Review: 2014 Kia Cerato S Premium

In the world of small sedans and hatches the competition has been heating up with the addition of more technology than ever before. It has also meant that prices have never been better and that’s fantastic news for those in the market.

The 2014 Kia Cerato S Premium is the newest addition to the Cerato range and brings a couple of great new features that are not normally seen in a car under $25k. Available both in a 4-door sedan and a 5-door hatch, the S Premium sits just above the entry-level S model.  It’s a real value proposition with standard features include satellite navigation, rear view camera, 7-inch touch screen, 16inch alloys, automatic headlights, and also a DVD player.

Under the hood is a 1.8-litre petrol engine that produces 110kW of power and 178Nm of torque and a swag of safety features including 6 airbags, ABS, and ESC. Additionally, you’ll find Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, power windows and a keyless remote in the S Premium.

On paper, the S Premium looks to have all of the goods. Perfect for a small family or even for a small business wanting to expand their fleet of reps. Let’s see how it performs.

INITIAL IMPRESSION​

European styling has heavily influenced the design philosophy for Kia and the Cerato definitely has those influences on show. There are plenty of soft lines that create a sporty and dynamic look, plus a pleasing amount of soft touch materials are to be found on the inside. This all adds up to being a car that feels comfortable to be in.

On the inside, there’s lots of great design choices that not only make passengers comfortable, but let’s the driver find a great driving position thanks to a steering wheel that adjusts up and down, plus in and out. Additionally the organ pedal style accelerator is a feature normally only seen on some of the most expensive European sports cars, and is awesome to see included in the Cerato.

DRIVABILITY​

Once a comfortable seating position was found, a destination set on our GPS our driving review got under way in the Cerato. After a number of days and a few hundred km’s clocked up on daily driving duties we were able to get a good understanding of how the Cerato performs.

From a drivers perspective, the Cerato does a good job of adapting to whatever your driving style is. Thanks to its electric power steering, there are Sport, Comfort and Normal steering modes available. All of which changing how fast and precise the steering is.

Navigating tight car parks and squeezing into impossible car parks is made much easier with the reversing camera and parking sensors on the front and rear. No more guesswork or excuses for a bad park or touching bumpers!

Road noise is good at highway speeds and the standard six-speed automatic transmission is smooth enough to make peak hour traffic a lot more enjoyable.  The lack of torque from the four-cylinder engine means that your overtaking choices need to be a little more calculated than you’d hope for.

One great aspect of the Cerato is the much better than expected fuel economy. In our tests, the Cerato showed a combined result of 7.1l/100km, a figure good enough to beat out its competitors.

LIVEABILITY​

There is plenty of space in the rear seats, with those around 6ft able to fit in with no great deal of struggle. Even though fitting three adults in the back seats would be a challenge, two adults would have no problems with comfort on a longer than usual trip.

If you’re constantly on the road, the overall comfort and amount of convenience and safety features mean that there’s little complaint to the everyday drivability of the Cerato. The S Premium in particular strikes a great balance of affordability and features for any type of buyer.

The only thing that would be missing is leather trim for those wanting a little more comfort. Regardless, the S Premium would be the pick of the models for us.

Rear cargo space in both the hatch and sedan is excellent and if you have any long items the 60/40 split rear seats can be quickly dropped. So there are no worries about fitting that impulse purchase you picked up from a garage sale on the way home from a business meeting.

COST

As already mentioned, the Cerato S Premium strikes a great balance of technology and safety features for the price. Priced from under $25k, the S Premium gives you everything that you would want or expect from a car in this price range.

The biggest items of value for the S Premium are the front & rear parking sensors and satellite navigation. These features that aren’t standard on comparative models from other brands.

Also standard is a 5 Year/Unlimited KM warranty and 5 Years/75,000 KM of Capped Price Servicing providing a good deal of peace of mind during ownership.

CONCLUSION​

We were quite excited when the 2014 Kia Cerato S Premium was announced as it brought some very impressive features to a very reasonable price bracket. Paired with the usual traits of Kia models of late, including a great driving position, pedal arrangement and exterior styling, there is promise of a very exciting model.

After spending time in the S Premium, we can say that it hits the mark for what customers want in a sedan or hatch priced below $25k, and then some. There’s plenty of space for passengers and cargo and there’s no need for messy third party GPS systems on your windscreen with navigation as standard.

It’s an excellent vehicle for small families or reps that spend lots of time on the road. This car needs to be on top of the shopping lists of those people in the market. Kia has yet again delivered a great car for everyday people.

To experience the 2014 Kia Cerato S Premium or any other model in the range, make sure you arrange a test drive with either Motorama Kia Moorooka or Motorama Kia Browns Plains.

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