The all-new 2011 Kia Cerato five-door hatchback ads enhanced practicality to the Cerato/Forte range.

Kia Cerato range has recently been expanded by a brand-new five-door model, the Cerato hatchback. Known also as Kia Forte 5-door in the USA, the new model joins Kia Forte range as the third model after the four-door Forte sedan and popular Forte Koup model.

The 2011 Kia Cerato will be marketed in the USA and other international markets, such as South Korea, Middle East and China. As we also learned, Kia will not put it on sale in Europe where it has achieved a tremendous success with its cee’d hatchback. For the past couple of years, the cee’d has been the best-selling Kia car in Europe.

Kia says the all-new Cerato five-door hatchabck should appeal to younger buyers and consumers with young families looking for stylish and practical compact cars.

The all-new Cerato does not only bring a new body-style to the Forte/Cerato range, but also introduces several styling and refinement improvements. In addition, the model also boasts some important technical improvements, which will all be also featured on the up-coming 2011 Forte Koup and Forte sedan models!

The 2011 Forte hatchback will be available with Kia’s 2.0L Theta II engine, which packs 156 horsepower and propels the vehicle from 0-100 km/h in 9.1 seconds. The smaller, 1.6L four-cylinder engine with estimated power output of 124 horsepower, will also be available in some international markets and mos likely, not in the USA or Canada.

Another important technical upgrade for the Cerato/Forte 2011 model year is the new six-speed automatic transmission. The six-speed unit is equipped with a gate-type shift pattern and offers the driver fully automatic or Sport modes. According to Kia, steering wheel paddle shifters will also be available in the 2011 Forte/Cerato.

US sales of the 2011 Kia Forte five-door hatchback is scheduled to commence later this month, according to Kia Motors America.