Kia Cerato GT here this year
Sporty 1.6-litre turbo Cerato GT sedan and hatch to join Kia’s third-gen small-car line-upKia Australia will launch sportier GT-branded variants of its new Kia Cerato around the end of this year.
Initially expected to arrive towards the middle of next year (2019), the 1.6-litre turbocharged hatchback is now due to join the range when five-door hatch variants of the all-new Cerato land in late 2018.
A source close to the project told motoring.com.au at this week’s launch of the third-generation Cerato sedan that a four-door Cerato GT would also be released around the same time.
“We’re expecting the GT to arrive as part of the regular Cerato hatch line-up when it docks late this year or very early next year,”
“And the other exciting news is that a GT version of the Cerato sedan is excepted to arrive at the same time … hopefully just before the Australian Open.”
The source wouldn’t be drawn on pricing for the new turbocharged Cerato, but indicated a starting price comparable to the entry point of its potential rivals.
With 150kW/265Nm under its bonnet, the Cerato GT will provide a mid-step performance model comparable to the Hyundai i30 SR (from $25,990) – with which it shares an engine and underpinnings – and the normally aspirated Mazda3 SP25 (from $24,990).
It’s expected the Kia Cerato GT will be offered with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission optionally.
Like the Hyundai i30 SR, it will be offered in entry and high-grade trim packages – all with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as standard.
The Cerato GT will feature an independent rear-end in favour of the torsion beam set-up seen in regular Cerato variants.
It will likely serve as a replacement to the slow-selling three-door Kia pro_cee’d GT, which failed to excite Australian buyers when sold here with only a manual transmission between 2013 and 2015.
Kia has said previously that the Cerato would be the next model to feature ‘GT’ treatment, which already applies to the Optima and Stinger sold locally.
Visit motoring.com.au again on Thursday evening for more information on the new Kia Cerato sedan.
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