2020 Kia Cerato GT Sedan Review: Bordering on Hot

The Kia Cerato has been in Australia for four generations now and has sold well due to its excellent value for money. For the first time, Kia released a ?warm? variant of the Cerato called the ?GT? in 2019 to compete with the likes of the Hyundai i30 N-Line, Honda Civic RS, Ford Focus ST-Line and Mazda 3 G25. We tested the 2020 Kia Cerato GT sedan to see how it stacks up in this popular segment between regular and hot models.

Price & Specs: 8.5/10

Both the sedan and hatch variants of the Kia Cerato GT are priced at $33,490 plus on-road costs. This is more expensive than the $28,990 Ford Focus ST-Line, though cheaper than the $35,590 Hyundai i30 N-Line Premium and the $34,090 Mazda 3 G25 GT.

For the money, the 2020 Kia Cerato GT comes with equipment such as LED lighting, keyless entry and start, leather sports seats with electric driver’s adjustment and memory functionality, heated and cooled front seats, dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, wireless phone charging, a JBL sound system and an 8.0-inch touch screen which has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as digital radio and inbuilt satellite navigation with live traffic reporting.

Safety kit for the 2020 Kia Cerato GT includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, blind-spot monitoring (BSM) with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera. Like a lot of other Hyundai and Kia products, the 2020 Kia Cerato GT also comes with an alarm system.

Unlike some of its competitors the 2020 Kia Cerato GT does not come with the option of a sunroof and nor does it have automatic wipers or an electronic handbrake – we feel that these would be welcome additions and would make the cabin of the 2020 Kia Cerato GT feel more modern.

The colour seen here on our test car is ?Horizon Blue Metallic? and comes at a $520 premium ? as does ‘Aurora Black’, ‘Gravity Blue’, ‘Platinum Graphite’, ‘Steel Grey’, ‘Sunset Orange’, ‘Runway Red’, ‘Silky Silver’ and ‘Snow White Pearl’ – ‘Clear White’ is the only non-cost option.

Drive & Engine: 8.5/10

The sole engine choice for the 2020 Kia Cerato GT is Hyundai/Kia?s familiar 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine driving the front wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. The Cerato GT has the same outputs as the Hyundai i30 N-Line, although it seems to feel a little sprightlier – when accelerating from a standstill there is little fuss from the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, and you?re off.

Kia has improved the audible quality of this engine over the i30 N-Line with a meatier exhaust sound. The engine has a nice thrum to it and while accelerating, the transmission makes a little burp between gears – like a Volkswagen Group DSG. The only gripe to the noise is that the Cerato GT feeds fake engine noise into the cabin, which can get annoying.

As with the i30 though, the transmission does need improvement. Especially when cold, it’s jerky and can be somewhat unpredictable, though its behaviour does improve when warmed up or when shifting manually with the paddle shifters.

The claimed average fuel economy for the 2020 Kia Cerato GT is 6.8L/100km, which we found hard to achieve – even with a healthy highway dose, we managed around 9.5L/100km.

Ride & Handling: 7.0/10

Our week with the Cerato GT had us comparing the ride to the more hardcore 2020 Renault Megane RS – a car that’s far quicker and more entertaining (and expensive) than the Cerato. Put simply, it’s just too firm around town – you do get used to it, but it should be softer sprung. This is not what we have come to expect from Kia as their cars have locally tuned suspension and are more often than not excellent riding cars.

The one trade-off to the harsh ride is that the handling is quite good, when on a smooth twisty road, the 2020 Kia Cerato GT glides around corners without a fuss. It’s quite a fun car when going for a hard drive with the heavy steering providing more feedback than most systems. Cornering flat and with the aforementioned standard fit Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres the grip is plentiful.

Interior & Practicality: 8.0/10

The 2020 Kia Cerato GT?s cabin is a modern and comfortable place to be. Adding more to the GT badge is the sporty nature of the interior, which can be found everywhere you look ? the red stitching on the seats, the bolstered perforated steering wheel and the alloy pedals are just some of the features attributed to this.

The steering wheel itself is a lovely item to handle ? the leather quality is excellent, and it offers bolstering and perforated leather as well as red stitching, the GT logo on the base and a flat bottom design. There are also handy paddle shifters behind the steering wheel to help row through the gears. There’s also plenty of storage in the cabin from the dual trays under the AC controls to the large door bins.

The seats have a decent amount of adjustment and are electric with two-person memory for the driver – unlike the 2020 Hyundai i30 N-Line Premium. The rear seats are just as comfortable as the front seats with good bolstering and support. They also offer rear air vents and a centre folding armrest with cup holders, and both leg- and headroom is good for a car of this size.

The dash of the 2020 Kia Cerato GT has a nice multi-layered design and the central 8.0-inch screen is easy to use – though we can’t wait to see the new 10.25-inch unit in the Seltos migrate to the Cerato. The inbuilt navigation is easy to use, and the map is clear and informative. Apple CarPlay and Android auto are also well integrated into the screen and the JBL sound system offers a good depth of sound.

One thing that you may think is a bit dated in the interior of a 2020 car is the manual handbrake – it’s made of a hard plastic and isn?t great to touch. Cars like the Hyundai i30 N-Line Premium, Mazda 3 and Ford Focus all have electronic handbrakes that free more space up in the interior.

The boot space of the 2020 Kia Cerato GT sedan comes in at 502-litres but folding down the rear seats via the boot mounted toggles opens this up further. A handy feature to the Cerato sedan is the ?smart boot? – if you have the key on your person and approach the rear of the car it will beep and flash the lights three times and the boot will automatically open. For reference, the 2020 Kia Cerato GT hatch has 428-litres of boot space.

Running Costs & Warranty: 8.5/10

The Cerato GT comes with the brand’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty. This is two years better than what is offered on the Ford Focus, Mazda 3 and Hyundai i30. The 2020 Kia Cerato GT also comes with 12-months roadside assist but this is extended by a further 12-months (up to seven years) with each authorised service at a Kia dealership.

Servicing the 2020 Kia Cerato GT comes around every 12-months or 10,000km ? this is the same intervals as the Mazda 3 and Hyundai i30 with the 1.6-litre engine, but the Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus offer longer 12-month/ 15,000km service intervals. The cost of servicing the 2020 Kia Cerato GT over three years is $1,104, which is slightly more expensive than a Mazda 3 G25 over the same time ($1,077).

2020 Kia Cerato GT DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.2/10

The 2020 Kia Cerato GT is definitely a car to consider if you?re looking for a good mix of practicality, as well as fun. Although the harsh ride may turn some buyers away, we would still consider it as it is better value for money than a lot of its rivals and does offer a lengthy warranty. All things considered, the sporty Cerato is one of the better warm performance vehicles on the market today.