New Kia Cerato Sport and Kia Sportage Si Premium models have joined the company’s Australian line-up this week, adding a handful of equipment upgrades.
In the case of the Cerato, the new $22,450 (drive-away) Sport grade replaces the S Premium model, slotting in between the S automatic AV pack and the Si automatic.
Kit for the Sport includes 17-inch alloy wheels with full-size alloy spare, a 7.0-inch colour touch display with sat-nav and the increasingly-vital-for-sales-success Apple Carplay and Android Auto platforms.
There’s also a synthetic leather trim (officially dubbed ‘leather-like’) to the steering wheel and shift lever, along with chrome interior door handles, soft-touch upper door panel trim, a rear spoiler for the sedan, ‘aero blade’ wipers and, of course, Sport badging.
Four colours will be on offer with the Cerato Sport: Clear White, Snow White Pearl, Silky Silver and Metal Stream.
Kia will likely be looking to the Sport to add bigger margins to Cerato sales, which have been powering along on the back of sharp discounting.
Thanks to regular drive-away deals, an industry-leading seven-year warranty and good old-fashioned brand awareness, the Kia Cerato has grown from 2407 units over Q1 last year to 4654 this year — up 2247 units or 93 per cent.
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For the Sportage, the Si Premium grade has been reintroduced to the petrol range, priced from $30,990 (before on-road costs).
Stepping into the Sportage Si Premium will get you 18-inch alloy wheels, 7.0-inch colour touch display with sat-nav, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, automatic climate control (with clean air module), and LED daytime lights.
The list continues with front parking sensors, rain-sensing front wipers and automatic window defogging, passenger-side anti-jam safety power window, an electrochromatic rear-view mirror and illuminated vanity mirrors.
Colour choices for the petrol Si Premium are limited to Clear White, Mineral Silver, Fiery Red and Sparkling Silver.
Sportage sales have been strong in 2017. Year-to-date figures (end of March) show 3385 registrations for Kia’s mid-sized SUV, compared to 2593 for the same period in 2016.
That number puts the Sportage ahead of offerings like the Subaru Forester (3150) and Mitsubishi Outlander (3148), but it still lags the Toyota RAV4 (4985) and Mazda CX-5 (5973).
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