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You kould do worse.
Like its Forte5 hatchback sibling, Kia’s Forte Koup got restyled and a newsworthy power upgrade this year in the form of a direct-injected 1.6-liter turbocharged 4 cranking out 201 horsepower; the pre-refresh car settled for 173 ponies from a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter. And like the hatch, the Koup shares the turbo’d mill with Hyundai’s funky-doored Veloster pseudo coupe.
Intentionally misspelled name aside, Kia takes the more conservative approach in this segment, dealing its Koup some added rear leg- and headroom over the previous edition while keeping the exterior design more conventional than that of the Hyundai. Aesthetically, it’s more in line with what you see from the Honda Civic and Scion tC coupes.
That’s not to say it isn’t a handsome little thing, turned out in this case in bright “Racing Red” and carrying the high feature content and competitive pricing we’ve come to expect from Kia. The front fenders and hood are shared with the hatchback and sedan Forte models, and all ride on the same wheelbase and deliver much the same driving experience.
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The Koup’s hot engine comes with the top-spec SX trim; you get similar looks but a 173-hp 2.0-liter and a lower price tag in the EX. Parsing details for those who may have decided on a Forte but are still debating the body style and transmission choices, this loaded-up manual transmission SX did the run to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds, about half a second quicker than the 2014 Forte5 we tested with the same engine and gearbox.
The 2-door tipped our scales at 2964 pounds, 54 lighter than the Forte5 we weighed. As tested, the Koup packed the full boat of options, which means 2 packages. The Premium bundle brings a power sunroof, leather upholstery, heated seats (plus cooling for the driver), a heated steering wheel, and a couple of other items. The Technology package, which requires the Premium kit, adds navigation, a high-res driver’s info screen, dual-zone climate control, and HID headlamps. Each pack costs $ 1800. Add in accessories like a bumper applique, cargo mat, and floor mats, and our test vehicle’s MSRP was $ 25,285. We got just 21 mpg from the hatchback but managed to finesse 27 mpg from the Koup, which is sort of amazing for our lead-footed crew. But at 22 mpg city and 29 mpg highway (the automatic turbo model is rated for 30 highway), this is no one’s idea of a fuel-economy special.
As in other Fortes, the adjustable-assist electric steering—altered via an easily thumbed button on the steering-wheel spoke—varies effort from board-game-spinner to cement-stirring-paddle without adding anything that resembles feel or feedback. It’s responsive, though, being sharp enough at turn-in and offering progressive operation.
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The 0.85 g of grip we recorded on the skidpad is pretty good, but we noted more understeer than in the manual hatchback. This is probably attributable to the Koup carrying a greater proportion of its mass over the front axle (61.5 vs. 60.4 percent). The 2-door doesn’t encourage outrageous freeway on-ramp behavior, but the handling balance is entertaining enough.
For the price, however, the Mazda 3 2.0-liter hatchback delivers a more engaging driving experience and a richer-looking cabin environment, albeit with substantially less power—it’s a full second behind on the run to 60 mph—and not quite as many features. Of course, it’s also a 5-door. So if what you’re seeking is sub-6-second thrust, the spiffy looks of a coupe, and a bunch of small car for the money, the Forte Koup merits a look.
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2014 Kia Forte Koup SX Turbo Manual Tested: You Kould Do Worse
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