Kia is worth keeping an eye on. Until quite recently, the company was able to boast of low prices for its products, but when it came to a discussion about quality there was a tendency to cough nervously and change the subject. Today, the products are a lot better - "we don't have to apologise any more" is the corporate claim - yet the prices are still very impressive.The Cerato is the latest step away from Kia's former status as a manufacturer of cheap and not necessarily cheerful cars. In hatchback and saloon forms respectively it replaces both the Shuma and the Mentor, neither of which made much of an impact on the UK market, and targets such big-time players as the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf. We'll look at how serious a rival it is to those cars shortly.A few details first. The car tested here is the 1.6-litre LX hatchback, which means it has what will be the smaller of two petrol engines in the range when the two-litre comes along, and is in the middle of three specification levels. Personally I prefer the rear-end styling of the saloon, but in terms of luggage volume this is definitely the one to go for; the saloon carries 345 litres, but the five-door has 538 with the rear seats up and 1494 with them folded. In all other dimensions, and in performance and economy, the two versions are as near inseparable as makes no difference.Standard spec for the Cerato is pretty decent. All versions already get ABS, EBD, brake assist, split rear seats, a full complement of airbags, air conditioning and an MP3-compatible JVC audio system. The LX scores over the lesser GS in that it also has an overhead storage console, map lamps, a cargo cover, locking wheel nuts, a full-size spare wheel, slightly different interior and exterior trim, two extra speakers and 15" alloy rather than steel wheels, all of which add up to a price increase of £750.Kia's claim of offering high specification for not much money therefore stands up pretty well. A couple of its other boasts don't bear quite such close scrutiny. In saying that the Cerato "challenges best-in-class standards in terms of noise, vibration and harshness", the company is being a little vague, and with good reason - wind and road noise intrude into the passenger area to a greater extent than you would find in a more expensive car of similar size. And while the Cerato is intended to move Kia towards a "young, sporty and friendly" brand position, there isn't much sign of this in the driving experience.Now, the Cerato is of course going to be bought predominantly by people who simply want to get from A to B without any great fuss, but even so it lacks a lot of the sharpness you find in rival cars. Although it grips well and doesn't do anything unpleasant, the Cerato does have to be persuaded through corners with more effort than the slight increase of fingertip pressure that would do the same job in a Focus or a Golf. Those cars also offer a wider range of seating positions - the Cerato's steering wheel can be adjusted for height but not for reach, which means that the driver has to accommodate the major controls rather than the other way round.The issue here is that the Cerato won't be as comfortable on a long run as other lower-medium segment cars. On the other hand, it's less likely to be taken on runs like that in the first place.And there's really no answer to the financial argument. At £10,500 in this form, the Cerato is cheap, and assuming you pass the various credit checks you can walk into a showroom, hand over £1 and drive away under the umbrella of a seven-day insurance cover note. This is a decent, ordinary, inexpensive car which is easy to buy and will do the job adequately for you until the day comes when - possibly without minding too much - you decide to sell it. None of this makes for a thrilling motoring experience, but I suspect Kia will do very well out of it.Second opinion: Thrills, schmills. Nobody at Kia suggests this is a sporty machine, and if it's the type of car to interest the kind of person defined as a motorist rather than a driver, that's fine. There are plenty of them around. The hatchback-versus-saloon styling argument produced a considerable conflict of opinion. I prefer this version, because the exaggerated front wing design just doesn't seem to go with the saloon's rear roofline and the added-on bootlid spoiler. What I did appreciate, though, was the interior trim - surfaces pleasant to the touch, and evidence that the Korean mahogany forests may have finally run out of plastic-barked trees. When it comes to dynamics and all that kind of stuff, you have to take the whole specification/finance package into account, and in these terms the Cerato is a real competitor. It seems to me to be a good, sensible buy, with much better build quality than the two models it replaces. And what a drive-away sales proposition! Ross Finlay. Engine 1599cc, 4 cylinders Power 104bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 40.4mpg / 167g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.0 seconds Top speed 115mph Price £10,500 Details correct at publication date
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