Braking in the Rain: Even in the Wet, Kia Finds its Groove
Has Kim Jong Ill figured out how to control the weather? A veritable monsoon soaked Greater Seoul to the gills as I wheeled the Kia Forte Koup into stop-and-go traffic, trying to get out of town and to a break stop at the Demilitarized Zone. Sigh. Max lat cornering will have to wait until the first test cars arrive in the States in a few weeks. (If Seoul in these photos looks like Seattle, that's because there was too much rain to get pictures in South Korea.)
I can tell you that Kia has found its groove with the Forte Koup (the second half of the name combining "coupe" with "Kia" ... get it?). Think of this car as the more refined, much less edgy Honda Civic Si or Chevrolet Cobalt SS, or a more powerful alternative to the Honda Civic EX coupe. The old backside will tell you on South Korea's bumpier roads that the Koup SX has a rather stiff suspension and firm, controlled damping, which means you'll feel every washboard road rung and expansion strip. Your front wheels won't crash into potholes, though. This is a stiff suspension with just enough compliance to keep the ride reasonable for those enthusiast drivers who don't want to break a record every morning on the drive to work.
Like everybody else's coupe these days, the Koup shares only one piece of sheetmetal, the hood, with its sedan sibling. It's two inches shorter, 0.4-inches lower to the ground and about 45 pounds lighter. Steering is slightly quicker, with a thicker torsion bar and "enhanced steering hydraulic rigidity," which must mean it feels heavier. It's certainly precise, with very good feedback and none of the on-center vagueness that Mike Floyd described the sedan as having in his review of the sedan. Its anti-sway bars also are slightly larger in diameter.
Kia has altered the Koup's throttle response to feel sprightlier off the line than the sedan, although everything evens out, and both bodystyles with the bigger engine share a 7.0-second 0-60 mph time. Base engine, in the EX trim model, is a 156-horsepower, 144 pound-foot 2.0-liter four mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Kia provided only SXes with the 173-horsepower, 168 pound-foot 2.4, in both six-speed manual and five-speed automatic iterations for the first drive. Both engines come with Continuously Variable Valve Timing. (Direct injection will be added to the manufacturer's gas engine lineup over the next few years.)
Under its current specification, the 2.4 makes 24 fewer horses and nine pound-feet more than the peaky 2.0-liter VTEC Civic Si engine, and 2 mpg/1 mpg better in the city, 3 mpg/2 mpg better on the highway, manual/automatic respectively.
That the 2.4-liter Koup SX is available with a five-speed automatic tells you something about the nature of the car. Kia has no plans for an Si-like performance version. The SX takes a middle ground between the soft, standard 1.8-liter Civic coupe and the kid-racer Si, both of those Hondas being its most direct North American rival. (The Chevy Cobalt/Cobalt SS coupe, now in its last model year, is the next closest.) Even with its stiff suspension, refinement is as important to this new entry in the segment as performance.
While all that South Korean rain prevented effective full-throttle launches, the Koup accelerates with decent throttle tip-in, then gets a bit soft in the middle. This was apparent in the six-speed manual when heel-and-toeing for downshifts. The engine isn't very revvy. It's not a car that will beg you to its 6500 rpm redline, and even when you do get there, it's not screaming for an upshift. Kia says the Koupe has a "cheerful exhaust," its dual pipes tuned to be a bit more rorty than the Forte sedan's. The car's interior quiet -- it's probably quietest in its class -- mutes the "cheerfulness," though. You really have to be listening for it. Coffee can exhausts will be the first popular aftermarket accessory.
And the five-speed automatic is clearly calibrated for max fuel economy. This version has an "econ" indicator light on the gauges (if the manual has one, I never drove it efficiently enough to engage it). On the highway, the automatic settles in to 70 mph at 2100 rpm in top gear. Any more throttle for passing automatically drops one gear, and very often two, which puts out the econ light. It's worthwhile to use the automatic's manual mode, even on the freeway, where you can cut down on the tranny's busy gear-hunting.
As a daily driver, the Koup SX is as pleasant and rewarding as anything in its class. Interior fit-and-finish is exemplary. Front seats are generously bolstered, while the rear seats are what you'd expect in a compact coupe; roomy enough to carry two adults (Kia classifies it as a three-passenger rear) only on short trips.
There are a few small nits. An unconvincing "piano black" accent on the upper center stack is too reflective, affording the driver a view of the rearview mirror's post (and this was on a rainy, overcast day). The driver's seat should be a bit lower on the floor. Subtle red stitching accents the leather-covered steering wheel, front seats (whether leather or waffle-weave cloth) and door panels, but not the stitched center armrest, which just shouldn't have its center-stitching.
This is small, picky stuff. The Koup exemplifies Kia's discovery of high-style design. The car was penned in Kia's California studio, under Frankfurt-based design chief Peter Schreyer. The ex-Audi designer's influence shows, especially in the rear-deck view, which has a bit of the new A4/A5 rear-end crease. Its overall shape is a wedgier, more modern take on the Civic coupe. In the sheetmetal, this is a very handsome car.
Is it worth considering over the iconic Civic Si? Yes, without hesitation. The Forte Koup creates its own distinctive sub-niche in the limited, fun-to-drive affordable coupe segment. It's not constantly begging to be driven hard, but feels like it could easily handle a twisty mountain road. Even on rain-slicked roads, the Koup proved itself worthy of enthusiasts.
<table class="insettxt" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="hdr"><td colspan="2" align="center">2010 Kia Forte Koup </td></tr> <tr class="hdr2"><td> Base price </td><td> $15,450 - $19,000 (est) </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Vehicle layout </td><td> Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 2-door, coupe </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Engines </td><td> 2.0L/156-hp/144-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 2.4L/173-hp/168 lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Transmissions </td><td> 5-speed manual, 4-speec automatic; 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Curb weight </td><td> 2700 - 2900 lb (mfr) </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Wheelbase </td><td> 104.3 in </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Length x width x height </td><td> 176.4 x 69.5 x 55.1 in </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> 0-60 mph </td><td> 7.0 sec (mfr est, 2.4L) </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> EPA city/hwy fuel econ </td><td> 22-25/31-34 mpg </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> CO2 emissions </td><td> 6.8-7.7 lb/mile (est) </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> On sale in U.S. </td><td> August 2009 </td></tr></tbody></table>
Has Kim Jong Ill figured out how to control the weather? A veritable monsoon soaked Greater Seoul to the gills as I wheeled the Kia Forte Koup into stop-and-go traffic, trying to get out of town and to a break stop at the Demilitarized Zone. Sigh. Max lat cornering will have to wait until the first test cars arrive in the States in a few weeks. (If Seoul in these photos looks like Seattle, that's because there was too much rain to get pictures in South Korea.)
I can tell you that Kia has found its groove with the Forte Koup (the second half of the name combining "coupe" with "Kia" ... get it?). Think of this car as the more refined, much less edgy Honda Civic Si or Chevrolet Cobalt SS, or a more powerful alternative to the Honda Civic EX coupe. The old backside will tell you on South Korea's bumpier roads that the Koup SX has a rather stiff suspension and firm, controlled damping, which means you'll feel every washboard road rung and expansion strip. Your front wheels won't crash into potholes, though. This is a stiff suspension with just enough compliance to keep the ride reasonable for those enthusiast drivers who don't want to break a record every morning on the drive to work.
Like everybody else's coupe these days, the Koup shares only one piece of sheetmetal, the hood, with its sedan sibling. It's two inches shorter, 0.4-inches lower to the ground and about 45 pounds lighter. Steering is slightly quicker, with a thicker torsion bar and "enhanced steering hydraulic rigidity," which must mean it feels heavier. It's certainly precise, with very good feedback and none of the on-center vagueness that Mike Floyd described the sedan as having in his review of the sedan. Its anti-sway bars also are slightly larger in diameter.
Kia has altered the Koup's throttle response to feel sprightlier off the line than the sedan, although everything evens out, and both bodystyles with the bigger engine share a 7.0-second 0-60 mph time. Base engine, in the EX trim model, is a 156-horsepower, 144 pound-foot 2.0-liter four mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Kia provided only SXes with the 173-horsepower, 168 pound-foot 2.4, in both six-speed manual and five-speed automatic iterations for the first drive. Both engines come with Continuously Variable Valve Timing. (Direct injection will be added to the manufacturer's gas engine lineup over the next few years.)
Under its current specification, the 2.4 makes 24 fewer horses and nine pound-feet more than the peaky 2.0-liter VTEC Civic Si engine, and 2 mpg/1 mpg better in the city, 3 mpg/2 mpg better on the highway, manual/automatic respectively.
That the 2.4-liter Koup SX is available with a five-speed automatic tells you something about the nature of the car. Kia has no plans for an Si-like performance version. The SX takes a middle ground between the soft, standard 1.8-liter Civic coupe and the kid-racer Si, both of those Hondas being its most direct North American rival. (The Chevy Cobalt/Cobalt SS coupe, now in its last model year, is the next closest.) Even with its stiff suspension, refinement is as important to this new entry in the segment as performance.
While all that South Korean rain prevented effective full-throttle launches, the Koup accelerates with decent throttle tip-in, then gets a bit soft in the middle. This was apparent in the six-speed manual when heel-and-toeing for downshifts. The engine isn't very revvy. It's not a car that will beg you to its 6500 rpm redline, and even when you do get there, it's not screaming for an upshift. Kia says the Koupe has a "cheerful exhaust," its dual pipes tuned to be a bit more rorty than the Forte sedan's. The car's interior quiet -- it's probably quietest in its class -- mutes the "cheerfulness," though. You really have to be listening for it. Coffee can exhausts will be the first popular aftermarket accessory.
And the five-speed automatic is clearly calibrated for max fuel economy. This version has an "econ" indicator light on the gauges (if the manual has one, I never drove it efficiently enough to engage it). On the highway, the automatic settles in to 70 mph at 2100 rpm in top gear. Any more throttle for passing automatically drops one gear, and very often two, which puts out the econ light. It's worthwhile to use the automatic's manual mode, even on the freeway, where you can cut down on the tranny's busy gear-hunting.
As a daily driver, the Koup SX is as pleasant and rewarding as anything in its class. Interior fit-and-finish is exemplary. Front seats are generously bolstered, while the rear seats are what you'd expect in a compact coupe; roomy enough to carry two adults (Kia classifies it as a three-passenger rear) only on short trips.
There are a few small nits. An unconvincing "piano black" accent on the upper center stack is too reflective, affording the driver a view of the rearview mirror's post (and this was on a rainy, overcast day). The driver's seat should be a bit lower on the floor. Subtle red stitching accents the leather-covered steering wheel, front seats (whether leather or waffle-weave cloth) and door panels, but not the stitched center armrest, which just shouldn't have its center-stitching.
This is small, picky stuff. The Koup exemplifies Kia's discovery of high-style design. The car was penned in Kia's California studio, under Frankfurt-based design chief Peter Schreyer. The ex-Audi designer's influence shows, especially in the rear-deck view, which has a bit of the new A4/A5 rear-end crease. Its overall shape is a wedgier, more modern take on the Civic coupe. In the sheetmetal, this is a very handsome car.
Is it worth considering over the iconic Civic Si? Yes, without hesitation. The Forte Koup creates its own distinctive sub-niche in the limited, fun-to-drive affordable coupe segment. It's not constantly begging to be driven hard, but feels like it could easily handle a twisty mountain road. Even on rain-slicked roads, the Koup proved itself worthy of enthusiasts.
<table class="insettxt" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="hdr"><td colspan="2" align="center">2010 Kia Forte Koup </td></tr> <tr class="hdr2"><td> Base price </td><td> $15,450 - $19,000 (est) </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Vehicle layout </td><td> Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 2-door, coupe </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Engines </td><td> 2.0L/156-hp/144-lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4; 2.4L/173-hp/168 lb-ft DOHC 16-valve I-4 </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Transmissions </td><td> 5-speed manual, 4-speec automatic; 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Curb weight </td><td> 2700 - 2900 lb (mfr) </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> Wheelbase </td><td> 104.3 in </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> Length x width x height </td><td> 176.4 x 69.5 x 55.1 in </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> 0-60 mph </td><td> 7.0 sec (mfr est, 2.4L) </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> EPA city/hwy fuel econ </td><td> 22-25/31-34 mpg </td></tr><tr class="hdr3"><td> CO2 emissions </td><td> 6.8-7.7 lb/mile (est) </td></tr><tr class="hdr2"><td> On sale in U.S. </td><td> August 2009 </td></tr></tbody></table>
