Living with the 2021 Kia Cerato GT Hatch

• Welcome: First Impressions
• Part 2: Tour of Duty
• Part 3: "Take my Money!"
• Kia Cerato GT specification table

Welcome: First Impressions

Price as tested: $36,525.60
Fuel this month: 186km @ 12.3L/100km

One of the privileges of a comms director for an auto publisher is the occasional chance to drive the latest in automotive engineering. Over the years I’ve driven a plethora of different vehicles – micro passenger cars, big utes, commercial vans, high-performance sportscars and everything in between.

Some cars you know you are going to love even before you collect the keys, others you feign illness to avoid having to drive them – and then some middle-of-the-road opportunities actually turn out to be quite fun. And fun is where the Kia Cerato GT sits with me so far, after a few weeks of having it as my daily driver.

Now as a disclaimer straight off the top: I’m not a professional journalist or road tester – I’m far from it, but what I hope to deliver you over the coming months is a straightforward, honest look at the ‘real-world’ ownership experience of Kia’s latest sporty hatch offering.

I’ll dive deeper into the aspects covered in this first report in the coming months but for now, my initial thoughts...

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On first impressions, I’m quite taken by the GT’s good looks. This one’s finished in Horizon Blue, which I think works well with the contrasting red accents and piano-black trim – it says ‘sporty’ without trying too hard.

Smart-looking two-tone 18-inch alloys fill the wheel arches, giving the GT a slightly ‘slammed’ look – but a word of warning – having lived with these same wheels on a Kia Stinger before, the wheel just inches past the low-profile tyre wall, making them very susceptible to gutter rash if you’re not careful. And no, I did not rash the rims (the ad sales staffer shall remain nameless – oh and Kia, that was a company-owned car – not your press car!).

On exterior aesthetics alone, the Cerato GT looks the business in this segment. As debated in some forums, I’ll reserve judgement for now on whether or not it deserves to wear a GT badge.

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Keyless entry to the cabin reveals the continued GT theme featuring some nice design touches without being garish. Red accent stitching on the leather-appointed seats and door trims, GT embroidered seats and floor mats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and aluminium pedals are among the highlights.

Brushed satin aluminium accents do their best to distract you from some of the harder plastic finishes that give away its basic donor car foundations but overall it’s a respectably pleasing interior package for the money (as tested drive-away price $36,525.60).

Interior space is extremely generous (I’ll have no issues carrying the kids in their car seats or adult passengers in future reports), and the Cerato packs all the comforts and conveniences you’d expect in a modern hatch.

Notably, during the past few freezing weeks, I’ve become addicted to the heated seats (and when summer rolls around again, ventilated cooling as well).

Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and wireless charging top the list of tech, along with an easily navigated infotainment system via a 10.25-inch touchscreen. An eight-speaker JBL sound system provides the party noise – but in my case, delivers the ABC radio news crisply with the welcomed DAB+ digital radio source.

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Most recently driving my sluggish ‘family bus’ (an all-wheel-drive Volvo XC90) I found coming to terms again with a much lighter and nimbler, pure front-wheel-drive car was a little sketchy to begin with – but I quickly adapted.

The 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol unit delivers 150kW at 6000rpm and 265Nm from 1500rpm but I’ve found the turbo a little laggy down low with the sweet spot for some spirited driving at around 3000rpm.

The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission seems to do its job right most of the time, but it isn’t as intuitive as others I’ve driven in more premium, sports-oriented models. Then again, those were upwards of $100,000.

Paddle shifters negate any issues here (you can only blame yourself then!) and in Sport mode, the mapping lets you hold gear and doesn’t take over and try to up- or down-shift you at an inconvenient time (as the equivalent modes of some other brands will).

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Weighing in at only 1395kg (tare), the above engine outputs make for a power-to-weight ratio of 107.5kW/tonne which, in the real world, should be good for a 0-100km/h sprint around 7.0 seconds – if our track test in its pre-facelift guise is any indication. In our 2019 Bang For Your Buck event, the Cerato GT managed a 7.08-second time.

In the confines of normal road rules and conditions around town, the Cerato GT isn’t a slouch, delivering suitably zippy and confident performance.

With four drive modes to choose from (Normal, Eco, Smart and Sport) I’ve rarely had it out of Sport mode as it’s only been me in the car (and after all, I want to have some fun). As such, with some talent-forgiving, hilly and twisty roads, it’s no surprise my fuel economy to date is currently running at 12.3L/100km (8.9L/100km urban claimed).

This week the kids and I are doing some highway driving (in Eco mode) so I am expecting some very different, and more economical figures.

If you have any questions you’d like me to address in coming reports, please hit the comments section below.

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Part 2: Tour of Duty

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Fuel this month: 458km @ 9.8L/100km
Total fuel: 644km @ 9.8L/100km

Well, I’ve clocked up nearly two months in the Cerato GT, and so far I can’t seem to fault it for an affordable sporty (as opposed to Hot) hatch that could almost double as a full-time family car – not that you would spend your hard-earned on the latter purchasing criteria when cross-shopping the GT. But I’ll give you another insight as to why it could come close.

As reported by my colleagues in other Kia Cerato GT reviews, I thought I’d throw in my driving impressions (and potentially differing opinions) now that I’ve had a decent amount of time behind the wheel.

First up, the ride is firm, but that's expected. There isn’t an affordable sports-oriented vehicle I know of that has mastered the art of delivering a locally tuned suspension system that can allow the driver to feel they're driving a much more advanced, exotic and expensive sports car.

And while I think Kia’s best suspension tuners have done a great job in bringing the two lines of performance and comfort to meet at the right point, there will always be those who expect more from a $36K-and-a-bit car wearing a GT badge. Maybe drop the grandeur of the badge and it would be more widely praised? Personally, I have struggled to find any feel of torque steer unless punting it into a corner uphill.

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The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 225/40Z tyres riding on 18s are most likely another contradiction when thinking of comfort on pot-holed, cracked, below-average suburban streets, but on a nice piece of twisting tarmac, they are simply fantastic and allow you to make a corner more exciting – even under a low speed limit.

But you’re only as good as your brakes, and the front 305mm ventilated discs do enough to pull you up safely on public roads. They aren’t in the same league as a serious hot hatch package that could see it walk away unscathed from a day on the track, but that’s not where the GT is pitched.

Giving away its heritage, the GT kicks off any trip in ‘Normal’ mode by default and for the life of me, I can’t feel the performance differences between ‘Normal’ and ‘ECO’ … or ‘Smart’ for that matter. But I can tell when counting the ‘calories’ … more on that later.

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On the subject of delivering the driver an experience, the artificial audio in ‘Sport’ mode I think is a little overdone and raucous at times. The inflected revs and engine volume don’t seem to accurately reflect where you actually are, performance-wise. It can sound like you’re on the redline, when actually you're far from it. These synthetic theatrics will appeal to some.

Most of my driving over significant distances is through trips with my kids, who so far love the sporty flavour of the GT. Topping their list of demands on every adventure is; “Daddy, open the sunroof please!” Unless it’s raining (and believe me they’ve asked when it is raining, thinking “it would be fun”), I concede to their sunroof ‘open at all times’ request.

As much as it pains me, I eventually cave in to a brief moment of their disappointment as the wind-deflection design isn’t quite class-leading with enough buffering even at low speeds for me to pull the pin and close it. They get over it pretty quickly.

And while on the subject of kids, the GT successfully passed the ice-cream test (yes, it’s a real thing) with young madam falling asleep mid-treat (unbeknownst to me but to the joy and laughter of her brother) leaving a melted mess of Bubble-O-Bill – thankfully mostly over her – but with some ending up outside of her car-seat catchment area. A quick wipe, and brand-new.

Why anyone would buy a car that regularly carries kids with cloth/fabric seats, is beyond me. Sans kids, I’ve also carried two adults in the back with no complaints around lack of space.

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While minor because I don’t use it all the time, an initial niggling issue has been the intermittent Apple CarPlay connection. Sometimes it fires up first time no problem, and then occasionally – and randomly – throws me a ‘connect compatible USB cord’ … while connected and previously working fine.

On the fuel economy front, I’ve completed several highway driving stints (in ECO mode) that have produced some reasonable results ranging between 5.7-6.1L/100km, proving that while the perky 1.6T provides some decent spark if you want it to, yet when you take it easy, it can be a frugal performer.

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Part 3: "Take my Money!"

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Fuel this month: 721km @ 9.9L/100km
Total fuel: 1063km @ 10.6L/100km

With three months and just over 1000km under my ‘newby pretending to be motoring journalist’ belt, I’ve reached the point in my faux-ownership experience with Kia’s Cerato GT Hatch where I can comfortably answer the one big question; would I actually buy one?

The short answer is yes – and let me explain why, but some perspective first...

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I’m a male in his (late) 40s trying to hang on to his youth. In reality, I could potentially be classified as being in classic mid-life-crisis territory when it comes to a car purchase, but I don’t have an immense disposable income so the default red Porsche 911 is going to have to wait a few more years (that’s a joke). I love spirited driving but also cherish my licence points. I’m also well and truly mature enough to appreciate function and practicality over my own selfish desires – especially when I have my kids in tow. So the Cerato GT is a definite leader on my consideration list. It’s a fun car but also serves a big helping of practicality.

For a one-car family that gets out and about camping, carrying bikes, loads of sporting gear and the like, the Cerato GT obviously won’t win the practicality stakes like a dual-cab ute or large SUV would – as many family buyers have been drawn to in recent years (possibly due to business tax perks).

In the same breath, a ute or SUV in this price bracket won’t deliver you any sense of driving satisfaction unless you have the additional kit and technical ability to take it off-road – which most owners don’t. Oh, and to take a standard ute, and then modify it to tackle any serious heart-pumping terrain ain’t going to be cheap. So I’m back to the core virtue of practicality. And as a hatch, the GT gives me enough versatility to facilitate my lifestyle.

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Where the GT hits the spot with me is its split personality and ambidextrous performance. Thanks to the clever and well-calibrated engine mapping modes I can derive a level of satisfaction from every drive. And this is important in my eyes. Whether it’s a 20-minute COVID lockdown boredom-busting loop up and around my local mountain road for kicks, or a leisurely school pick-up, or a leisurely highway cruise that delivers excellent fuel economy – I get out of this car smiling. And isn’t that what you want from your daily drive?

But as a final thought on the drive modes, I do maintain that Kia could easily just stick with Eco and Sport modes. ‘Normal’ and ‘Smart’ modes are just unnecessary digital adornments in my opinion.

Because let’s face it, in life you are either going fast or slow – be it food, financial investment reward, work or on holidays – if you get my drift? If you live in a beige world, this isn’t the car for you.

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From an ownership and value perspective, Kia’s seven-year warranty and capped price servicing looks attractive. While interval costs vary year to year, the total you would spend in seven years is $3234… which averages out to $462 a year. It’s not the cheapest capped price servicing in class, but the warranty is equal industry best.

Keep in mind, a new set of tyres (225/40ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4) will set you back close to a grand, but if you don’t go flogging them in industrial estate backblocks you should get at least 40,000km out of the OEM set. Nothing to worry about. To top off the value perspective, I’ve spent around $210 in fuel in the three months I’ve had this fun little jigger in my possession, and that’s using 98RON which, at last fill here in Brisbane, was $1.99 a litre!

I’ll dig into a deeper competitor comparison in my next report but for now, at ballpark $35K, and knowing most of the competition, I’m pretty much sold.

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2021 Kia Cerato GT specifications

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