A few Cerato owners have been complaining to KIA and they have promised us a software upgrade.

I can't say I have noticed any issues with the handling but I have not driven on any dodgy roads over the last 6 months.



Well its OK to disagree.
I just don't see how a person can think a 114kw car is too sluggish but then say the 77kw CITI golf engined R200k Polo is a better car. I am an ex-VW owner to and have driven the polo extensively and your statement does not compute :)
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lol ok, well as you said its ok to disagree.

I am not saying the Polo is quicker, I am sure the cerato is the faster of the two. I am not actually comparing the power.

But overall the Kia did nothing for me. The VW however has something about it that just makes it an all round nicer car in every department.

Edit: That being said, I do think VW are very expensive cars, the KIA kills it with value for money. No doubt there.
 
I am going to go right ahead and do a moon walk here and eat my words :p

I went to test drive the hatch and it actually really impressed me.

It felt a lot better to drive than cerato seedan I drove a few weeks back. The power was definately noticeable, much better than the seedan I drove.

I drove the auto and its freaking nice.

So Brawler, I take back what I said, you can't really compare this to the polo. You getting way more car for your money with the cerato. :)
 
:p

Was it the new 6 speed auto with paddle shift? I hear it makes a big difference.
 
So I went to have a look at the cars on the showroom floor at the local Kia Dealership. I must say these cars are great. They are pretty damn sturdy, and have a high build quality. I was expecting less :o

Anyway, it is true there *really* is a shortage of Koups. I can probably twist some arms and have them source me one, but then I don't get to select the color. Anyway, it will be worth it - no matter what color it is. :D
 
fdaniels said:
So I went to have a look at the cars on the showroom floor at the local Kia Dealership. I must say these cars are great. They are pretty damn sturdy, and have a high build quality. I was expecting less :o

Anyway, it is true there *really* is a shortage of Koups. I can probably twist some arms and have them source me one, but then I don't get to select the color. Anyway, it will be worth it - no matter what color it is. :D
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perhaps learn from your previous purchase and get the car you actually want in the colour you actually want....
 
I bought the Cerato 2.0l hatch the day it came out. I also drove the sedan but once I tried the hatch I was sold. The hatch even has a larger boot space ???!?!

It's a fantastic car for the price you pay, you tack on 80-100k for a Japanese equivalent, like a previous poster said, never did I imagine myself driving a Kia, but the Koreans are getting better and better.
 
Its looking very good. The Kia and Hyundai are going from strength to strength.
The best thing Kia ever did was to hire their last chief of design(he previously designed for VW) because he turned them from butt ugly into very attractive cars.
 
Yep. He is now Chief Design Officer for both Hyundai and Kia. The previous Audi A3, A4, A6 and TT were all his designs.
 
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I don't like the front - the current model looks much better.
I also agree with Brawler on the engine selection - we need a turbo option for the Highveld so that we get some Zing with the Bling.
At the very least Kia need to give us the 2.4L engine.

I'm no longer feeling the love for Kia after the recent price hikes. :(
The new Kia Cerato 2.0 SX Auto is R290,000 and for that price I'd much rather look at the Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Trend PowerShift with the slick 6 speed dual clutch transmission.
120kW and 340Nm from 2000 RPM with a combined fuel consumption figure of 5.3L/100km.
 
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