KIA HATCHES THE FIVE DOOR CERATO AT GENEVA

Kia has used the Geneva Motor Show to launch its second car designed specifically to take on the European market and confirm its position as the fastest growing brand in Europe with the unveiling of the Kia Cerato five door hatch today (4 March 2004).

Unlike the Kia Spectra, which it replaces, and the Kia Cerato sedan launched earlier this year and due in Australia in the middle of the year, the Kia Cerato is a European-style five door hatch aimed at the heart of the largest market sector in Europe.

Kia’s determination to decisively tackle the European market is much more than its application of a five door hatch body. The new Cerato 5dr debuts two new state of the art common rail direct injection turbo diesel engines, a 1.5 litre 75 kW/215 Nm unit and a 2.0 litre 82.4 kW/245Nm engine, enabling the Cerato to more than compete on equal terms in the diesel-dominated European car market. The 2.0 litre diesel, as well as offering strong performance, also provides an official EU fuel consumption figure of 4.6 litres/100 km and an excellent Co2 figure of 157 g/km.

These new engines join the diesel versions of the Kia Sorento and Kia Carnival that have fuelled Kia’s rapid growth in Europe.

Despite its compact exterior dimensions – 4.3 metres long and 1.7 metres wide – the five door Cerato has a spacious interior with more than a metre of legroom and 1.4 metres of should room, matched by a boot that can expand to near one and a half cubic metres in space. Like Kia products sold in Australia, the Cerato 5dr will be high specified and offered at high competitive prices, which will be announced when it goes on sale in Europe in the middle of the year.

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Ric Hull
Managing Director
Kia Automotive Australia
Ph: (02) 8577 8000
Mob: 0419 722 888
Fax: (02) 9558 7722
E-mail:
Edward Rowe
Public Relations Manager
Kia Automotive Australia
Ph: (02) 8577 8000
Mob: 0407 913 244
Fax: (02) 9558 7722
E-mail: