Kia Cerato Koup Turbo new car review
Affordable sports cars have gone through something of a boom recently, but Kia has in some ways been left behind.
Since arriving on the scene in 2009, the Kia Cerato Koup has built a solid fan base, but nothing like the wave of acceptance for the newer - and more ground breaking - Hyundai Veloster and Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 twins.
Koup take two has a basic shape in the same mould as the original but brings a fresh, more modern design at the front and rear. The grille gets Kia's trademark pinch in the centre, while the tail lights are more stylised and futuristic, combining with the interesting-looking alloy wheels to give it a sporty visual demeanour.
Based on the Cerato small car, the Koup boasts a sportier look thanks to a two-door body. And this new model now has the option of a turbocharged engine for performance more closely aligned to its looks.
What do you get?
Priced from $27,990 (plus on-road and dealer costs), the Turbo is $4000 more than the regular Koup, known as the Si. But it also gets more equipment, including smart key entry, better lights (puddle lights in the mirrors, for example, and LED tail lights), alloy pedals, partial fake leather seats, side skirts, dual exhaust and some black exterior trim items (door handles and grille, for example) to give it a more sinister look. There's also a Touring Pack for $2200 that brings real leather trim, dual-zone automatic airconditioning, sat-nav and a larger central screen.
That's on top of the already generous level of kit in the Koup, which extends to cruise control, Bluetooth, trip computer, reversing camera, parking sensors front and rear, alloy wheels (17-inch for the non-turbo Si and 18s for the Turbo), six airbags (dual front, front-side and side curtain) and stability control.
An auto ups the price to $30,190. All are backed by an impressive five-year warranty.
What's inside?
For an affordable car the Koup does a decent job of making you feel you're driving something more special. It starts when you approach the car and the mirrors fold into position and small puddle lights illuminate the ground, all because it recognises the key is nearby.
In the cabin, dark plastics give it a formal feel but there's plenty of chrome-look tinges to brighten it up. It's topped off with red illumination and a central touchscreen that is compact but colourful; like many it's sometimes easy to make a wrong selection when choosing radio stations, for example. There's also some carbon fibre-inspired matte finishes that raise the sports factor. Only the faux leather on the seats is a letdown, looking more vinyl than cow.
Up front there's respectable storage in the doors and central binnacle, while space and adjustability is good in every direction except up, with headroom OK for those 190cm or shorter but likely to start ruffling a hair or two at higher altitudes.
Large, frameless doors mean tight car parks need to be approached with care, but it at least makes it easier for those trying to cram into the tighter back pews. Really, though, they're occasional rear seats; if you're looking to regularly carry three or four and insist on a sporty number like this it's difficult to go past the deceptively practical Hyundai Veloster, which shares its mechanicals with the Koup.
The Koup's boot is shallow but otherwise broad enough for what is a compact car. The rear seats split-fold in a 60-40 configuration, helping cater for larger items.
Under the bonnet
The sales pitch for the Koup is that it's the most powerful car for the money. Just. The 150kW produced from the 1.6-litre direct injection turbocharged engine just edges out the maximum produced from the rival Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 twins (147kW each). But the Koup trounces them for torque, or that low-to-middle rev pulling power that gives an engine its potent feel. There's a full 265Nm available from just 1750rpm, and it does a fine job of shifting the relatively light 1390kg frame. Acceleration, then, is brisk without being potent, and it's accompanied by a purposeful but sometimes over the top noise at higher revs. The $40,000 hot hatch brigade would comfortably out-blast the Koup, but there's not much for the money that will keep up with it in a straight line.
The flexibility of the engine is also a winner, making it easy to build speed without slotting down too many gears. However the six-speed auto doesn't always seem to make the most of it, often dropping down a gear or two when it could have stuck in, say, fifth or sixth. The gearbox is also sometimes too eager to dive into its upper gears, before then re-evaluating. There's a manual mode and shift paddles if you want to tell it to behave.
Fuel use is claimed at 8.0 litres per 100km (7.7L/100km for the manual) although we never got close to that in mainly suburban driving; think closer to 11L/100km, which is OK without being exceptional.
On the road
Driving the front wheels and sharing its underpinnings with the regular Cerato small car, the Koup doesn't deviate wildly from a city runabout in its manners. But some additional stiffness to the suspension helps quell body roll through bends and teams with the 18-inch tyres for respectable grip.
Despite its sporty intentions, the suspension is surprisingly compliant over road joins and potholes, dipping but not diving, and quickly recovering.
There's a choice of three steering feels - comfort, normal and sport - with the latter adding more weight but little feel. For me the lighter comfort setting was the most realistic, but still lacked the agility of purer sports cars.
Verdict
The latest take on the Koup is a solid effort with the turbo engine adding feistiness to the impressive value and good looks. It's not about to set any dynamic benchmarks in a class that's seen the goalposts shift in recent years, but it does a thoroughly acceptable job.