Kia Cerato targets fleet buyers and bigger slice of small-car sales
A base model of the new Kia Cerato has been specially packaged to help the South Korean brand break into Australia’s important fleet market.
The Cerato small car is Kia’s biggest-selling model globally but has struggled to make significant ground in Australia’s most popular segment.
Kia Australia sold 7881 Cerato hatches and sedans in 2012, a figure that failed to get the model into the top 10 for the year.
It was outsold by models that included the market-leading Mazda 3 (44,128 sales), i30 (28,348) and Elantra (8697) from parent company Hyundai, and even the generally costlier Volkswagen Golf (17,289).
Kia says it has been hampered by previous models that didn’t have the necessary credentials to be considered by fleet buyers. The company says fleet sales account for about 20 per cent of the Hyundai i30.
“With the previous generation Cerato… that car we did not sell to fleets,” says Kia Australia’s general manager of marketing, Steve Watt. “Fleets specify CO2 emissions, how many [safety] stars it’s got, [government] Green Vehicle Guide rating, and all those things that make a government list.
2013 Hyundai Elantra Review
The Hyundai Elantra is another one of those small cars that is more mid-size when it comes to interior space and luggage capacity.
Launched in Australia in June 2011, the fifth-generation Hyundai Elantra is the Korean carmaker’s sedan entrant in the high-volume and highly competitive small car ring that includes heavyweights such as the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Holden Cruze and even the Volkswagen Jetta.
It’s aimed at i30 buyers that prefer a boot to a hatch, in the same way that Jetta targets Volkswagen Golf buyers who want a boot. Or at least that’s the premise.
Despite the highly creditable competition, though, Elantra’s sleek, low-slung design remains one of the standout lookers in the segment.
There have been few changes to Elantra apart from a minor spec update in March 2012, which saw all three variants (Active, Elite and Premium) gain a new five-inch colour touch screen audio system along with chrome interior door handles (Elite and Premium variants only).
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard fifth element
- Powered by Article Dashboard audio gear
- Powered by Article Dashboard womens pro wrestling
- Powered by Article Dashboard professional audio racks
- Powered by Article Dashboard pro wrestling pics
- Powered by Article Dashboard elite travel
- Powered by Article Dashboard business comics
- hyundai elantra 2013 review
- 2013 Hyundai Elantra Reviews
- 2013 elantra reviews
- Powered by Article Dashboard the wrestling
- Powered by Article Dashboard power pro wrestling
- 2013 elantra boot capacity
- Powered by Article Dashboard bikini wrestling
- Hyundai elantra luggage space
- does 2013 hyundai elantra have rear vents?
- 2013 hyundai rear view mirror buttons
- 2013 hyundai elantra reviews wind noise
- 2013 hyundai elantra coupe reviews
- 2013 hyndai elantra rearviewmirror buttons
- 2013 elantra review
- 2013 Elantra rear view mirror buttons
- what are the buttons on a 2013 Elantra rear view mirror buttons
The Spun Bearing: You Don’t Want a Dog In This Fight
If there’s one automotive segment that is hotly contested, and subsequently well served, it’s the mid-size sedan market. The cars tend to have very similar dimensions, with wheelbases between 109 and 112 inches, length between 182 and 190 inches, width of approximately 72 inches, and height right at 56+ inches.
Since the bulk of these cars are FWD, power tends to be around 200 HP (with some premium versions beyond 250 HP). All wheel drive is offered on some and six speed transmissions seems to be the standard.
And Americans have finally responded to better interiors. Where, in years past, cars in this segment would be decontented compared to a European equivalent, now the American car gets the quality and comfort available elsewhere. The demand for connectivity also has gone up and features previously only available in premium brands, such as in-dash GPS, Bluetooth, and keyless entry are now almost ubiquitous.
With most of the entrants in this class clearly within fractions of inches of each other the only way to stand out is to be significantly different (in a good way). You can get ahead of the pack on price but soon the other players in this segment will fight tooth and nail to claw back your gains.
BMW competes in this class with the 3 series, but then again it really doesn’t. The 3er appeals to a different buyer than the other makers serve – a driver. That’s not to say that there is anything inherently bad about the FWD offerings, but there’s an edge to the driving dynamics for a well engineered RWD product. The split of work between front and rear wheels and ideal weight distribution shows up for those that enjoy being involved in the act of driving. And because of the drivetrain configuration, it goes that while the 3er is part of this segment dimensionally it really is significantly outside of the segment. And bringing in the 320i gives BMW another, lower priced, hook into this special market.
The Spun Bearing: You Don’t Want a Dog In This Fight
If there’s one automotive segment that is hotly contested, and subsequently well served, it’s the mid-size sedan market. The cars tend to have very similar dimensions, with wheelbases between 109 and 112 inches, length between 182 and 190 inches, width of approximately 72 inches, and height right at 56+ inches.
Since the bulk of these cars are FWD, power tends to be around 200 HP (with some premium versions beyond 250 HP). All wheel drive is offered on some and six speed transmissions seems to be the standard.
And Americans have finally responded to better interiors. Where, in years past, cars in this segment would be decontented compared to a European equivalent, now the American car gets the quality and comfort available elsewhere. The demand for connectivity also has gone up and features previously only available in premium brands, such as in-dash GPS, Bluetooth, and keyless entry are now almost ubiquitous.
With most of the entrants in this class clearly within fractions of inches of each other the only way to stand out is to be significantly different (in a good way). You can get ahead of the pack on price but soon the other players in this segment will fight tooth and nail to claw back your gains.
BMW competes in this class with the 3 series, but then again it really doesn’t. The 3er appeals to a different buyer than the other makers serve – a driver. That’s not to say that there is anything inherently bad about the FWD offerings, but there’s an edge to the driving dynamics for a well engineered RWD product. The split of work between front and rear wheels and ideal weight distribution shows up for those that enjoy being involved in the act of driving. And because of the drivetrain configuration, it goes that while the 3er is part of this segment dimensionally it really is significantly outside of the segment. And bringing in the 320i gives BMW another, lower priced, hook into this special market.
2013 Hyundai Elantra GT
Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and few cars demonstrate this concept quite as well as the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. It’s got the same 1.8-liter engine under the hood as the rest of the Elantra lineup, yet it feels sportier. It’s priced below most of its hatchback competition, yet it somehow feels just a bit more premium than many others.
Blame it on the Elantra GT’s European finishing school background. It’s the first model in the Elantra lineup that wasn’t penned specifically for U.S. buyers; in fact, it’s a variation on the Hyundai i30 designed in Europe and sold worldwide. The result is a modern hatchback with impressive style, more than capable of going head-to-head with the likes of the new Ford Focus and the updated Mazda3 in terms of both appearance and content.
Under the Elantra GT’s hood lurks the same 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine used throughout the Elantra lineup, good for 148 horsepower and 131 pound-feet of torque. In the Elantra GT, it returns 39 mpg on the highway, 27 mpg in the city and 31 mpg combined, with either the six-speed manual or the six-speed automatic transmission.
Outside, the car is a blend of the familiar and the bold. The familiar comes in the form of the hexagonal grille, shared with other models in the Elantra family as well as with Hyundai’s most sporting offering, the Genesis Coupe. The bold comes in the form of the Elantra GT’s plunging roofline, which gives the car a fastback look that mirrors the latest trend in hot hatchback design.
Inside, the Elantra GT goes a slightly different direction than other Elantra models, favoring a straight-edge dash design that lacks the styling flair of the other Elantra models’ hourglass-shaped center stack. It’s less distinctive, but it’s also more refined, as if Hyundai were pitching the Elantra GT to a different demographic (i.e., older) of buyer. While we’re happy with the inside of the Elantra, the interior of the Elantra GT seems just a bit more upscale to us.
Incoming search terms:
- 2013 hyundai gt cargo net
2013 Hyundai Elantra Lineup Offers Something For (Almost) Everyone
2013 Hyundai Elantra Coupe
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard trade show stand construction
- Powered by Article Dashboard hummer h2 interior
- elantra coupe 2013
Hyundai Elantra GT Priced From $18,395
With the new Hyundai Elantra GT all around, Mazda3 Touring is seeing a formidable rival in the American market. The 39mpg hatchback is priced from only $ 18,395, and comes with a 148hp 1.eight-liter four-cylinder engine, and a 6-speed manual transmission. The automatic Shiftronic expenses a grand far more at $ 19,395. As with every single new Hyundai, the Elantra comes with a lengthy list of attributes.
The sleek and awesome-looking hatchback features sport-tuned suspension, more passenger and optimum cargo volume than Focus, Mazda3, Golf and Matrix, better aerodynamic than Impreza, Matrix or Golf, normal heated front seats, hidden rear camera, and driver knee airbag as the most striking features that give it the edge above the rivals in this segment.Also take into account the impeccable create quality and components of the new Hyundais, and you rapidly understand that the auto is really, quite reasonably priced.
But we’d still prefer the very good old Mazda! You see, the Mazda, and also the Concentrate, they have a specific feel, a kind of peppy handling charm that the Hyundai lacks. Nonetheless, it is a fantastic day-to-day driver if you just want ‘a car’ and really don’t care about driving exciting and stuff like that.
Standard and Optional Characteristics
GT Manual Transmission
The Elantra GT M/T has an MSRP of $ 18,395, excluding $ 775 freight, and includes the following common features:
Incoming search terms:
- Powered by Article Dashboard trade show freight
- Powered by Article Dashboard vegas trade show
- Powered by Article Dashboard archery bows