Ive driven both and i think the Cerato is a clear winner between the two. As the Driven write-up mentioned, the Elantra is very much still Korean while the Cerato has moved away somewhat from that. Yes the 1.6L is underpowered but ppl who buy the 1.6L arent the same breed of ppl who go for turbo's either so for them being underpowered isnt bad. So if power is important and yet you dont wanna spend all that much, then the 2.0L is a good choice.

But the Cerato interior quality feel is quite good. The dashboard and the way the door closes is really a class above even the K5 i must say. Very conti like. Seats were also soft, comfortable and offers good support. Kia has also improved the sound insulation tremendously despite having the crappy and noisy Nexen tyres. I was also quite impressed with the suspension set up of the Cerato. It soaks up bumps quite well. The route i took was quite bad and i pushed the car as hard as i could. Specs on the car is top class obviously.

The Cerato is more refined than the Elantra and even the K5 but still lags behind the Japs and Europeans. But for 99K you surely cant expect the kind of refinement that u'd get in a 140K car. But i think future models from Kia would be more refined im sure.

Design wise, the front needs some getting used to. I think Kia could have done a better job here. The rear is quite good especially with the lava lights. Its important to choose the right color for the car as i believe some colors dont really bring out the better side of the Cerato. But overall im not happy with the color choices. Red seems to be best suited in my opinion. Interior space is quite good and i was quite comfortable sitting in all seats (despite being a 6 footer).

So overall, the Cerato is a good buy but the price jump will take some getting used to since everybody is still very much tuned to the pricing the Forte offered. But im sure sales will pick up soon enough once more ppl realise that the Cerato is a good deal. But i see the Mazda 3 as a strong contender. It should come with good specs, better design and better drivetrain & handling, i think its a class above the Cerato if ure willing to pay about 25K more. But if ure only comparing between the Cerato and the Elantra, then go for the Cerato. U wont be disappointed.

Cheers!

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Jul 13 2013, 05:34 PM

The Mazda 3 would be better im sure. But you need to ask yourself if the 30K extra premium is worth the extra bits you would be getting. If it is, then the choice is clear.