The new Kia Cerato spotted on the Federal Highway, hinting that a local
launch is finally imminent. From the looks of it, the car will be offered here
in a similar specification to what was previewed five months ago, right down to the smallish 16-inch
turbine-style alloy wheels. That’s an inch smaller than the 17-inch items and those on the previous Cerato – but perhaps
a higher-spec variant will sport the larger rollers.
The new Cerato gets a more dynamic design that takes
a few cues from the Stinger sports sedan, with sweptback headlights, slim
“tiger nose” grille, a longer bonnet, sweeping glasshouse and short tail for
that fastback look. On the inside, there’s a horizontal dashboard layout with
the now-familiar floating infotainment screen and round air vents at the
corners.
Measuring 4,640 mm long, 1,800 mm wide and 1,440 mm
tall, the new Cerato is 80 mm longer, 20 mm wider and 5 mm taller, although the
2,700 mm wheelbase remains. Kia says that the increased dimensions improve both
head and legroom, and boot capacity has been increased from 482 to 502 litres.
Expect the Malaysian-market Cerato to soldier on
with the same 2.0 litre Nu naturally-aspirated petrol engine as before,
producing 150 hp at 6,200 rpm and 192 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm and paired to a
six-speed automatic transmission. This is the same powertrain that is offered
in Australia, whereas other markets get a revised version of the same engine
and an Intelligent Variable Transmission CVT.
