The Kia Cerato (also known as the

Kia Forte The Kia Forte, known as the K3 in South Korea, the Forte K3 or Shuma in China and Cerato in South America, Australia, New Zealand and Russia, is a compact car manufactured by South Korean automaker Kia since mid-2008, replacing the Kia Spectra. I ...

in North America, K3 in South Korea or the Forte K3 or Shuma in China) is a

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, p ...

produced by the

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n manufacturer

Kia Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

since 2003. In 2008, the Cerato nameplate was replaced by the

Forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" *Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set *Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs *Forte (vocal gro ...

nameplate in the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

market and the K3 nameplate in

. However, the "Cerato" name remains in use in markets such as

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. It is available in five-door hatchback, two-door coupe and four-door sedan variants. It is not available in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, where the similar sized

Kia Ceed The Kia Ceed (known as the Kia cee'd before 2018) is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 2006 exclusively for the European market. The Ceed was first unveiled on 28 September 2006 at the Paris Motor Show. In mid-2007, ...

is offered (except for Russia and Ukraine, where the Cee'd and the Cerato are both available). In some markets, such as North America, the Cerato is marketed as the Kia Forte replacing the Spectra nameplate of previous generations. In

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and Singapore, the name Cerato Forte was used for the second generation, while

Naza Automotive Manufacturing Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (NAM) is a Malaysian automobile manufacturer. It is headquartered in Gurun, Kedah. The company was established in 2002 and by 2003, the construction of Naza Group of Companies own manufacturing plant commenced ...

of Malaysia has assembled the vehicle since 2009, selling it there under the name Naza Forte. __TOC__

First generation (LD; 2003)

The Kia Cerato was introduced in South Korea in 2003, sharing a platform with the

Hyundai Elantra The Hyundai Elantra, also known as the Hyundai Avante ( ko, 현대 아반떼), is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai since 1990. The Elantra was initially marketed as the ''Lantra'' in Austra ...

(XD) and using Hyundai's ''

Beta II Beta II (r. c. 1076-1108 CE) alias Tribhuvana-malla was a member of the Kakatiya dynasty of southern India. As a Kalyani Chalukya vassal, he obtained control of the Sabbi-1000 province centred around Vemulavada. He commissioned a Shaivite shrine, ...

'' (''G4GC'') (CVVT-enabled)

four-cylinder engine The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

. It replaced the Sephia/Mentor sedan and Shuma hatchback. In North America, the "''Spectra''" name was used when introduced for the 2004 model year, with "Spectra5" designating the hatchback. For Latin American markets, the Cerato was still named Sephia until 2005, when it was discontinued in favor of the name Spectra. In Europe, the Cerato was replaced by the

Kia Cee'd The Kia Ceed (known as the Kia cee'd before 2018) is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 2006 exclusively for the European market. The Ceed was first unveiled on 28 September 2006 at the Paris Motor Show. In mid-2007, ...

. For the Malaysian market, the first generation Spectra was launched in Malaysia on August 15, 2007 as the "Spectra5" available only with one trim level and with the hatchback bodystyle powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve, DOHC CVVT engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission. File:2004-2006 Kia Spectra5 -- 09-12-2010.jpg, 2004–2006 Kia Spectra5 SX (US) File:Kia Cerato rear 20080131.jpg, 2003–2006 Kia Cerato LX sedan (Germany)

Facelift

In 2006, a facelift version was introduced, including revised Gamma engines. Stylistically, the bumper and headlamps lost their pronounced crease near the grille area, the trunk lid became more rounded, and the tail lights were reshaped. File:Kia Cerato 2.0 EX Iceblau.JPG, 2008 Kia Cerato (Europe) File:2007-2009 Kia Spectra sedan -- 03-21-2012.JPG, 2007-09 Kia Spectra EX sedan (US) File:Kia Cerato 2.0 EX Automatik Iceblau Heck.JPG, 2008 Kia Cerato hatchback (Europe) File:07-Kia-Spectra5.jpg, 2007 Kia Spectra5 hatchback (US)

Kia Cerato R and Horki 300EV

The Kia Cerato R is the extensive facelift of the Kia Cerato to extend sales within the Chinese market, while the second generation Kia Cerato was sold as the Kia Forte in China at the same time. The design was significantly updated to be in line with other newer Kia products. The Horki 300EV is an compact electric sedan with the design being essentially a rebadged version of the Kia Cerato R from the Chinese market, it was unveiled on the 2016

Auto Guangzhou China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition (), also called Guangzhou International Motor Show () or Auto Guangzhou (), is an auto show held by Guangzhou Zhanlian Exhibition Service Co., Ltd, in November and December every year in the G ...

. The platform is the same as the first generation Kia Cerato, which is still in production in China as the Cerato R. File:2018 Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia Cerato R, front 8.16.18.jpg, Kia Cerato R taxi (CN) File:2018 Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia Cerato R, rear 8.16.18.jpg, Kia Cerato R taxi (CN) File:Horki 300E 01 China 2018-03-20.jpg, Horki 300E (CN)

Second generation (TD; 2008)

The second generation Kia Cerato was launched in South Korea in late 2008 under the

name – a name that was used in most international markets. The "Cerato" name has been retained in some markets, such as Australia, Middle East, South Africa and Brazil. In Singapore, the second generation model is badged "Kia Cerato Forte".

Hatchback

File:Kia Cerato5 1.6 SX 2012.jpg, 2012 Kia Cerato SX File:2012 Kia Cerato (TD MY12) eXtra hatchback (2012-09-01).jpg, Kia Cerato TD hatchback (Australia)

Sedan

File:Kia Cerato Sedan amsterdam.jpg, Kia Cerato Sedan (Europe) File:Kia Cerato Sedan.jpg, Kia Cerato Sedan (Europe)

Coupe (Koup)

File:Kia Cerato Koup 1.6 EX 2011.jpg, 2011 Kia Cerato "Koup" (Chile) File:2010 Kia Cerato Koup (TD MY10) coupe (17580660078).jpg, Kia Cerato "Koup" rear

Third generation (YD; 2012)

Kia released images of the third generation Cerato for the 2014 model year in late July 2012, when the company revealed its Korean-market counterpart, Kia K3. The car is completely redesigned with a lower, wider, and longer stance.

Hatchback

File:2015 Kia Cerato (YD MY16) Si hatchback (2018-10-19) 01.jpg, 2014 Kia Cerato (Australia) File:2015 Kia Cerato (YD MY16) Si hatchback (2018-10-19) 02.jpg, Kia Cerato Si hatchback File:Kia Cerato5 2.0 SX 2014 (15149823199) (2).jpg, 2014 Kia Cerato SX with upgraded trim and lights

Sedan

File:2013 Kia Cerato 1.6 in Subang Jaya, Malaysia (01).jpg, 2015 Kia Cerato SX sedan (Malaysia) File:2015 Kia Cerato (YD MY15) S sedan (2016-07-07) 02.jpg, Kia Cerato S File:2015 Kia Cerato (YD) SLi sedan (2018-10-08).jpg, 2015 Kia Cerato SLi sedan with upgraded trim and lights

Coupe

File:Kia Cerato Koup 2.0 SX 2014.jpg, Kia Cerato Koup SX File:Kia Cerato Koup 2.0 SX 2015.jpg, Kia Cerato Koup SX (rear)

Fourth generation (BD; 2018)

The fourth generation Cerato was unveiled as the Forte on January 15, 2018 at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Entering its third generation, a more sophisticated design and desirable features transform one of Kia's best-selling vehicles into something more than a compact car for taking people going from one point to another. Thanks to a number of improvements, Cerato now offers greater driver comfort, fuel economy and advanced driver assistance technologies. File:Kia Cerato 1.6 EX 2019 (2).jpg, Kia Cerato EX sedan File:Kia Cerato5 1.6 EX 2019 (2).jpg, Kia Cerato EX hatchback File:Kia Cerato 1.6 EX sedan 2021 (2).jpg, Kia Cerato EX sedan

Sales

References

{{Kia North America Cerato Compact cars Euro NCAP small family cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans Hatchbacks Cars introduced in 2003 2010s cars