 |
| The Kia Cerato 1,6 EX hatchback. |
The Cerato shows what can be done with good leadership. ALWYN
VILJOEN waxes political.
LESS than 30 years ago, South Korea was still a country begging for
aid. Then in the mid-90s, its government employed science and technology to turn
its people from a nation of subsistence rice farmers into people that make ships
and computers and of course, 4,2 million cars, including the Kia Cerato hatch
that the Witness
Wheels got to test.
Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) say if they are
elected next year, they will emulate South Korea by deploying industry to use
science and technology to improve the lives of South Africans.
Malema unfortunately also plans to take away all reward for hard
work by removing ownership, nationalising industry and taking over land, which
shows he has learned nothing from the failed Soviet states.
The first thing we learned about the Cerato hatch is that this is a
hot number — literally.
Unlike most European cars these days, the material used to mould
the Kia’s steering retains heat like bakelite used to do. On a hot day this
causes one to steer with one’s finger tips making little oe-oe-ah-ah monkey
noises until the constant blast of the chilled air cools things off.
Air conditioning is of course standard, as are cruise control, an
electric chromic rear view mirror, electric and heated door mirrors and a plug
and play radio/CD front loader with MP3/iPod/USB connection.
The back is not as quite roomy as in the Cerato sedan that we rated
last week as being fit for a minister, but there are two rear air-vents and a
lap strap to keep the fourth passenger safe in the middle. When there are only
two people in the rear, the arm rest folds down with cup holders to spare.
But back to the hot steering wheel — you can bet Malema’s Breitling
watch that the next generation of Kia will not have this niggle. And it won’t be
due to the little influence we wield at Witness
Wheels either, but because South Koreans constantly adapt.
In the 1980s, South Korea had much the same ministers as we had
then, all heavy of jowl and indigestion, with sombre hats and suits to
match.
Like ours, their ministers adapted in the mid-1990s. While ours
went for the populist vote and large arms deals, their ministers went for the
spot occupied by Japan, a country that Koreans like about as as much as the Welsh
like England. To beat the Japs, the Koreans needed to better service new niche
markets and in the case of their cars, this became the affordable niche. As with
the best laid plans of mice and men, not all Korea’s business plans went to
plan. Daewoo’s modern plants were sold to GM and Tata, while Kia went to
Hyundai.
With sales not quite where they wanted them, the Koreans adapted
again, hiring help from Europe in the form of Peter Schreyer, these days
Hyundai-Kia’s president of design.
He changed the curves of the C-segment Shuma, which Kia sold for R66 000
in 1998, into the European edginess that marks the Kia models today.
The effect of this turnaround that Schreyer inspired for the Korean brands is rated so highly that in Berlin on Monday, the automotive industry
awarded him the Honourary Golden Steering Wheel for his “outstanding
achievements in the automotive industry”.
Wheels24 reports that Schreyer is only the second designer in the
31-year history of the Golden Steering Wheel to receive the award. Giorgetto
Giugiaro received it in 1995.
With good design comes class and class does not come as cheap as
did that Shuma.
The 1,6 we drove only comes with executive (EX) cladding and
retails for R229 995. The 2,0 Cerato hatch comes in SX or EX finishing and
sells from R259 000. An auto box for either model adds R10 000.
All Kia Cerato units are sold with a five-year or 150 000 km
warranty, a five-year or 90 000km service plan and three years of roadside
assistance.
Unless you don’t have a left leg, pick the manual box. It is almost
as smooth as our President and the clutch plate is impressively light, while the
variable cam valves help to deliver surprising amounts of torque at lower revs
so you don’t have to gear down so often.
On the open road, the Cerato’s electric steering adapts seamlessly
to become heavier as the speed requires while the music gets louder to match the
road noise. Of wind noise there is little.
Driven sensibly in the city the average fuel consumption stayed
between sixes and sevens per 100 km. Driving it, one can but wonder if South
Africa will next year elect leaders that can assist our many innovative
youngsters to graduate from making wire cars to making cars like the Cerato
hatch.
I for one am optimistic, for I regularly meet young people who are
eager to take off the beret and slap on a hard hat; to stop reminiscing about
the struggle and start planning for the next shift. This attitude is the first
step we need to take if we are to follow South Korea’s example.
