SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you can get at home.

*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We drive the 2014 Kia Cerato 1.6 EX hatch

Subtle enhancements

We last drove one of these in 2011 and apart from a few details, little appears to have changed. Briefly the wheelbase grew by 50 mm to provide more interior seating space while the body grew 10 mm longer and 5 mm wider but now stands 10 mm lower.

Engine power gained four kilowatts and torque advanced by one Newton-metre. In other words, apart from a few small styling changes and the fact that its headlights acquired automatic control and an escort function, you probably won’t notice much.

But it’s what you don’t see that counts. That added power and torque cuts almost a second off the zero to 100 km/h sprint time and adds 10 km/h to its top speed. The cabin floor is lowered and the seat hip-points have been dropped by 26 mm in front and 20 mm at the rear; resulting in increased headroom and legroom, while shoulder space is improved by 9 mm (front) and 5 mm (rear).

An organ-style accelerator pedal makes driving more comfortable by following the natural movement of the user’s foot more closely, while front seat occupants enjoy wider seat cushions with increased inclination (up from 15.2 to 16.2 degrees).  On that subject, we noted that the seats of the 2011 car were rather firm and flat, but comfortable enough. The new chairs have more side bolstering, so support is improved but they’re still pretty firm.

It’s smoother and quieter too. Careful attention to surface detailing and airflow-smoothing panels beneath the car have reduced aerodynamic drag to Cd 0.27 (down from 0.29) and lowered the car’s aerodynamic lift. It’s now Cl 0.11 compared with 0.16 for the previous model. In plain English, it’s more stable at cruising speed.

A stiffer body shell and vibration-damping front subframe mountings, lining the engine bay bulkhead with a new, three-layer, noise-reducing material, new dual-frequency engine mounts and additional sound insulating materials for the cabin floor, rear parcel shelf, rear wheel arches and roof lining, all work together to reduce noise and vibration levels significantly .

The front side chassis members, A-pillar and side sills are filled with foam and a dynamic damper is fitted to the shorter of the front drive shafts. Idling vibrations through steering wheel and cabin floor have been reduced by 2 decibels while idle noise level in the cabin is down 1 dB to 38 dB.  Acceleration and cruising noise levels are reduced too. The six-speed manual gearbox, as on our test car, is quieter, smoother, shifts more easily and is more efficient. Front and rear suspensions have been tuned to improve agility, comfort and on-centre steering feel.

But enough of the technicalities; all you probably want to know is that the car is quieter, solider, has a few more features and is a touch more athletic. And its price advancement of only R14 000 over the outgoing model, considering the pitiful state of our currency, isn’t too shabby.

The hatch opens to upper thigh level and users will note that the loading lip has been made about 10 centimetres shallower than on the old car so shifting luggage in and out is easier. A rubber mat covers the loading surface and four lashing rings, two bag hooks and a light are provided. Beneath the floorboard, you will find a fully sized alloy spare wheel, the usual tools and two small storage boxes. Rear seat backs split and fold 40:60, and almost completely flat, to extend the load area.

Tall passengers should find more than enough head- and knee room although foot space below the driver’s chair, when set at its lowest, is still somewhat restricted. Neat features introduced with this model include a set of repeater vents at the rear of the central console and child safety locks that can only be turned with a screwdriver; so little angels can’t fiddle where they shouldn’t.

Accompanying the new hydraulically activated clutch, the gear lever is short, easy to reach and clicks into place positively. Ahead of that, a lidded tray conceals a 12-Volt socket, a cigarette lighter and the auxiliary and USB plugs.  Pleasant upgrades are that one no longer needs an adaptor cable for the USB and the radio/CD/Bluetooth unit now incorporates a hard drive for music storage.

On the negative side, however, you will need small hands and to stop the car completely in order to plug your flash drive into the USB safely. Another small negative is that the glove box, while of fair size, is almost filled with the car’s instruction- and service books. Perhaps you could toss them into one of the bins in the boot.

This 1600cc Cerato has more than enough power to get the job done; is smooth and drives and steers easily. Comfort items include the usual powered windows and mirrors, height- and reach-adjustable steering, a height-adjustable seat for the driver, repeater buttons on the steering wheel for music, phone, cruise and trip meter, enough space between control pedals and plenty of room for big left shoes to get to the footrest.

Instruments have decently sized white-on-black numerals and are easy to see. There are makeup mirrors on both sun visors but a small trade-off is that their light switches are fully manual. Can’t have everything, can we?

While outwardly not much different from its predecessor, the updated 2014 Cerato is an even nicer car and probably well worth the extra money.

Test unit from Kia Motors SA press fleet

We drove the 2017 updated version here

The numbers
Price: R233 995
Engine: 1591 cc, DOHC, 16-valves, Dual VVT, four-cylinder
Power: 95 kW at 6300 rpm
Torque: 157 Nm at 4850 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10,1 seconds
Maximum speed: 200 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7,3 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Boot: 385 litres VDA
Turning circle: 10,6 metres
Warranty: 5 years/100 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km

Automatic version shown

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.



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