Cerato gets a mild makeover
KIA HAS given its Cerato hatch and sedan models mild mid-life facelifts and price increases in South Africa, along with a slight range reshuffle.
Changes to the exterior are very modest, with new front bumpers, bonnet, headlights and grille trims on both body styles. The sedan also gets new back bumpers and tail lights. All models are updated with new wheel designs, two new colours (Rich Espresso and Gravity Blue) and electric folding side mirrors.
Inside there’s new cloth upholstery patterns on lower 1.6 EX models (SX keeps the same leather), while all versions get shiny piano black radio surrounds and new materials in the door panels.
The gear lever in manual models has also been changed slightly, and automatics now benefit from a new Drive Mode Select (DMS) system which Kia says adjusts electric power steering sensitivity.
No changes have been made mechanically, with the same 95kW/ 157Nm 1.6 and 118kW/194Nm 2.0 petrol engines available, but the range has been adjusted to suit local market demands.
The top-of-the-line 2.0 SX has been dropped and replaced with a new 1.6 SX in either hatch or sedan guise. The 1.6 SX hatch comes only with a six- speed manual, while the equivalent sedan only comes with a sixspeed autobox.
All Ceratos in entry-level EX trim come with airconditioning, Bluetooth phone pairing, steering controls, cruise control and LED running lights, but 2.0 versions also get leather and more detailed instrument cluster displays.
Higher SX specification adds xenon headlights, keyless ignition, a full colour central display, a rear-view camera, park-distance control and dual-zone climate control among other things. All Ceratos come with five-year/ unlimited mileage warran- ties, and five-year/90 000km service plans.
The updated Ceratos are currently undergoing South African homologation, and are expected to be on dealer floors sometime in October. PRICES: Cerato 1.6 EX Manual (Hatch & Sedan) R299 995 Cerato 1.6 EX Automatic (Hatch and Sedan) R312 995 Cerato 2.0 EX Manual (Hatch & Sedan) R340 995 Cerato 2.0 EX Automatic (Hatch & Sedan) R353 995 Cerato 1.6 SX Manual (Hatch only) R344 995 Cerato 1.6 SX Automatic (Sedan only) R357 995