It will be no surprise for you to learn that the Kia Cerato is not one of the best cars on the British market. But you may be surprised when I tell you that it not one of the worst either.

Kias come from South Korea. The change in the car business there over the past few years is remarkable. Kia went broke in the Asian recession in the 1990s, fell into the hands of Hyundai, Korea’s biggest car maker, and the two product ranges were integrated. Now, with a developing range of models, Kia is the fastest growing car marque in Europe.

The Cerato, a family car in the Focus and Astra class, is part of the new deal that includes a joint engineering centre in Germany, already active, and a factory to make Kias in Slovakia that will start production in 2008. Meanwhile, the baby Kia Picanto (from £5,495) is increasingly appreciated as an alternative to the latest Fiat Panda.

Kia is trying to establish itself as a classless “smart value” brand similar to easyJet or Ikea. It was the first to introduce the system whereby a customer can view a car in a showroom, pay for it with a credit card or arrange immediate finance with a £1 down payment, and drive it home with a seven-day insurance cover note provided by Kia.

The Cerato 1.6 GS hatchback costs £9,750, which might be too much to spend on a whim one Saturday afternoon but does represent a lot of car for the money. At about 170in long, the Cerato is bigger and more spacious than the Astra and current Focus and comes equipped to match versions of those cars that cost £4,000 more. Furthermore, it comes with a three-year warranty and three-year breakdown cover.

There is nothing aspirational about the Kia. It is car as utensil: safe, reliable and comfortable transport. It is not for enthusiasts but, as Ford proved years ago, even people who are not interested in cars appreciate one that drives well. They may not analyse the precision of the steering, the ease of the gearchange or the pedal progression but are more satisfied by a properly developed car.

Some previous Kias were awful but now the company is making a serious effort to improve — and is succeeding. The Cerato’s four-cylinder engine is a modern twin-cam 16-valve design with comparable output to other 1.6s. It has disc brakes on all four wheels (several cars in this class still have drum brakes at the rear) and comes with an antilock system, electronic brake force distribution and brake assist, which helps the driver get maximum efficiency in an emergency stop. There are six airbags — two front, two side and inflatable curtains at the side windows. Air-conditioning is standard and the JVC stereo system can play MP3 discs.

First impressions inside are spoilt by a seat fabric that looks as if it came from a cheap sofa but the fixtures and fittings are good and, on the move, the Cerato is surprisingly quiet and refined. It reminded me of a last-generation Toyota Corolla and it transpires that Kia engineers used the Corolla as a benchmark for noise and vibration suppression.

Engine response, gearchange, steering effort and ride comfort are all a good average. So is the performance and fuel consumption. The 1.6 is a better bet than the more powerful, more elaborate and more expensive (£11,990) 2 litre. That is available only as a four-door saloon, whereas the 1.6 offers four or five doors. A new 1.5 litre diesel engine is promised for early next year but my guess is that the petrol 1.6 will still be the best deal. That has the choice of GS and LX trim, the latter at £10,500 includes alloy wheels, front fog lamps and niceties such as a leather-rimmed steering wheel.

Korean cars have taken the place of the Ladas, Polskis and Yugos that once filled the bargain basement. The Cerato demonstrates how far Kia, Hyundai and Daewoo have raised the standard of cheap cars.

The sages of the motor trade — or at least those who don’t sell Korean cars — issue dire warnings about residual values: buy a Kia and it will be worth nothing when you come to sell it. I would guess that most people going for a new car at this end of the market are not proposing to move it on in a year or two and second-hand value isn’t that important in their buying decision. Besides, as I have pointed out before, cars are not good investments: they all lose money. Pay less in the first place and you have less to lose.