2009 Kia Koup unveiled in New York
April 11, 2009 by George Skentzos
Kia has unveiled its first ever two-door coupe model at the New York International Auto Show, a car that will go on sale in Australia later this year, and headlines the brand’s bold new design direction.
Imaginatively named the Kia Forte Koup, to be called simply Koup in Australia it is heavily based on the recently released Cerato, and draws its design inspiration heavily from the initial concept on which it was based, maintaining the same surprisingly aggressive stance with swept-back wrap-around headlamps, aggressive air intakes and a low, sleek profile.
In the US at least, the Forte Koup range will feature two trim levels beginning with the EX, which boasts a 2.0-litre DOHC four-cylinder engine producing 116kW and 195Nm, coupled with either a standard five-speed manual transmission or an optional four-speed automatic transmission.
The flagship SX version features an upgraded 2.4-litre in-line four-cylinder engine, also with CVVT, which delivers 129kW and 228Nm, mated to either a standard six-speed manual transmission or an optional five-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic.
Built on a front-wheel-drive monocoque chassis, Kia has made considerable revisions to the Forte, the US name for the Cerato, platform to improve dynamics to produce a higher torsional stiffness, with specially tuned suspension developed to optimise handling.
Standard creature comforts include sports seats, power windows, power door locks with remote keyless entry, cruise control with steering wheel-mounted controls for added convenience and a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with iPod connectivity.
The SX trim also adds unique sport cloth seats with red stitching, rake and reach adjustable steering column, leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, metal pedals and metal finish trim and a gauge cluster with trip computer.
The Forte Koup also boasts considerable safety equipment including dual front advanced airbags, front seat-mounted and side curtain airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with an antilock brake system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
With its new coupe, Kia continues the step towards revolutionise the brand in much the same way Hyundai did with the Tiburon, which later led to serious performance contenders such as the Genesis Coupe.
Print it: 
Wow that’s one nice looking coupe!
Impressive, you don’t see many 2-dr coupes anymore in this class, will it be coming here?
wow practically the same as the concept.Other websites are saying US only though. If this comes could it open the door for other 3 door small cars like corrola,civic and focus
I say 100% Kia Koup concept. It looks the same except for the exhaust there different.
Kia Kivic
Ok you got my attention CA. Now for the photos of what it looks like inside!
I know this sounds silly, but somebody has to redesign Kia’s badge.
Frenchie no it doesn’t i have been thinking about that for ages they need a logo instead of KIA or something with more style
More photos added, just for you Frenchie!
Agreed, if they are going to produce good looking cars like this one they need a good looking badge to go with it, and the current Kia oval isn’t it.
Frenchie, i agree with you, they need a proper logo or something. Even the Hyundai badge looks better.
Wonder what chassis and suspension it is running underneath, from the photo of the exterior and interior, it seems to be a Cerato coupe. Good to see Kia having a go at small, and hopefully cheap coupe after the demise of cars like the Celica and Integra.
Wow go kia, hope it’s coming out here (hmmmmm) and I wonder how much it would go for?
Yeah, new emblem. Something original, not like Hyundai with a Honda logo in italics. Perhaps CA could run a competition for its readers to design one!
Also, Im glad they spelt Koup with a K. Nobody wants to drive a car called the KFC!
Or a car that is called Killed In Action..
Does it not look like a Honda Civic copy to anyone???
The C-pillar design is real nice, but it would put me off buying one based on the fact that its a copy from another companys design. It needs to have a distinctly different front and rear end to make it uniquely KIA.
I hear wispers of a starting price of just $18,990.00.
Great styling from the outside but I think the Koreans are still a way off from producing something equally as nice on the inside. The Forte Coupe interior looks cheap and nasty compared to the metal outside. The Soul aswell suffers from this problem, great ‘different’ styling outside but cheap and nasty on the inside. The centre console on both just screams cheap and cheerful Korean!
Looks real good,
but I cant help but ask if the saggy leather seats come as standard….
azza85,
Please explain the difference between cheap and nasty plastic and good looking plastic. How does a company decide what plastic to use? Are their certain specific requirements?
macca says.
“the fact that its a copy from another companys design”
Peter Srahyer would be very upset to hear that. This car was designed at Kia’s German design centre by Peter and his team. Peter was the chief designer for Audi. He designed the TT, A3 and A4 as well as the VW Beetle amongst others. He has received many globally recognized awards. What are you saying it looks like? How could they make it more, as you say, “uniquely KIA”? I am sure they would like to know where they went wrong.
Minnow,
“Or a car that is called Killed In Action”..
I am sure Australia’s war veterans would be very upset by that comment.
KIA stands for Rising Asia. KI means Rising. A is for Asia. Or if you like it could also translate to rising out of Asia. Just so you know, I wouldn’t want to see you embarris yourself at the RSL.
FYI
It is a coup version on the Cerato.
$18,990 is exceptionally keen. They must have some kind of economies of scale with the normal sedan. Probably why the Soul is relatively expensive.
No doubt recycled front nose clip and interior obviously. Don’t really care because the base car looks fine.
Besides the 2.0 four, what about the 2.4 litre four or the 1.6 CRDi?
And shoot it up with the normal 17″ rims and the normal front bar off the Cerato.
I think the market is crying out for a Lancer MR2 coupe replacement.
Any pics of this thing with the rear hatch open? Obviously I wanna see if you can stick a bike or big LCD TV in the back.
Good looking coupe though not very original. Heck, in today’s me-too world, cars tend to have some sort of similarities here and there. Mass market manufacturers usually take the safe route rather than departing from the norm. Good effort KIA. Hope it is as reliable as it looks.
Azza85, i agree that the interior needs more work. Can’t judge the texture from the photo, so this most likely have better plastic than those hard plastic used by current Kia, however the interior design still looks cheap and korean. The main problem i think is the silver plastic, they look cheap and dated. The Cerato for example has two cabin, one with silver plastic, one with black plastic and the black plastic looks classier for sure.
Haven’t being inside the Cerato, but judging by past Kia i have being in, a main reason for the cheap feeling is the switch gear and indicator stalks that wobble a bit and doesn’t seem very smooth, damped and sturdy in their movement. Mind you, it’s not limited to Koreans, i would say Subaru suffers from similar problem too. They all have a long way to meeting the interior quality of Honda and Mazda, both of which i believe are the leaders for interior design/quality for Asian car companies.
Looks unreal…..but seat squab foam looks typical crappe! Needs decent bolsters on squab and seat recliner as judging look of pics there are imperfections (folds in leather) which suggest its cheap crappe!
Hot looking car…………
I recently sat inside a KIA SOUL and felt the interior plastics and the buttons are actually of HIGH QUALITY!
I believe this Forte Koup suffers from the same problem – the cabin plasitcs are of much higher quality than they look.
The buttons in the Soul are actually soft to the touch – not hard and flimsy (even though in places it looks like they are)
Small market these days for coupes , this market is now driven by convertables .
Probably do quite well in the sub $20k girlie market .
The front and back end are basically civic coupe copies
the rear quarter looks camaroish
the nose is the old honda accord
tail is the old alfa 156/lancer with a faux diffuser at that back which dates back to the old 1998 Nissan Skyline
i also agree the silver interior isn’t to my liking… looks like mass sprayed plastic
but having sat in a Cerato and had a go at the switchgear it looks and feels a lot better than the photos show
this isn’t uncommon… i liked the base Soul without all the red trimming and crap
Holy crap I may own a Kia one day…. dammit.
Kia are slowly wearing down my brand snobbery and snootiness….. well played sirs.
Except for the wheels, this thing looks the goods. Better than a civic imo.
Interiors not to my liking. Could look more upmarket i feel.
how high are some peoples expectations this is an under 20k car not an Audi. sure it has some civic cues but most of it is new. Most people cannot except that a kia can look good
I have to laugh. The Cerato tops out at $22,990 in manual form.
And you expect to compare it to cars that have base models at the same price?
I found it to be fine really. I mean I felt way more disgusted in a standard Mazda 2/3 and a Camry… I hate that silver sprayed plastic. In the Cerato that sheen of export quality silver paint was less evident at least.
I found the electronics and HVAC controls and displays to be better in the Cerato too.
the cerato with the black gloss interior looks really good.For some reason to me the new Mazda 3 interior looks wrong.Also if you are going to complain about a car interior complain about Toyota what manufacture uses light blue on there center console
Glad to see so many people have matured up their comments. I thank you.
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This looks cracking, still I am one in the band wagon that the interior needs a touch up, but I haven’t sat in one so it may be better than it appears as some have said.
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Really hope they offer the 2.4L here in Australia though.
The new kia VG concept looks equally stunning.
My idea for a new badge would be a oval with the 2 indents like the new grill
O, i have to disagree with you on the Mazda 3’s interior. I think Mazda and Honda makes the best interior in both design and quality amongst Asian car companies. Toyota though not exciting to look at are of good quality inside. I would agree that Kia and Hyundai has came a long way, and I would say their interior are at least comparable if not better than Mitsubishi and Subaru.
something about the new 3s interior just looks wrong to me.
this thing looks hot… I can hear all the badge snobs too scared to comment.
You may be right that there is a bit of creative license used here but at least someone is still having a crack at making an affordable car that inspires people.
Yes the interior looks like poor quality but have you seen the pricing of the latest civic type r??? You get what you pay for and from this readers perspective, value for money lies with the Kia.
Thanks George for the extra photos. If this does sell for $18,990 I think it will sell fairly well!
@O
Agree with you about the badge being a logo.
Ive never thought id ever see the day when a Korean car would look half decent and this car “looks” half decent to me. I wouldn’t drive it but it looks pretty alright. The front has a bit of the Civic and Focus RS look to it.
Throw in a 2L Turbo and RWD and this thing may actually sell very well for a korean car.
Looks pretty good, and look at the engine spec…impressive Kia…why don’t they bring 2.0T used in Genesis Coupe and stick it in…its gonna be a Civic TypeR killer.
It does look like a Civic albeit a more simple package, and I don’t mean simple in a bad way. I like the back abit more than the Civic and it would certainly go better than one besides the Type R. I’m sure it would look abit more appealing in real life than in photos.
For the asking price, it’s a pretty damn sweet car and as others pointed out Kia’s been upping the quality by quite a big margin. Kia and Hyundai will no doubt continue to pick up new consumers in this current economic climate if they keep flipping out cars like this and with their current price points.
Now if only Hyundai would bring the Genesis over here…
Salesman, you must have your head buried somewhere to not see the front and rear design being a lot like the new Civic. But its only my opinion. maybe i’m bitter that a overseas company who were rubbish not that long ago is now producing half-pie decent cars at really good prices. its more the impact this is going to have on locally made products which gets me!
locally made products had there chance and failed miserably.
They never plan ahead.
Only when diesel become popular do they look at it,
only when small cars are popular do they decide to build them again.
It ahs taken ford 4 years to put a diesel in the territory and it still doesn’t have one
O,
The Kluger doesnt have a diesel either.
I cant help but feel and say out loud that for 18-19k, you will get what you pay for.
A certain truth to that age old saying will still ring true one way or another.
The flip side to that is that if you pay the ‘Japan tax’ for a Honda/Mazda/Toyota you are merely paying for the higher Japanese labour rates and the ‘cachet’ of driving a Japanese car (such as it is).
Let me put it this way… some manufacturers will charge a pretty penny for a car made in Thailand… where you can buy a Ford SUV for USD$11,000 that retails for AUD$40,000 here.
Why should I subsidise the cost structures of a Japanese company?
Korean manufacture seems to be world class. You seem to have little problem with Samsung and LG type goods. Korea also manufactures ships, tanks and military items unlike Australia which buys all her stuff from the US and EU.
Is there a downside to buying a Korean fridge or LCD TV?
Tony,
Initial there was some reservation with buying Korean fridges and LCDs. I certainly remember a lot of quality rumours surrounding LG when they first started selling here.
What happens is that people slowly begin to trust a product and this is whats happening with the car industry, people are starting to beleive that they can ‘take the risk’ in buying a korean car.
Name me an Australian owned and manufactured television that sells in numbers these days. Its the way of our world and unfortunately it is the way our industry is also heading. The sooner Korean cars are excepted into the mainstream, you might as well say good bye to holden and ford.