Two months after its launch and test drive in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the third-generation all new Kia Cerato has been unveiled to Nigerian motoring journalists last Thursday in Abuja, Nigeria’s political capital and seat of government.
Coming with an extended wheelbase, the all-new Cerato sports a sleeker profile with futuristic and dynamic styling. The refreshed sedan is longer, lower and wider than the current car and comes. It features an all-new re-engineered body shell structure and boasts improved quality, upgraded equipment with a host of additional convenience and safety features.
Taking the automobile journos who were flown into Abuja and straight to Dana Motors new 3S facility located on the Utako area of FCT, Sandeep Malhotra, chief commercial officer of the franchisees in Nigeria; Dana Motors Limited said, “ The Cerato has a more spacious cabin with enhanced quality, improved refinement and an upgraded powertrain line-up that delivers class-leading fuel economy.”
Kayode Adejumo, the marketing manager in his product presentation said the Kia Cerato customers in Nigeria will be offered the popular 130 ps 1.6-litre Gamma engine. He added that some features included, projection-style headlamps, power windows, power steering, trip computer, external temperature display, dual airbags, a radio/CD player with 6 speakers, smart key with push start button, 16” alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, high level brake light, upgraded cloth upholstery plus front and rear parking sensors.
The second generation Cerato which provided generous accommodation for people and cargo space has been enhanced. Furthermore, passengers will find increased front headroom and legroom, while shoulder room too is improved.
Interior design of new Cerato concentrates on sportiness and adopts nature’s ebbs and flows as a motif. The driver-focused cockpit places all the major and minor controls within easy-to-operate reach. For enhanced elegance, soft-touch materials are applied to the upper door trims, dashboard, door armrests, door center trim panels and the center console. Consequently, Kia’s engineers worked hard to ensure that the third-generation Cerato would deliver even better refinement than the previous model.
Read also: Futuristic look for Cerato
The stiffer bodyshell and new vibration-damping front sub frame mountings are an excellent foundation for minimizing NVH.
Every all-new Cerato model will feature a six-speed transmission as Kia continues to upgrade the specification of its products to meet or surpass customers’ ever-rising expectations. Drivers are offered a choice of manual or multi-mode automatic gearboxes.
To reduce fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions when cruising at speed, both the six-speed transmissions feature high top-gear ratios. The latest generation Cerato’s new manual gearbox features a smoother shifting performance, enhanced efficiency (reducing fuel consumption), and greater durability.
Kia’s automatic in new Cerato is the world’s most compact six-speed transmission and can boost fuel economy by up to 12% – compared with a regular-sized conventional automatic.
All-new Cerato is a genuine world car, created to appeal to current Cerato owners and to the increasing numbers of customers down-sizing their cars who still desire a spacious and generously equipped vehicle.
The new Cerato sedan’s (Kia’s most successful model) impressive makeover appearance is the brainchild of Peter Schreyer, Kia’s chief design officer and Tom Kearns, chief designer, Kia Motors America). It has achieved more than 2.5 million global sales since its introduction in 2004, including 445,000 units in 2011 when the second-generation model accounted for almost 18% of Kia’s total worldwide sales.
Commenting on the latest Kia entrant into the respective regional global markets, Thomas Oh, Kia’s executive vice president & COO of the International Business Division during the world premiere said, “Cerato has become our brand’s biggest-selling export model, so the introduction of its third-generation is hugely significant for Kia.”
“We are raising our game once again with the all-new Cerato, which adds emotional appeal to its established core values of design, quality and value,” added Oh. “This all-new model will boost our competitiveness in the compact car segment known as the C-segment in many countries which is one of the world’s most important and closely fought marketplaces.”
Kia Motors Corporation maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart – was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Over 2.5 million Kia vehicles a year are produced in 15 manufacturing and assembly operations in ten countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering 149 countries.
