2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ 2.0L 6AT Sedan Review

The Kia Cerato sits in a segment that is – despite the continual onslaught of SUVs – considered quite popular and nearly every mainstream brand in Australia is dipping their feet in the water that is the small hatch/sedan segment. While sales in 2021 have taken a dive, almost 94,000 people bought a car in this segment up to the end of November, so there’s clearly quite a lot of customers here. Because of that, manufacturers are constantly updating their offerings in this segment, so is the Cerato the top pick or should you look elsewhere? We tested the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ Sedan to find out.

For the 2022 model year, Kia updated the Cerato giving it a fresher look, changed the value equation and added some new technology to keep the car fresh against newer offerings in this market such as the Mazda3, Hyundai i30 and the Toyota Corolla. Has it worked? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 8/10

While the Cerato range is priced from $25,990 drive away, we tested the top of the range Sport+ (aside from the sports luxury GT), which is priced at $31,690 drive away (in either sedan or hatchback bodystyles). 

Standard equipment on the Cerato Sport+ includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic halogen headlights, LED daytime running lights, dual-zone climate control with rear vents, keyless entry with push button start, heated and auto-folding exterior mirrors, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB+ digital radio, a six-speaker sound system, leather upholstery with heated front seats and a rear centre armrest with cupholders.

Safety kit includes six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert (both with braking), lane keep assist with lane trace assist, driver attention monitoring, rear occupant alert, safe exit assist, tyre pressure monitoring, auto high beam, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and an alarm. 

While the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ does have quite a lot of features, there are some key ones that it does miss out on. For example, there are no full LED headlights (they are saved for the range-topping GT), no power driver’s seat and a lack of automatic wipers. Other manufacturers, such as Mazda and Hyundai, offer these features on their cars for similar money.

The colour range for the Cerato includes the no-cost ‘Clear White’, while every other colour is $520 and includes ‘Snow White Pearl’, ‘Silky Silver’, ‘Aurora Black’, ‘Platinum Graphite’, ‘Steel Grey’, ‘Runway Red’, ‘Mineral Blue’ and our test car’s ‘Horizon Blue’. The sole interior option on the Sport+ is black leather upholstery. 

Competitors to the Cerato Sport+ are the Hyundai i30 Elite sedan (around $35,000 drive away) — which shares the Cerato’s platform and mechanicals – and the Mazda3 G20 Evolve sedan (around $33,000 drive away). Both competitors’ pricing is higher than the Cerato, but the Mazda and Hyundai include equipment that should be standard on the Cerato, including the previously mentioned LED lighting and automatic wipers.

Performance & Economy: 7/10

The only engine option for the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ is the brand’s familiar 2.0-litre ‘MPi’ four-cylinder unit that has lived in the Cerato for quite some time now. The engine produces 112kW of power and 192Nm of torque while sending power to the front wheels via a standard six-speed torque converter automatic – the formerly available six-speed manual option has unfortunately been cut with the facelift.

Interestingly, the 2.0-litre engine in the Kia Cerato is very similar to the one used in the 2021 Hyundai i30 sedan, although the one in the i30 is more modern as it is from Hyundai/Kia’s new range of ‘Smartstream’ engines, which makes it slightly more powerful, more fuel efficient and smoother than the one in the Cerato.

There are a few drawbacks to the engine in the Cerato: it is noisy, thirsty and can feel a little thrashy when getting on the throttle, but when driving around town at low revs, the engine is more than fine for most. It will happily get you from A to B with little fuss – though, will a lot of fuel use. The six-speed automatic tends to hold gears for longer than you may expect, but it is a fairly good transmission when pottering around town with little disturbance – it’s intuitive, shifts smoothly and is far superior to a CVT auto.

Comparing the 2.0-litre engine in the 2021 Kia Cerato to its rivals is interesting. The Hyundai i30 Sedan has the same 2.0-litre capacity with slightly more power (117kW), but slightly less torque (191Nm) whereas the Mazda3 fitted with the 2.0-litre engine produces 114kW of power and 200Nm of torque.

The engine in the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ can run on 91RON regular unleaded fuel and has a claimed average fuel consumption of 7.4L/100km – though our test consumption was comfortably above 10L/100km. Combine this with the 50-litre fuel tank and you can expect a range of around 600km between trips to the pumps. In comparison the Hyundai i30 Sedan produces 7.0L/100km and the Mazda3 Sedan has a claimed fuel consumption of 6.1L/100km.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

The 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ does have Australian-tuned suspension, but it is one firmer applications that we have experienced with a particularly firm ride but to no benefit – this isn’t a sports car! The Hyundai i30 also has Australian-tuned suspension and it manages to ride smoother than the Cerato

The one benefit to the firmer suspension is that the Cerato handles rather well – there is less body roll than the Mazda3 and Hyundai i30, meaning you can corner faster and more aggressively if that’s what you’re in to. The standard 17-inch wheels are wrapped in Kumho Ecsta tyres and do a relatively decent job of getting power to the ground but a more performance oriented tyre would help the handling experience.

The active safety systems in the Kia Cerato are pretty good. The blind spot monitoring is always working to prevent you merging into someone, the forward collision alert isn’t too abrupt and over sensitive as some systems can be and the adaptive cruise control does a great job of maintaining the distance between you and the car in front of you. The one feature we would like to see a little more fine tuned is the lane departure warning system, which can be a little intrusive and oversensitive in urban settings.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

The 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ has a rather conventional looking interior for this segment. Other brands like Mazda and Hyundai like to get a little more creative with their interior designs but Kia have seemingly played it safe with the Cerato with its blocky and conventional layout. The recent facelift for the Cerato gained a larger touchscreen (10.25-inches) and an updated design to the dash, but nothing too dissimilar to that of the pre-facelift model.

The leather used on the seats in the Cerato is a nice material to live with as it’s more durable than conventional leather but not too firm to be uncomfortable. The rest of the interior quality is nothing special with mostly hard materials used around the cabin. The dashboard is nice and soft, though other materials aren’t great.

The interior storage in the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ is rather good for the segment. There is a slot in front of the gear knob for a phone and a wallet, a shelf above that to store keys or cards, two cupholders are behind the gear selector and next to that is another place to store a wallet or a set of keys, there are also deep door bins, a generous glove box and a nicely sized centre console. A wireless charging point would be a nice addition to the cabin, though.

The 10.25-inch touchscreen that sits centre of the 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+’s dash is rather easy to use. It comes with satellite navigation, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio and a feature that can project the ‘Sounds of Nature’ through the speakers. The standard audio system is a six-speaker unit which we would call adequate, though it’s hardly special.

Sitting in the rear of the Cerato sedan is one of the best in the segment with more than ample legroom, and good headroom as well. Two adults and a child would fit comfortably. Features include a centre armrest with cupholders, vents, door bins, a single USB-A charging port and some storage behind the front seats.

Opening up the boot of the Kia Cerato Sedan reveals 502-litres of cargo space, which is very generous for this class of vehicle – the Hyundai i30 Sedan can only offer 474-litres and the Mazda3 sedan is stuck with just 444-litres in comparison. There are two tabs in the boot of the Cerato to fold down the second row of seating to open up the cargo space more, though no hooks or clever storage solutions to help secure items. A space saver spare wheel lies under the floor.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like other Kia products, the Cerato Sport+ comes with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with a year of roadside assistance that’s topped up a further 12 months with each dealer service. Kia’s warranty is two years longer than both Mazda and Hyundai, while Mazda also gives all of its cars five years of roadside assistance. Five years/75,000km of servicing for the Cerato costs $1,999 ($399 per service), which isn’t cheap. 

Servicing the i30 sedan costs $1,495 ($299 per service) thanks to cheap servicing and 15,000km service intervals, while the Mazda3’s shorter 10,000km intervals make it more expensive to service at $1,915 over five years/50,000km – drive more distance and it costs even more. 

The 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ Sedan DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.8/10

The 2021 Kia Cerato Sport+ is a car that offers a wide range of appeal with its roomy cabin, good standard equipment list, seven-year warranty and reasonable driving dynamics. Being priced from around the $25,000 mark (in base model form) means that the Cerato is often considered for a first car or a family car, and its excellent standard safety equipment will definitely help those inside it feel safe – but importantly as well, its dynamics are sharp enough to avoid the accident in the first place.

It’s not perfect, however. The thrashy and thirsty engine is of particular concern – especially given how likely it is to spend its life in purely urban driving. The good dynamics are because of the firm ride, and we think it might be a touch firm for many buyers. There’s also the rather conservative interior compared with rivals and that this almost-top-spec Sport+ really should have more equipment as standard. But those issues aside, the Cerato is a good, honest car that offers a lot and should be on your consideration list.