Kia Cerato Variant 2

Been driving the car for 9yrs, and it's still giving me peace of mind.

Did not face any major problems so far.

Have tried traveling at 220km/h at NS highway.

Cornering at at speed (160-180km/h) at ease.

Suspension are beyond expection as going over hum at high speed without feeling any bum (better then 2008 E200 Which my friend owned)

Feel like traveling at 80km/h when the car is speeding at 160-180km/h.

Able to reach KL from Sing in just 90min.

Bought this 2.5yo in 2010.

1.6 manual, 121bhp was quite enough to handle daily driving. Rear legroom is spacious and decent for 3 adults. Boot space is good as well. Ended up throwing my storeroom in the trunk.

Back when the car was still pretty new, could do NSHW 180km/h with 5 passengers. However 160km/h is pretty much the upper limit for comfort, considering that this is 2007 technology from Korea. Not too shabby for what it went for.

The usual wear and tear items included steering clunking (bushing etc) AC compressor/coil, ignition coils/sparks, and on the 8th year the starter. Nothing more apart from front suspension mounts having to be replaced every 2-3years. Those are decently priced at distributors though.

Eventually got tired of manual, so traded in for an auto car. Personally never a fan of bigger sedans too, but now I appreciate the cerato V2's size as new sedans are almost much bigger yet does not seem to fit in more interior space.

Yet up until the day i traded in, not a single drop of oil leak from anywhere in the car - engine, gearbox, aircon, brakes all good. Was seriously considering to extend COE but could not find major parts to renew wear and tear on this workhorse.

Having low coe recently, deciding to get a forte or cerato, finally decide a cerato sunroof. Basically forte sunroof only come in 2-litres.

As for avante sunroof, there is no change in the model since 2007, and same engine as cerato, then why not. Dont want to fork out so much since i will be out of town most of the time. From honda city to kia, my colleagues think i am crazy... Hahah. Because my honda metal become tin when being crushed and i feel so helpless can hear the metal crushing in... Scary!

Car with great design, ergonomics and Price.

With everything included (solar film, alcantra leather bucket seats, DVD player, full body kit, reverse sensor), the price is definitely worth it! can't ask for more actually.

Power is not lacking. With manual sports shift, you can control the torque and power u need.

Cruising at 100km/h is Dangerous! Cos the cabin is quiet and car is stable. you won't know you are already beyond legal speed limits!

Fuel consumption is reasonable given it's power. 12-13km/l

Passenger legroom is plenty.

Kia has really done a great job with this car! This is actually my 3rd Kia Car. I had Picanto, Rio before this. No regrets.

Actually I bought the V1 (auto/sedan) version 4 years back and just hit my 100K mileage.

While most people think Korea make can only last for 3 years, my Cerato actually had only 1 defect till date. (Alternator fail last month.)

The car is "hard" (approx. 1380kg) but i still manage to get 11km/litre on SPC 95petrol.

Petrol tank is huge, with at least 62 litre instead of what written on the spec.

Hey there! Just gotten this car for abt a month now. This is my 1st car and I have to say, it is really value more money for those of us who are willing to spend ard this price range.

I'v tried a couple no.of cars mostly Japanese, but at last attracted to the Kia Cerato, maybe due the pricing that is within my budget. For a car that is below $50k, I tink the Cerato is the most excellence choice for those with a budget conscious.

The car handle quite well during high speed, especially during long loops, I felt like driving a continental car instead of driving a Korean brand. Having driven an Alfa, Renault and Opel I think this car is as almost as perfect compared to the Lancer or Mazda 3.

well i guess u hav to tried before u know how ok this car is.....

For the price i paid for and the comfort level i get from this car is good. The car is very spacious and quiet. With a good sound system installed really makes my ride even more relaxing.

Viewed quite a few cars before deciding on this car. I change from a normal car to Off Peak due to low usage of car, so since I wanna save, must well save more and chose a cheaper yet comfortable. Anyway after 3 - 4 years would change car liao, so what if the car cannot endure through 5 years or what.. Getting a cheap ride and changing a new car every 3 - 4 years time is better than driving a expensive car for 10 years. That's why my loan also super short term. Because it's cheap so that it is affordable for a short term loan.

Smooth driving and decent looking (both exterior and interior) for the price paid. Have most of the features necessary for a typical 1.6L car, but relatively much cheaper.

Just bought this vehicle. The feeling of driving is nice and comfortable. Seems like Kia is getting better. But i don't really know will the car last long. Hope i don't make the wrong decision.

Overall i am quite satisfied with the car, good performance, roomy interior, decent fuel consumption for a car this weight and performance of about 11-13km/l.

however there a few area that seriously need some minor improvement.

1) still using the very old old extendable radio antenna. the only cars on the road that i still see have this extendable antenna besides korean cars are the 1990s' honda. I am even more disappointed especially when this model has just receive an update version last yr.

2) soft suspension, maybe just a bit too soft.

3) An updated variant 2 version with an old front grill design. Seems a little out of touch with the current styling. It seems to me that the designers at kia ran out of ideas and simply use back an ancient design on to the new version.

if u can look past the old WWII extendable radio antenna, old front grill design, soft suspension, this car is actually quite a good buy that is great value of $$.

i really hope the folks at kia can wrap up this minor finishing touches. Very often the small things also matters a lot