Koup d'état

[vwestlife]

The 2010 Kia Forte and Forte Koup have only been on the market for a short time, and there are already accessories for it on eBay...

...some tasteful:


...and some not so much:


Aside from some cheap looking interior plastics, the Forte is giving me very strong first impressions. Of course I said the same thing about the Rio5, but this time I need to take a manual-transmission one on a more extensive test drive to be sure if it gets my official TCL / GayCL approval or not. I have warmed up greatly to the current Ford Focus, so in my mind that's what the Forte's main competition would be, especially since the 2010 Mazda3 basically moved up in price about $1000 compared to where it was a year and a half ago when I bought mine.

[Wimbledon]

That wood dash kit is vile.

At a time when Hyundai/Kia are making such impressive strides ahead in design and quality, the Forte's interior is particularly disappointing IMO.

I'm looking forward to seeing if it merits your GayCL seal of approval though.

Since you've owned a late model Kia Rio, you're in a unique position here to compare the two cars and express how much progress Kia has really made.

I'm personally more excited for Kia's new white hot C'eed that might be coming over to our shores. I've heard rumors we may get the 5-door C'eed as the Forte Touring.

[Dr.Gonzo]

I think this is a hot looking car and would make an awesome commuter.

[vwestlife]

[vwestlife]

I finally found a dealer that said they have a manual Koup in stock... great! So I show up today, and it's sitting in the showroom. They said it was their only Forte (of any kind), too. Well, at least I got to see it up close and sit in it.

It was a black EX model with no options, so it had the 2.0L engine with a 5-speed, 16" alloys, and a black cloth interior. The frameless doors are a nice touch. The interior materials looked a bit better than the base LX sedan, but maybe the black color just hides the coarse-textured plastics better than the light gray interior I've seen before. The shifter felt much better than on the Rio -- it has a crisp feel and is well weighted.

Overall it looks like an impressive effort from Kia. I'll just have to see if the driving experience lives up to its appearance!

[Wimbledon]

So the only unit they have to show off the brand new model is a base car with no options? Or have they sold other Forte Koups already?

[vwestlife]

(10-04-2009 11:51 AM)Wimbledon Wrote:  So the only unit they have to show off the brand new model is a base car with no options? Or have they sold other Forte Koups already?

The options for the Koup (both EX and SX) are a leather package and a moonroof. The EX also has blanks for fog lights in the front air dam, but they are not listed as an option, so I guess that would (hopefully) be a dealer accessory. (The SX has a different air dam with fog lights standard.)

I didn't ask if they had sold any others already. The dealer said they had more new Fortes waiting for them at the port.

Here's a pretty good overview of the Koup EX (unfortunately an automatic):

...and the Forte (sedan) SX with the 6-speed manual:

[gti_matt]

That wood kit is awful. The stock gray interior though is just about as terrible. IDK where automakers get the idea that monochromatic gray interiors are good to have as the default color and design.

[vwestlife]

Yes, the EX Koup's interior does look rather drab. The SX at least spices it up a bit with the red stitching.

The LX and EX sedans have a nice two-tone gray/black interior (LX seen below). The coarse-textured hard plastic on the door panels is the only sign of cheapness that really sticks out at me, and it is true of all the trim levels.








SX with extra fauxluminum trim:



Unfortunately, some exterior colors come with a truly hideous "coffee" colored interior... it's a retch-worthy reddish brown:



Overall, the quality of materials and fit & finish can't quite match the Civic or Mazda3, but the Forte is certainly a strong competitor to the Focus and Corolla, and makes the well-aged Cobalt/G5 look even more pathetic in comparison.

[Dr.Gonzo]

I wonder how durable this will be though?