Kia Cerato GT 2020 review (Forte GT)

Bang for your buck! The Kia Cerato GT packs a fizzy 1.6-litre turbocharged engine and snappy dual-clutch gearbox inside a practical hatch or sedan package. Since its release in Australia, the Cerato GT has built a close following – so what is this car's secret? Should you consider the Kia Cerato GT over a Hyundai i30 N-Line? What about a Skoda Octavia RS? In this video, John reviews the 2020 Kia Cerato GT sedan 1.6T, including driving dynamics, handling, interior comfort and space to find out.

What do you think of the Kia Cerato GT? Is this a good blend of price and performance? Leave a comment below and share your opinion.

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Australian review of the 2020 Kia Cerato GT sedan.

[chasingcars]

The Cerato GT has been one of our most-requested videos of 2020! We read every comment and do our best to accommodate requests, so let us know what you'd like to see in future.

[hansolo]

Ordered mine. Sunset orange sedan due early August. My first brand new car. Im very excited

[MrRexy]

Good review and well put together but like some of the comments here, slightly unfair in my view having owned this car for 12 months. For the price this is a fantastic vehicle with everything you could think of thrown into it. $32990 rrp when i purchased 12 months ago but most kia dealers are willing to go much further south of this. Yes, it can be a bit stiff and harsh at times (coarse roads, bumps etc) but you are buying the gt "sporty version" after all. If you want a smoother ride then go for the sport/sport+. In this day and age everyone wants the best! This isn't a $60, 000+ sports car...it's a sub 30k top spec model with features found in $50k vehicles. I mean heated and cooled memory seats is amazing at this price. Personally I love this car. Sure it might be a little bumpy, stiff to drive or whatever you want to call it but like most things you get used to it and when you do you'll appreciate this car for what it is.
Keep up the great work chasing cars team.

[aidanhayes]

Hate how people complain about it’s speed/power, it’s not a performance car and it’s not even a hot hatch….it’s not supposed to be fast and powerful

[ecurb]

My son just bought one....excellent value, and looks great in the white!
Loads of extras, and I love the cooling seats, which not many luxury cars have.

[drmanikhossain]

Thanks for the awesome review man! The more you ride Cerato (Forte) GT the more you are gonna enjoy! You can’t go wrong with this one in this price segment! I own a 2020 Forte GT Canadian version (only one trim, not like GT 1 or 2 in USA, 29K CAD MSRP, 201 HP and 195 lb-ft torque, 0-60 in ~6.5 sec). Around 11000 Kms on my car already in 3 months and I can say I enjoy to spend time inside the cabin. Many people appreciate when they see my car on the road! This is the car that you can get almost every high entry specs from! I couldn’t agree more the ride is little bit shaky on the bumpy road but overall it handles the road and windy condition very smoothly in a very (I should say very very lol, please get a good quality radar detector!) high speed IMO. The features make the Forte GT exceptional are the ambient lighting mode, lumber support, auto trunk release, siriusXM, HK audio system, independent multi link rear suspension, UVO intelligence mobile app with many functions (remote start, car heath, car status etc), emergency assistance button on the mirror, built in navigation, wireless charging, both android and apple car play, cluster monitor indicates the map when your navigation is on, awesome ACC (10 digit speed change) and rear air vents (its awesome that the Australian version comes with memory and cooling seat options)! Interior is simple but clean look however I think it could be lill bit better. I am not sure but I found LKA is one of the best compared with its rivals and I keep LKA turn on always. For sure this car is not a super fast car but fast enough to smoke many cars on the road! This car is all bout a sleeper and European look inside and out! In this price segment, I believe Toyota Corolla XSE, Honda CIvic Sport or Touring or Mazda 3 cant beat this car overall. Civic SI and Getta GLI are the real competitors of this car but SI just comes with manual and ~3 K more which may break the deal (Forte GT comes with automatic transmission in Canada that can break the deal as well) and GLI is way expensive! I had Toyota and Honda cars before, I do have full respect on em but I think Kia is doing great (don’t forget the warranty) and we should appreciate Kia, Hyundai and Genesis for the value they bring for us! I had a big negative equity from my previous car, otherwise I had eyes on the Stinger but I couldn’t happy more with this GT! As situations vary person to person, I just would like to ask you guys, compare the cars with every aspect and go for the test drive several times before you buy one! And choose what you like! For me it was Forte GT. Thank you buddies and congratulations in advance on your new car!

[DEATHSTARER]

The Koreans have come a LONG way in the automotive industry.
I SHOULD know, as the proud owner of the i30N.
Having said that, for 30 clams, this Cerato GT is terrific value.
7 year warranty, the same peppy 1.6 T engine from the Hyundai N-Line,
IRS at the rear, all the safety tech etc
No wonder we are seeing lots of Cerato GTs on the road.
Well done KIA.

[mongoose]

Nice review and appreciate your honest opinion. I bought my GT sedan (Pearl White) in February this Year and have to say I love the car. I spent a good amount time comparing to other cars in the class and think it interesting how the car is often compared to Mazdas and the like. For the price there was not much else around that offers the same bang for buck or good looks. Coming from bigger cars the Cerato is really in a league of it's own when it comes to interior space. Mazdas and the like are very cramped up front and squash you're legs in if you are tallish like me. Boot room, as you point out, is large in the Cerato and I think must be almost class leading. I find the head unit really modern and far better than those on the Mazda's, Honda's etc.
The thing I do find interesting is comments about the firm ride. I love the firm ride. If you're buying a sports version of a car you have to expect a firmer ride. And the handling, I think it's fantastic for the price you pay. If the suspension were softer the handling would suffer.
It would be nice to point out that the 1.6 Turbo engine, despite having more power, uses less fuel than the 2.0l motor. I can actually get 6.6l/100km. Even after a spirited drive the car returns amazing fuel figures.
Bottom line, it's just a fun car and worth every cent - in my opinion.

[supercededman]

I've now got a GT sedan after owning a GT hatch for 2 years (it was stolen and wrecked). I put 42K kms on the hatch, and can honestly say it is the best car I've owned. Performance, practicality (that hatch is huge), and economical.

When I did economy runs, I would get 650 km on a tank of petrol, and even saw 700 km on a handful of occasions. Amazing.

I put Korean-market Kia (K3) badges on it, took the Cerato badge off the rear, and people actually think it is a Lexus or Euro car. Just proves what an outstanding packing this vehicle is.

[dennissulit]

Great car for the price. Nicely done review John, the force is strong with you

[Bellakelpie]

Have owned a Hatch version for 2 weeks and very happy with it. We got a great E.O.F.Y. deal, $31, 000 drive away incl window tint and a tow-bar for mounting a bike rack. The car is very sure footed on wet roads. Overall, a really “great bang for the buck” car.

[ThatRandomChannelTRC]

I am currently using the Kia Cerato. I absolutely love it. Drives so well. Its not a GT thou....

[glowe]

Good review John...I thought your car walk around was a little stilted, but you warmed up to the task of reviewing whilst behind the wheel and your narration flowed much better. Overall well done...a solid review of the Cerato GT👍

[its_ben_carter]

Tom, old mate, same same. Solid job as always.Think there is slow mo overkill but otherwise really nice camera work. Proud to have a quality Aussie car review crew at work thanks fellas

[m_thebox]

By far one of the best reviews for the Cerato GT on YT. Good job, guys.
Well, I own one. I am used to drive hot hatches in my home country (Brazil) and of course we cannot say this car is one of them, but about roughly 30K you get heaps of stuff in here as well as 150 kw as a bonus lol. I'd love to own a Golf R, Audi S3 or a WRX but for half price I'm quite happy with this Kia. Especially because I paid in cash, have no loan finance and still experience some driving fun experience (not forgetting wifey is happy with the boot space hehe)

[johnschroeder]

This version of the Cerato in the sedan is very nice looking car, with the drivetrain Kia has done well making it more flexible, hopefully Kis keep developing these
offings, as was mentioned a good car to drive, I really like the balance of the car in particular the sedan, I would give this car serious consideration.

[tyronepower]

Let’s talk about the facts. It’s a 23k Car (well I got mine for 19k) with a punchy 1.6T engine that burbles and pops from the factory... This car handles better than my 2019 Honda Accord Sport 2.0T. 30k car. It’s a solid car. I enjoy driving it over the Honda. It’s quicker than the Civic Si and it has a lower center console so I can drive it without my Knees touching the dashboard, I’m 6ft9... this is the reason I chose to buy it. I love this car. People are spoilt nowadays and they complain about silly things like this reviewer.

[OkaySickient]

I own a 2019 Cerato gt hatch.
Here is my experience with it.
Cons
You can't creep in traffic like you do in a normal automatic. As its dct is like driving a manual and if you do, you'll only make your dct temp rise.
The acceleration, is weak. Not talking about the turbo lag but from a stop when you step on the gas pedal the car will not go until a second later then it's like oh you wanna go and then it moves. It's like a dead spot on the gas pedal. Can be dangerous at times.
The safety features are way too sensitive.
Lane keep assist, you cannot turn this off by default it will always turn back on when you start your car. Driving on Sydney roads, avoiding pot holes and stuff the Lane keep assist will always try to correct you which causes more danger.
Automatic emergency breaking, is horrible. It's way too sensitive and luckily you can turn it down which has been better. But if you didn't know at fist like myself. It actually causes more danger trying to emergency break for you.
Front parking sensors will automatically turn off as you drive. You will have to manually turn it on. It will only turn on automatically from a reverse but once you drive off it turns off.
The Cerato will beep a lot. E.g two lanes turning right, blind spot monitoring will beep at you thinking you are merging lanes when there's a car in your blind spot which scares you and confuses you.
Cerato will tell you there's a school zone ahead even if you are not on that road as long as you are within the range it will tell you. You can turn this volume down.
The suspensions are stiff but what makes it worst are the seats. A lot for people will tell you the suspensions are too stiff which is true. But if you actually swapped out the seats to a more comfortable one the suspensions will not feel as harsh. The lower trim models of the Cerato and the optima gt etc those seats are way more comfortable compared to the Cerato gt.
The dct is not as smooth. Though it does shift quick. Downshifts isn't too bad but there are no rev matching. If you've been in a manual car or driven one, it feels just like that. You will feel the car doing it's gear changes especially when slowing down.
JBL speaker are average.
The hatch boot will not automatically open but the sedan will when standing near it with the keys on you.

Pros
Very good around corners, good handling, spacious for a small car. Good on fuel, good power, it has air vents under the driver and passenger for the rear passengers.
I like sport mode being activated only when you push the gear stick towards you. As you can control it with ease without having to look for the button or to cycle through the modes. Wireless charging, android auto, apple carplay, auto memory dear for driver only. When you open the driver door, the driver seat will pull back automatically to give you more space to get in. Which feels luxurious. You can set it to pull back further or shorter. Cold start takes a min to quiet down. Speed limit will be shown on the media screen. Speed camera warnings.

That's all the cons and pros I can think of.
Now if I knew all this before purchasing it, I wouldn't have gone with it.
Great car overall but it isn't for me.

[drivingriding]

I thoroughly enjoyed your detailed review, the best i have seen by anyone. Keep it up... great work and thank you

[nchia]

Saw a Cerato sedan a few days ago, it’s massive!