Just to supplement the Kia Cerato hatchback review already published, here’s a very brief summary of the car from a man’s perspective. More specifically, a highly opinionated, spoilt rotten and unapologetically petrolheaded man, at least, which in this case makes it a far more emotional appraisal than that of my wife. And I’m not just saying that for Brownie points.
As an emotional object then, the new Cerato hatch actually starts off pretty well. Those decent alloys and a shape which I quite like made me quite keen to drive the car when we first picked it up. But then we were also collecting a Scirocco R later in the day so my first chance only comes a few days later.
By this stage I’d been regaled with multiple tales of growing affection, already, for this little 5-door family runabout. When I eventually managed to sneak some time behind the wheel, I was still under the impression that this was the top-spec 2.0-litre auto, remotely comparable to the 1.6-litre Citroen C4 we’d had the week before.
At first I thought perhaps it was just the terrible, very old-feeling automatic transnmission hobbling the motor, but quickly twigged that this was actually the smaller 1.6-litre lump in the nose. That makes it quite a bit cheaper, and not really even vaguely comparable anymore, to the R220K-plus Frenchie.
Except, of course, in every practical area. This car performs the exact same job as that one, just for buyers who are less automotive style-conscious and looking to save a chunk of change for some other useful purpose.
But it’s so much rougher in every detail. It isn’t just the cheap and nasty dashboard plastic either, or the I’m sure very durable but scratchy fabric covering the seats. There’s also an engine which doesn’t deliver too badly, but whines and gnashes at high rpms, and constantly vibrates through the whole structure, so that the old finger-and-thumb steering trick usually used to isolate how talkative a car is just results in a very numb hand very quickly.
Handling isn’t bad. Then again any manufacturer unable to make a decent-handling mid-sized FWD hatchback these days should probably be excommunicated from the global fraternity.
Yes, there is plenty of space available and sure, for R185K or so what can you really expect, particularly when making the comparison against the aforementioned higher-priced rival? And, actually, that argument is completely true.
Because, junking that slow-witted and truculent auto box and perhaps using the saved cash on upgrading to the 2.0-litre engine instead, I would pay my own money for this car and be very happy with it, as an all-purpose family gopher. Yes, the extra money for the Citroen would get more comfort, better quality materials and a much more refined ride, but as neither they nor the strengths of this Kia are really items I care about, I don’t think I could justify it.
The Kia goes basically as well, better with the bigger engine I’m sure, and is built as solidly despite the feel of the materials beneath your fingers – just touching that thick-rimmed “leather” but extremely flaky-feeling wheel is enough to highlight this once more. But it looks as good, if not better, depending on who’s actually doing the adjudication, and is even more practical and spascious, for a healthy amount less coin so you stress less about Coke being spilled all over it, or picking up a ding from an old lady exiting the same shopping mall as you.
Not a petrolhead car no, but for the enormous market these cars serve, the new Kia Cerato hatch is a welcome addition.
-Russell Bennett
