- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
129kW, 209Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 7.4L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2015 Kia Cerato Sli Review
I have the Sedan version of the SLi which is a few centimeters longer than the hatch, and cuts a much better looking profile.
- Cockpit set up, Driver seating, Smooth auto gear changes and Paddle option., Multimedia and Sat Nav panel, Internal car space
- A bit more torque at low speed, A tiny bit more direct feel in the steering, Needs more internal storage pockets
SIZE
I found for those not wanting or needing a full size sedan, the Cerato is Perfect. It is bigger on the inside that it appears. Big enough for our needs of city and country driving which we each day and for fitting a 'Walker' in the boot on weekends. Much easier to park than our Camry and easier and more comfortable for my wife to drive. Takes 4 adults no problem and I found head room not an issue. The ideal size for a medium car.
DRIVE
I actually prefer and use the 'Sports' setting for steering, preferring the heavier feel, especially on the open road. My wife uses the Comfort setting. It appears to me that mileage is improved when using the 'Sports' setting. The feel is normal though not as direct as our Camry felt, (bigger wheels and steering wheel). The low profile wide tyres will also be affecting this. It handles well in the city environment, and feels comfortable and controlled at speed, in fact it seems to handle better when you drive a bit more aggressively.
The 2l engine and gear response is very smooth and quiet, and the power is there when needed though I little more torque at lower speeds would give it that real sports feel. I find that I do use the Paddle gear changes from time to time, to keep the car in a lower gear when accelerating in some city situations, and the paddle placement makes it a breeze.
I was pleasantly surprised that the road noise wasn't as bad as I was expecting (having owned the very first Cerato back in 2004) it is about what you would expect for that sized car and wasn't an issue for us.
Multimedia/Sat Nav
These were very easy to set up and I got USB, Bluetooth/phone, DVD video, CD and radio going in no time at all and regularly switch between all the modes with zero issues, The picture quality was much better than expected when watching video (waiting for my wife).
The screen is easy to see and touch responsive, only very occasionally when the sun struck the screen at a certain angle was it difficult to see, but I found this circumstance was quite rare.
DASH and Display
It has a nice look and easy to reach and see, functional without too many distractions. I like the red color lighting at night. It has a nice compact feel when you get in the drivers seat.
SEATING
Love the memory settings for the drivers seat as my wife and I are quite different heights so this made changing the seat for each driver simple. The leather seats feel good, comfortable and once set you never think about them again. The ventilation fan for the drivers eat I found very useful, for us in the topics, as we are often a bit sweating when getting in the car. The passengers seat is similarly comfortable from that side the car feels even larger. PASSENGER seat likewise comfortable and no space issues for normal adults.
BOOT
Is big enough to take a walker/wheelchair which is what we needed.
SUNROOF
Whist often consider superfluous I actually found we slid the cover open during rainy days for the nice effect.
Air-conditioning
The dual system is something we actually use. Wife doesn't like cold air, I need it. No issues at all and I found that once set we totally forgot about it, meaning it was doing its job.
Storage
The glove-box and door pockets are normal stuff but we found there was a lack of other spaces to put stuff (phone, pen, letters) and we made some side pockets to Velcro to each side of the consul near the gear shift. Also there is only one back seat pocket, certainly needs another.
Power connections
There are two cigarette lighter type power outlets next to the USB and Aux outlets which to plug a USB adapter to power/charge phone and dash cam. There is no side holes to run leads from these so you need to keep the door to that area slid open, it would be nice aka Camry if they had side holes to that compartment to run leads.
The Rear View auto dimming feature for night driving works well and is much appreciated.
The other issues we had were the lack of supply of a variety of the colors Kia made available. We couldn't get the colour of Sli sedan that we wanted and in the end had to go for white.
The things that we did to the standard issue Sli were - window tinging (tropics), Kia floor mats, Kia dash mat, Kia front and back mud/splash guards.