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Basic information of my car:

2019 Kia Cerato K3 (YDPE) Facelift 1.6 SX GAMMA MPI

Reasons why I bought this car

I already owned a Kia Picanto TA (2014) since new without much issues, but as time went by, I needed a new bigger, reliable, more comfortable and most importantly nicer-to-drive car for long distance travel with my family. So, within the 100k market, price-wise the K3 essentially offered all that I needed.

Car Selection Process

I had a budget of RM90,000 at the time for a new car.

Models that I have considered include Toyota Vios, Honda City and Nissan Almera.

Personal verdict after test drive:

1) Vios - Suspension set up was weirdly soft that cornering felt a little uninspiring

2) City - Suspension was well tuned, neither too soft or too hard, but still lacked the nicer- to-drive feel.

3) Almera - nothing much to say, I just personally didn't like this model inside and out.

Reasons why I chose this Kia Cerato K3:

I was already disappointed with the options available and was ready to postpone buying another car. As mentioned I already owned a Kia Picanto at the time and it was a great little machine, just not comfy enough to bring my family for long distance journeys because of its size - I mainly used this car for work travels daily. 

One day, I was waiting for the Picanto at the service center for scheduled maintenance, and decided to check out the Kia showroom next door. Well, to my surprised they offered a hefty amount of rebate for the K3, that essentially fitted it within my budget. After the test drive, I found that the K3 just simply was better in almost every aspects than all B-segments sedans in Malaysia (at least during that time). No surprises there, as it was a C-segment car, but I could get it for a B-segment price. So why would I not? It was very comfy, with ample amount of passenger space, big boot space, the powertrain was great for daily driving as well, and at utmost importance to me; it was superbly nice to drive for a 90k priced sedan!

User experience

• I have already done 72,000km
• My average fuel consumption is 13.8L/100km.

Ride & Handling

The car rides pretty comfortably with solid car feel, great with road undulations while offering a more-than-average cornering capability most probably due to the low profile tyres. However, the 215/45/R17 tyre set up has its downside. Some really badly irregular roads surfaces or potholes might be a little bit prominent if taken aggressively.

Considering it as a long distance cruiser, you don’t usually get really bad road conditions on highways. Here is where its ride and handling shines real bright. You barely feel or hear anything at national highway speeds. The only noise that I consider slightly noticeable is the tyre noise, but even that was easily fixable by changing the donuts from the original Continental MC5 to Michelin Pilot Sport 4. On the other hand, wind and other noises will only start to become a little intrusive at speeds pass 180km/h. In addition to that, during idling, you can barely tell whether the engine is running or not, because it is really quiet with hardly any engine sounds or vibrations coming into the cabin.

Space and Practicality

Let’s talk about boot space first, at 502 liters it’s more than enough for ‘balik kampung’ trip. The boot opening is pretty wide and open, and the overall boot shape great for putting big sized luggages. I never once encountered insufficient boot space with it. If I did, the rear seat can be folded down in 60/40 configuration. So in theory you can still carry longer items while ferrying a passenger or two at the back, just like you would with a hatchback.

Rear passengers would find the space comfortable with great headroom and legroom. However, the middle passenger seat is slightly raised and might not be suitable to some, and it’s best suited for kids or small adults. There are two cup holders on the fold-down center armrest and two bottle holders, one at each doors. There are 3 adjustable headrests and rear passengers could feel the breeze of the air conditioning through the rear air-con vents. The fan level here is adjustable, but not the temperature. 

There are a lot of cubby spaces around the cabin for my bits and pieces including a sunglass holder, door cubbies, center armrest, center console space with a retractable cover, a big size glove compartment, 2 cup holders near the handbrake, and there are even another two bottle holder on the door cubbies that fit 1.5L bottles. 

Performance

There are three different driving modes to choose from; Sports, Normal or ECO. Personally, I only use ECO most of the time, and Sports only on challenging B-roads with so many twists and turns. Acceleration wise, the engine is more than sufficient enough, even with ECO mode. Sports mode makes the throttle more responsive and adds weight to the steering for a more planted feel. Pedal shifters are a great added features that I can easily live without, but more often than not, I use it all the time with the K3. In some situations like overtaking, Instead of flooring the pedal, I prefer to downshift and control the gear change manually. The shifting logic works well, where if I use the pedal shifters in ‘D’ gear knob position, the car will just override it back to automatic gear change after a while. If I wanted a fully manual mode, I can always pull the gear knob to the side to ‘M’ position. 

Reliability

Thus far, I have experienced very little issues with the car. The only one issue I faced was really minor where the fuel tank door lid was hard to open, I needed to pull the lever a few times for it to pop open. This was a 5-minute fix at the service center. Other than that, like my Picanto TA, there is not much bad things to say about the reliability. Spare parts availability was never a problem for me as an existing owner of a new generation Kia since 2014, so I doubt that it’s any different with the K3 in the near future.

Fuel Consumption 

I wasn’t expecting a car with that size and weight, and such small engine would be fuel efficient but I was wrong. City driving would get you around 12km/l or (+/-) 600km for every full tanks (50-liter capacity). However, given a heavy footed person like me driving a such nice-to-drive car with its lively, rev-happy engine, I usually average around 11-11.5km/l. I only drive with a more relaxed style for long distance journey, and voila; I once clocked a 820km for one full tank. That is essentially more than 16km/l, good enough for me. Plus for long distances, I can travel far without worrying about refueling ever so often.

Cost of ownership

Maintenance cost:

Servicing 1000km-70,000km - RM3460

Tyres: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 - RM1650

Battery - RM330

Road Tax - RM90/year

Insurance - New RM1900 (55% NCD)

1st year - RM1300 (basic)

2nd year - RM1500 (inc. special perils)

Bonus Features

-Cruise Control

-Reverse camera with front/rear parking sensors

-Smart Trunk Release

-Auto-Dimming Rear View Mirror

-Full sized spare tyre with matching rim

-Headlamp-intergrated LED DRL

-Puddle lights

-Dual-zone climate control

-Eletric driver seat with adjustable lumbar support

-UV-laminated glass all round

-Keyless entry with Push-start button

-Tilt & telescopic steering adjustments

-Front vanity mirror with lights

Pros of my car:

• Solid-feeling and comfortable ride
• Lively and responsive powertrain
• A lot of space to fit things in
• Fuel efficient for a big car
• Quiet and well-insulated cabin

Cons of my car:

• No ADAS or even AEB
• No Apple Carplay/Android Auto
• No USB/charging ports for rear passengers
• Slightly old-fashion interior design
• Original spare parts are expensive; for example to replace front windscreen at service center will cost you around RM3000. 

Ratings: 

Total Score: 4

Performance: 4

Quality & Features: 4

Space: 4

Ride Comfort: 5

Fuel Economy: 5

Price & Cost: 4

Summary :

The K3 is simply a well-built car as a long distance cruiser, packed with C-segment characteristics but comes with a B-segment price and I think it will still look good for many years to come due to its timeless exterior design.

Last:

To end my review, I’d like to share an experience I’ve had by giving ride to a few clients of mine, and FYI, they were of Korean nationality. Even they were quite surprised by my choice of car; the most important question was ‘why I chose a Korean brand instead of Japanese ones?’ I didn’t want to offend them by answering about how it was the most affordable C-segment foreign brand car in Malaysia, so I did just say that ‘I am a Kia fan’ but I essentially am one, at least since Peter Schreyer joined the design team!

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