Bay Harbour: September 18, 2019
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PAGE <strong>18</strong> BAY HARBOUR<br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Wednesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>18</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Feisty Kia Cerato deserves GT badge<br />
We’re for<br />
Motoring<br />
Ross Kiddie<br />
HISTORICALLY, hot<br />
hatchbacks had three doors – take<br />
Peugeot’s 205 GTi, Volkwagen’s<br />
GTi and Toyota’s Corolla GT, for<br />
example.<br />
That’s all changed, most of the<br />
affordable fun cars which fit into<br />
that category now have four doors<br />
– or five – as is the case of Kia’s<br />
Cerato GT.<br />
The Cerato range entered a<br />
new generation early this year. It<br />
consists of six models, two sedans<br />
and four hatchbacks. Amidst the<br />
line-up is what Kia label GT-Line,<br />
and I drove that 2-litre car in<br />
June.<br />
Not to be confused with GT-<br />
Line is another sporty variant<br />
within the range, and it is badged<br />
simply GT.<br />
Although specification within<br />
the two nameplates is similar,<br />
the GT differs markedly from<br />
GT-Line in terms of driveline<br />
mechanicals; instead of the<br />
naturally-aspirated 2-litre engine,<br />
the GT gets a turbocharged unit<br />
of 1.6-litre. Although the Cerato<br />
GT is all-new, the engine is pretty<br />
much a carryover, it was first seen<br />
a few years ago in some Hyundai<br />
product and in Kia’s own Soul,<br />
Koup and Pro_cee’d GT.<br />
This engine has all of the ingredients<br />
which make the Cerato<br />
local<br />
sport<br />
From Kaikoura,<br />
to Christchurch,<br />
to Ashburton,<br />
we have it<br />
covered<br />
GT a true hot hatch. It is rated<br />
by Kia at 150kW (6000rpm),<br />
and with 265Nm available all of<br />
the way between 1500rpm and<br />
4500rpm it has a broad spread of<br />
power through the rev range. If<br />
you take into account that the entire<br />
car weighs in at just 1385kg,<br />
then there is a solid power-toweight<br />
advantage.<br />
What’s more, the engine is one<br />
of the sweetest you could find in<br />
a car of this type, it is an absolute<br />
honey in terms of delivery, there<br />
is no raucous sound, just a tantalising<br />
throb out of the exhaust<br />
pipes, it sings delightfully as it<br />
heads towards the red line which,<br />
incidentally, is a lively 6500rpm.<br />
It works the top end willingly,<br />
yet, as I’ve mentioned, the torque<br />
spread is its greatest asset, it<br />
works the bottom end forcefully<br />
and without lag.<br />
I’d really like to drive this car<br />
with manual gearbox, a six-speed<br />
manual has been hooked to this<br />
engine before, but I’m picking<br />
that’s never going to be an option<br />
in today’s automatic-focussed<br />
market. Instead, drive is transferred<br />
through a seven-speed dual<br />
clutch transmission which is as<br />
close to a manual as you’ll get to<br />
experience these days. There are<br />
only two pedals, so you treat it as<br />
KIA CERATO GT: Turbocharged engine supplies true hot<br />
hatchback performance.<br />
an automatic. The ratios extract<br />
well the power outputs, and shifts<br />
are lightning fast. Paddle-shifters<br />
allow the driver to be involved in<br />
the gearchange process if he/she<br />
feels the desire to do that. There<br />
are also adjustable drive modes<br />
which the driver can choose to set<br />
the engine management protocols<br />
for each type of journey.<br />
The Cerato GT wouldn’t really<br />
deserve the GT label if it didn’t<br />
have the figures to back it up.<br />
Kia claims a 7.7sec time to reach<br />
100km/h from a standstill, while<br />
by my stopwatch it will lunge<br />
through a highway overtake<br />
(80-120km/h) in 4.8sec. These<br />
compare well to its competition,<br />
when I evaluated the Peugeot<br />
308 GT recently, its power and<br />
performance figures were almost<br />
identical.<br />
In recent years motor vehicle<br />
manufacturers have also used<br />
turbocharging as a technique to<br />
enhance fuel efficiency. I’m not<br />
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• Price – Kia Cerato GT,<br />
$41,990<br />
• Dimensions – Length,<br />
4510mm; width, <strong>18</strong>00mm;<br />
height, 1440mm<br />
• Configuration – Fourcylinder,<br />
front-wheel-drive,<br />
1591cc, 150kW, 265Nm,<br />
seven-speed dual clutch<br />
automatic.<br />
• Performance –<br />
0-100km/h, 7.7sec<br />
• Fuel usage – 6.8l/100km<br />
saying the high-boost set-up<br />
in the Cerato GT is structured<br />
for that, but as a car it still has<br />
satisfactory fuel use stats. Kia<br />
also claims a 6.8-litre per 100km<br />
(41mpg) combined cycle average.<br />
At 100km/h on the highway, the<br />
evaluation car was recording a<br />
5.5l/100km (51mpg) instantaneous<br />
figure with the engine turning<br />
over at a lively 2100rpm.<br />
When I took the car back to the<br />
dealership, the average readout<br />
was sitting at 8l/100km (35mpg).<br />
By my reckoning, these are good<br />
figures given I used the turbo<br />
boost often just to feel the surge.<br />
I took the test car west to the<br />
Malvern Hills, the roads were<br />
drenched through rain so there<br />
wasn’t much of a chance to test<br />
chassis control, but the fully independent<br />
set-up in the Cerato is<br />
true GT material. Bear in mind it<br />
is the only model in the range that<br />
has the advanced set-up, others<br />
have a more simplistic rear torsion<br />
beam suspension. The spring<br />
and damper rates are a little firm,<br />
but you’d want nothing less.<br />
There is just enough compliance<br />
to absorb road bumps, but<br />
the benefit is the way the suspension<br />
controls body movement<br />
and gives the tyres the best<br />
possible chance of maintaining<br />
grip. Incidentally, the 225/40 x<br />
<strong>18</strong>in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber<br />
is perfect for this car, the ride is<br />
quiet and steerage wonderfully<br />
direct.<br />
Kia has things pretty much its<br />
own way in the affordable midsize<br />
GT market. Sure, there are<br />
a couple of other models which<br />
sit in that segment – Peugeot’s<br />
GT, as mentioned, VW’s Polo GT<br />
and Suzuki’s Swift, and at $41,990<br />
the Cerato GT is keenly priced<br />
against the Euros.<br />
It’s also a car that is far from<br />
selfish, it will easily cater as a<br />
serious five-seater, and because of<br />
its practicality it’s easy to see why<br />
the five-door layout makes it a<br />
tempting proposition.<br />
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