Production of the 2010 Forte Koup marks Kia's first-ever two-door model and brings a new sporty image to the Kia brand.
Peter Schreyer, designer of the Audi TT, worked at Audi for 25 years before joining Kia as chief design officer. His design of the Forte Koup highlights the design strength of the "simplicity of the straight line." Bold body lines and sharp edges make the Koup stand out against its competitors.
The Forte Koup uses the new Kia family narrow-opening grille design, but the Koup also has a large air intake below the grille. Large, black simulated brake-cooling ducts frame the air intake, and the SX model adds vertically mounted rectangular fog lights to emphasize the bold look.
Wide tail lights flow around the fender corner and into the trunk panel. The black lower rear bumper acts as an air diffuser to decrease aerodynamic drag and adds to the car's high-performance image. While the Koup exterior design stands out, there is much more to this car than just looks.
The Koup is available in two models: EX and SX. Both are well-equipped with heated seats, stability control, traction control, ABS brakes, tilt/telescopic steering wheel, steering wheel audio controls, air conditioning, cruise control, and six airbags.
The SX model adds larger 17-inch wheels and tires, bigger front brakes, automatic climate control, leather seating, sunroof, Sirius satellite radio, fog lights and alloy pedals.
The SX also gets a quicker 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine and 6-speed manual transmission or optional 5-speed automatic, up from the EX model's 2.0-litre engine with 5-speed manual or optional 4-speed automatic.
Although the SX is noticeably faster, I found the 2.0-litre EX model had more than enough power.
Kia has to be proud of the suspension engineering in the Koup. After driving the car on the highway, we motored directly onto Montreal's Circuit iCar roadrace track for a few hot laps. The Koup handles like a dream. The car exhibits neither understeer or oversteer, although oversteer could be induced with the throttle.
Applying the brakes or backing off the throttle didn't upset the car while cornering at all. Do something really stupid on a corner and the stability control would unobtrusively kick in to get the car back in line, but only if the car was beyond the limits of control.
The steering is quick, with good feedback to the driver. The larger 17-inch tires on the SX model do provide more traction and sharper steering, but both the EX and SX models handle wonderfully. A few quick laps did get the brakes heated up, but there was no fade or overheating. The only fault I found on the track was that the 6-speed manual transmission needs closer gear ratios between 2nd and 3rd gear. This was also noticeable while accelerating on the street.
Some rough roads demonstrated the firmer ride of the SX model, mostly due to the lower-profile 17-inch tires. I actually preferred the ride with the 16-inch tires on the EX model for everyday driving. Interior noise levels are low, with a little wind noise from the sunroof on the SX model, but the sound levels are still more comparable to a luxury car than an economy sports coupe.
Inside, seat bolsters are larger and keep both the driver and passenger in place. Front-seat legroom is good and rear-seat legroom is fair, even when the front seats are adjusted all the way back. Access to the rear seats is good for a coupe. Front-seat headroom is excellent on the EX model and just enough on the SX model because of the standard sunroof. Rear-seat headroom is fine for shorter folks but tall passengers would only want to spend a short time there. The 60/40 split rear seat folds to increase the trunk's 358-litre capacity.
Safety features include side curtain airbags and front side airbags, ABS brakes, stability control and traction control. Active headrests move forward during a rear-end collision to minimize whiplash injuries and the headrests are also adjustable for/aft in several steps.
Distinctive sporty styling inside and out, a long list of standard features, economical price and excellent handling make the Koup an impressive car. It isn't perfect, but soften the ride of the SX model a bit and change some transmission gear ratios and it might get close.
