Korean cars have suffered the stigma of being undesirable, unreliable, fuel thirsty and generally as functional as used sanitary pads. And it’s a universal joke shared across the globe and is a general consensus even among Malaysians. This changed with the introduction of the Forte back in 2009 where it’s amazing value-for-money proposition won many new customers for the brand. Two years later, the stylish 2-door coupe variant was introduced and it’s been fair winds blowing for KIA Malaysia ever since
When we reviewed the Koup three years ago HERE, we found that not only did it offered a radical alternative to the main stream Forte, it’s relatively low asking price of RM115,800 OTR made it the most affordable in town. Small wonder over 500 buyers found it attractive enough to take home and it sold at a ratio of about 5 Fortes-to-1 Koup.
It’s strangely coincidental that we see KIA Malaysia bringing in the coupe version of the Cerato, again two years since the introduction of the 4-door variant. Only this time, it’s not just another pretty with the same engine as the regular selling variant.
Because Turbo is now in town
Design
We can all agree to disagree when it comes to personal preference in vehicle styling but something about the new Koup doesn’t quite stir the blood unlike its predecessor.
Bearing in mind that we are comparing a variant of a vehicle against other variants within the same family tree (because that’s what distinguishes you from other owners), you could see how the Forte Koup stands out very differently when compared with a regular Forte. The blackened center air intake grille (chrome outline in the Forte), blackened center lower grille where the number place is located as well as enlarged front fog light housing makes the Forte Koup’s front menacing and easily recognisable from a distance.
The new Koup on the other hand inverts the front design of the regular Cerato by adopting a slimmer radiator grille with the bottom air intake grille becoming wider. The front fog lamp housing is now smaller with round LED projector-type bulbs. Overall, it still looks great but the gaping lower grille looks a tad too bulbous for my liking, made especially so when contrasted against the slim radiator grille. It is as though the designers want to draw your attention to that huge maw in front while simplifying the rest of the front. Personally for me, the Forte Koup’s front design had a better balance of design elements compared to the Cerato Koup. Sorry, between the Koup and the Cerato sedan, I’d say the 4-door has a more aggressive front.
But that’s fine for some, such as myself who always prefer sleeper cars or vehicles that appear slower than what they really are. In this case, the Koup would certainly be the poker player playing his royal flush really close to himself and pretending he has no chance of getting the pot.
The sides on the other hand looks fine. Shoulder lines runs along from the front fender to the rear tail lamps. Two more lines forming an elongated pentagon is seen towards the lower part of the door right up to the rear fenders and serves to make the car’s flank look lowered. The side mirrors are high gloss black and goes well with the 18″ twin-5 spoke silver and black alloy wheels.
The rear features LED rear combination lamps, similar to the Cerato sedan and a shark fin antenna can be seen in the middle, above the high mounted LED stop lamp. Below you’ll find dual mufflers with a carbon fibre look diffuser sitting in between them.
Performance
This is where the Cerato Koup makes history for KIA Malaysia:
- The first Turbocharged engine
- The first Gasoline Direct Injection engine
Note that it’s for KIA + Malaysia. The Koup is not the first to sport this 1.6litre Gamma Turbo-GDi engine though. That honor falls on the Hyundai Veloster Turbo. But what’s different with the unit found in the Veloster is that the Koup’s output has been increased to 204PS (as opposed to the Hyundai’s 186PS) while both shares the same maximum torque of 265Nm from 1,750rpm onwards. This propels the Koup from zero to 100km/h in 7.4 seconds, making it one of the fastest ‘stock’ Korean cars on our roads (the Veloster does it in 8 secs).
Power delivery is not so unlike other continental turbocharged engines of similar engine capacity. Urgent, quick and quite unlike anything ever offered by KIA in Malaysia. It’s addictive and it is unlikely that you’d be caught flat footed when you need to urgently overtake a 40 footer trailer on the roads. A definite improvement over the 2.0litre Theta II MPI engine that has 156PS and 194.2Nm of torque.
Ride and Handling
That is, so long as you’re well aware of the quirks of the 6-speed automatic gearbox with manual override. It’s the same gearbox found in the regular Cerato except the ratios are tuned differently to suit the higher output turbocharged engine. Even so, there were moments when it’s not very decisive; whether to hold a higher gear or downshift a notch and this makes sudden speed bursts a little less predictable. Still, once the cogs are engaged, it just keeps pulling all the way to redline.
Didn’t really get the chance to play with the manual override because I find the D mode was good enough for the short drive I had with it. Perhaps a longer test period would yield a different result.
If it’s one thing I must say about the NVH, I’d say the new Koup is way better than its predecessor. Where once it was hard and harsh, the new Koup is a lot more comfortable to ride in and this is despite the suspension being made 20-30% stiffer than regular Ceratos. The comfort does not compromise ride handling and throwing the car through corners doesn’t show as much body roll than anticipated.
Noise intrusion into the cabin is slightly higher than a regular Cerato but I’d attribute that to the 18″ wheels which is one size bigger than the sedan.
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Cabin Convenience
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No surprises here for a Cerato driver. Everything is exactly as per the sedan and this includes the faux carbon fibre found on certain parts of the dashboard, the ‘steps’ in front of the front passenger and other buttons and controllers.
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The steering is taken from the Cerato and on it, you’ll find the FlexSteer system which changes the weight of the steering. Comfort is excessively light and suitable for slow traffic/parking speed maneuvers whereas Sport just weighs it heavier with no corresponding change to the steering feel so Normal is the best setting to use most of the time.
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Paddle shifters are a lot more relevant here since the engine is peppy and shifts occur much more regularly than in an NA engine, particularly when you’re navigating B roads.
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The 4.3″ TFT LCD Supervision Cluster is the same as the Cerato and they’re simple and easy enough to read.
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Like the Cerato, the Koup features the 4.2″ LCD Touch screen with Radio/CD/MP3/USB/AUX/iPod with rear view camera display and 6 speaker system. The audio system also features Bluetooth technology that allows audio calls and streaming.
Below the audio controls are the dual zone air conditioning with cluster ionizer that automatically detects and eliminates interior odors.
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You ain’t got style if you ain’t got a sunroof. Naturally, the Koup has one. Someone once told me that sunroofs are pretty useless in a tropical country like Malaysia (and Singapore). That someone doesn’t know how quickly heat dissipates from a car parked under the hot sun for long hours with the roof open. The looking cool part is just a bonus, I see the more practical aspect of it.
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I don’t have a picture of the seats here but the driver seat is a great place to be in. Not only does it have air ventilation to cool a hot bum, it is also a 10-way power seat with memory and lumbar support. The thing I don’t like about the seating position is that it’s far too high, placing your head so close to the roof that opening the sun visor might decapitate your head – as I found out here:-
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One of the sexiest aspect of the Koup is its frameless doors. The less sexy part is passengers closing the door with fingers on the window instead of the frame. Dude, why do you have to do that? Now I have finger prints on my window and I need to go wipe em.
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Now this is very interesting. The new Koup has seatbelt extenders that holds the seatbelt a few inches in front to easy the front passenger and driver in grabbing it. Those who’ve driven coupes before know how much of a pain it is reaching to the B pillars trying to get the belt and this extender makes like a lot more simpler. When not in use (ie passengers entering the rear), fold it down. It’s all manual and mechanical operations here.
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It’s surprisingly very spacious behind here and any moderate height Malaysians would not have any issues with legroom here. Yes, this is a major selling point if you have a baby coming along the way and you need space for the family to grow. (Yes, use that when you pitch the idea of buying to your significant other)
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Boot space? Humongous! For its estimated asking price, you won’t find another coupe that offers you 433litres VDA space. Baby strollers will fit in there nicely (hint to significant other). And if you need more space, you can fold the 60:40 split folding rear seats. Below the boot floor is the spare tire.
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Safety
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No official brochures yet since it’s not launched but we can guess the Koup would have the following:-
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- Driver and front passenger SRS airbags
- Front side SRS airbags (pelvis and thorax protection)
- Curtain SRS airbags front and rear (head protection) (total 6 airbags)
- 3-point Seat belts for all seating position
- Front seat belt Pretensioners with force limiters
- Height adjustable front seat belt achors
- Front and Rear Parking Assist System
- ESC
- ABS
- EBD
- BAS
- HAC
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The Koup also has keyless entry and Push Start button so it makes it a lot more convenient and safer to collect your vehicle without the need to rummage your bag or pocket.
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Ownership and Maintenance
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No selling price but it is estimated to be around the RM150,000 mark which is significantly higher than the RM115,800 asking price of its predecessor. KIA Malaysia plans to offer the Koup in three shades: Aurora Black Pearl, Clear White and Racing Red (as seen here)
So what are alternatives if we’re looking for a coupe? The Koup counts the Honda CRZ, Hyundai Veloster, Peugeot RCZ, Peugeot 208 GTI, Toyota GT86 and its sibling, the Subaru BRZ as rivals. At its estimated asking price, only the 208 GTI and Veloster undercuts it. The CRZ is now stupendously expensive and it is doubtful if it moves any units off the showroom.
Also, for KIA fans, that asking price puts it near to its D-segment K5. So it’s a question of whether you want more power and style vs a bigger car.
And really, when it comes to power, you can read all the reviews you want but no one can measure how powerful a car is other than the person driving it him/herself. Personally for me, this isn’t a continental car so no dual-shift-gearbox-mechatronic-failure nonsense. It gearbox also not as lightning quick to shift nor is it the most intelligent but once it moves, it moves briskly. And other unassuming drivers would think it’s just any regular Cerato with little power – then you shove 7.4 seconds down their throat.
The new 1.6litre Turbo GDi engine is also said to be more frugal compared to the 2.0litre it replaces but we’ll verify it once we are able to take it out for a longer drive. For me, I love the power delivery, excellent specification and that seatbelt extender. I would wish it had a more aggressive mien but then again, looks are subjective.
And driving 2-doors instead of four scores you high marks for looks anytime.
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