The well-loved Forte is the car the new Kia Cerato is here to replace. That little Naza-badged car really did demonstrate the strict rules by which C-segment sedan sales work. Sticking a realistic price tag on the windscreen and standing back to watch the queue form isn't nearly enough. Just look at the Chevrolet Cruze's dismal sales record. Or even the Ford Focus to a certain extent.
Not here in exec land, and especially not in the class-conscious Malaysian market. To be noticed, the well-engineered and visually offensive Forte had to be priced down to the point where it rivalled cars a whole class lower, and it also had to be full of toys to boot. It was a successful formula, as of the non-Toyota or Honda brigade, it was the only model that managed to move anything approaching respectable numbers.
The Cerato builds on that same fill-er-up-full mantra, but lives without the key edge that its predecessor enjoyed: a significant price advantage over its class rivals. Now positioned much closer to similar-sized alternatives, the Kia Cerato will now have to bank on its good looks, long list of gadgets and, this is the hard sell, improved brand image to succeed.
Is the Kia badge now desirable enough to commands little to no price leverage over the long-established brands? That's totally up to you to decide. What we can definitively tell you, though, is whether or not the new model is worth your hard earned cash. Read on for our verdict on the Kia Cerato as evaluated on Malaysian roads.
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