‘TAKE MY MONEY’
PREPARE THE CONTRACT! HE’S READY TO SIGN...
KIA CERATO GT Price as tested $36,525 This month 721km @ 9.9L/100km Total 1063km @ 10.6L/100km
WITH three months and just over 1000km under my ‘newby pretending to be motoring journalist’ belt, I’ve reached the point in my faux-ownership experience with Kia’s Cerato GT Hatch where I can comfortably answer the one big question; would I actually buy one?
The short answer is yes – and let me explain why, but some perspective first...
I’m a male in his (late) 40s trying to hang on to his youth. In reality, I could potentially be classified as being in classic mid-life-crisis territory when it comes to a car purchase, but I don’t have an immense disposable income so the default red Porsche 911 is going to have to wait a few more years (that’s a joke). I love spirited driving but also cherish my licence points. I’m also well and truly mature enough to appreciate function and practicality over my own selfish desires – especially when I have my kids in tow. So the Cerato GT is a definite leader on my consideration list. It’s a fun car but also serves a big helping of practicality.
For a one-car family that gets out and about camping, carrying bikes, loads of sporting gear and the like, the Cerato GT obviously won’t win the practicality stakes like a dualcab ute or large SUV would – as many family buyers have been drawn to in recent years (possibly due to business tax perks).
In the same breath, a ute or SUV in this price bracket won’t deliver you any sense of driving satisfaction unless you have the additional kit and technical ability to take it offroad – which most owners don’t. Oh, and to take a standard ute, and then modify it to tackle any serious heartpumping terrain ain’t going to be cheap. So I’m back to the core virtue of practicality. And as a hatch, the GT gives me enough versatility to facilitate my lifestyle.
Where the GT hits the spot with me is its split personality and
ambidextrous performance. Thanks to the clever and well-calibrated engine mapping modes I can derive a level of satisfaction from every drive. And this is important in my eyes. Whether it’s a 20-minute COVID lockdown boredom-busting loop up and around my local mountain road for kicks, or a leisurely school pick-up, or a leisurely highway cruise that delivers excellent fuel economy – I get out of this car smiling. And isn’t that what you want from your daily drive?
But as a final thought on the drive modes, I do maintain that
Kia could easily just stick with Eco and Sport modes. ‘Normal’ and ‘Smart’ modes are just unnecessary digital adornments in my opinion. Because let’s face it, in life you are either going fast or slow – be it food, financial investment reward, work or on holidays – if you get my drift? If you live in a beige world, this isn’t the car for you.
From an ownership and value perspective, Kia’s seven-year warranty and capped price servicing looks attractive. While interval costs vary year to year, the total you would spend in seven years is $3234… which averages out to $462 a year. It’s not the cheapest capped price servicing in class, but the warranty is equal industry best. Keep in mind, a new set of tyres (225/40ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4) will set you back close to a grand, but if you don’t go flogging them in industrial estate backblocks you should get at least 40,000km out of the OEM set. Nothing to worry about. To top off the value perspective, I’ve spent around $210 in fuel in the three months I’ve had this fun little jigger in my possession, and that’s using 98RON which, at last fill here in Brisbane, was $1.99 a litre!
I’ll dig into a deeper competitor comparison in my next report but for now, at ballpark $35K, and knowing most of the competition, I’m pretty much sold.