The Kia Forte is still a nice looking car, fully loaded with all the goodies a car buyer would like, except the Korean reputation. Recently, with the replacement model, the Cerato beats all the C-segment car again, with all the goodies, which include traction control and 6-airbag, with a price of RM99,888 for the 1.6-litre Gamma engine and RM118,888 for the 2.0-litre Nu engine. The Kia Cerato comes with the latest incarnation of Peter Schreyer, with the signature tiger nose. The look is fantastic!
Kia's design is good, but looks like the sales volume just could not pick up the momentum. After few months from the launched date, one could hardly see any Cerato on the road. Is it the price? Is it the design? Is it the equipment? Is it the reputation? We very well knew Korean car second hand market is terrible, and the support service from the local distributor is questionable with a lot of disgruntled customers!
The 1.6-litre Gamma engine is the same unit in the sister Elantra, producing about 130hp/157Nm of power, with a 6-speed transmission. It is RM1,000 more expensive than the Hyundai, but you get a fully equipped car with the Kia. As for the 2.0-litre Nu unit, it could produce 161hp/194Nm, which is much better than the 1.8-litre unit in the Elantra, and only for a mere RM4,000 more. At least the leather seat is much better than the "does not feel like Nappa", Nappa from the Elantra.
The interior looks integrated, solid and well designed. Dual zone auto aircon, with rear vents, bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, start-stop button, paddle shift and even driver seat position memory for two!
