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Kia Cerato unveiled at the 2008 Sydney International Motor Show

The new Kia compact car to hit Australia will not be the European built cee’d as some reports suggested, but the all-new Kia Forte sedan. Due for release in the Australian market in early 2009, the Forte will be rebadged to Cerato and will be offered with a fuel efficient 2,0L gasoline engine.

The 2009 Cerato/Forte will be the first Kia car released in Australia to feature the “new face” of Kia. It was designed under the leadership of Mr. Peter Schreyer, a very famous car designer who joined Kia Motors company in 2006 from the Volkswagen Group. The Cerato is the first mass production Kia vehicle that embodies Schreyer’s car design philosophy and introduces the new Kia face that is sporty with an element of aggression.

Compared to the current Cerato, the 2009 model’s wheelbase has been extended to offer a more spacious interior. While offering more room for five occupants, it also has a larger boot compared to the model currently on sale.

2009-kia-cerato-81.jpg

Under the hood, the 2009 Kia Cerato features an efficient 2,0L four-cylinder gasoline engine with Continuously Variable Valve Timing. According to Kia, the engine delivers a class-leading power and torque, while offering the pulling power and responsiveness of a larger 2.2L engine without the fuel consumption of a bigger engine.

Like all new Kia vehicles now sold in Australia, the new Cerato will also be covered by Kia’s 5-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for private buyers and 5-year/130,000kms for fleet buyers. It’s pricing and final specification has yet to be determined, but we believe that the entry-level Cerato will start from around $19,000, while the high-spec models will be priced around $23-24,000 (Australian $).

12 thoughts on “Kia Cerato unveiled at the 2008 Sydney International Motor Show

  1. It says that the 2.0L motor will provide power/torque on par with a 2.2L motor, not that they’ll be offering a 2.2L motor. It bodes well for the motor we’re likely to see in the US (the 2.0L motor).

  2. I’m glad the pictures on the forum show the color matched door handles, I’m not a fan of the chrome colored door handles in all of the previous pictures

  3. spicaly, what are you talking about? This one has chrome handles. It almost seems like the chrome handles would be standard. What a nice touch of class!

  4. I like chrome handles over body coloured. I also like black handles. body coloured is getting old.

  5. Greg: The Cerato/Forte on image here has chrome door handles, while the one in forums doesn’t.

    My opinion on chrome is the same as spicaly’s. I don’t really like chrome accents on the cars body(exterior), especially on door handles. I do however, like to see some chrome inside the car.

  6. I like chrome accents, because they add luxury. I guess people looking for sporty would rather have carbon fiber accents. Personally, I would like to see some chrome around the taillights. Chrome around the windows would be a nice touch too.

  7. chrome has always looked tacky to me, chalk it up to personal preference im hoping we have the option stateside

  8. And I love the entire Forte, right down to the alloys, they look similar to the ones I have on my ’08 Mitsu Lancer GTS. Although mine are 18″, no Forte is like to don 18″ wheels, huh? Or should I say eh, Greg? Mr.Schreyer has made a favorable first mark!