Review: Kia S1 Mentor (1996-98) Overview Released in December 1996, the Kia S1 Mentor was small, five-door hatchback. Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Mentor was powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that was mated to either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission. Furthermore, the Mentor range consisted of two variants: the […]
Author: Stephen Tomlinson
Review: Kia MG Magentis (2006-09)
Overview Released in August 2006, the Kia MG Magentis was a mid-size sedan. Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Magentis was powered by either a 2.4-litre four-cylinder or 2.7-litre V6 petrol engine. The Magentis was initially available in two variants: EX and EX-L. From March 2008, however, the Magentis was offered in a […]
Review: Kia VQ Grand Carnival (2006-14)
Review: Kia VQ.I Grand Carnival (2006-10) Overview Released in January 2006, the Kia VQ Series I (VQ.I) Grand Carnival was an eight-seat people mover. Manufactured in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Grand Carnival was initially available with a 3.8-litre V6 petrol engine that was mated to a five speed automatic transmission. In March 2009, […]
Review: Kia Credos (1998-00)
Overview Released in May 1998, the Kia Credos was a mid-size sedan. Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Credos was powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that was mated to either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission. Furthermore, the Credos range consisted of a single GLX variant. Engine The Mazda-sourced 2.0-litre […]
Review: Kia TD Cerato Koup (2009-13)
Overview Released in September 2009, the Kia TD Cerato Koup was a small, two-door coupe. Manufactured in Hwaseong, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Cerato Koup was powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that was initially mated to either four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmissions. In January 2011, the Cerato was updated with six-speed transmissions […]
Review: Kia YD Cerato Koup (2013-16)
Overview Released in November 2013, the Kia YD Cerato Koup was a front-wheel drive coupe. Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the YD Cerato Koup range consisted of Si and Turbo variants, powered by naturally aspirated 2.0-litre and turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engines respectively. G4NC and C4FJ engines Of the engines, For Si variants, the 2.0-litre G4NC […]
Review: Kia TD Cerato (2009-13)
Overview Released in January 2009, the Kia TD Cerato was initially available as a small sedan (the TD Cerato Koup has been reviewed separately). Manufactured in Hwaseong, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Cerato was powered by 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engines. The Cerato range initially consisted of sedans which were available as S, Si and SLi […]
Review: Kia LD Cerato (2004-08)
Review: Kia LD.I Cerato (2004-05) Overview Released in July 2004, the Kia LD Series I (LD.I) Cerato was a small, front-wheel drive sedan. Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the Cerato was powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. Transmission options consisted of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic units, the latter featuring ‘fuzzy logic’ which adapted […]
Review: Kia BD Cerato (2018-on)
Overview The Kia BD Cerato sedan was released in Australia in June 2018, with hatchbacks following in October 2018. Manufactured at Kia’s Hwaseong Plant in South Korea, the front-wheel drive Kia BD Cerato was initially powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine that was mated to either six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. As per the table […]
Review: Kia YD Cerato (2013-18)
Review: Kia YD.I Cerato (2013-16) Overview Released in April 2013, the Kia YD Series I (YD.I) Cerato was initially available as a sedan, with five-door hatchbacks following in August 2013 (the YD Cerato Koup has been reviewed separately). Manufactured in Hwasung, South Korea, the front-wheel drive Cerato was powered by 1.8- and 2.0-litre petrol engines […]