2010 Kia Forte Koup

2010 Forte Koup Photos
2010 Kia Forte Koup - Click above for high-res image gallery It's time to stop being surprised that Koreans can make good cars. Kia and its sister-brand Hyundai have been doing it for years now, with each successive model being better than the last. Hyundai has been selling vehicles in the U.S. for 24 years, Kia for 16, and they don't deserve bonus points anymore for exceeding expectations. Want proof? Along with Subaru, they were the only three brands to increase sales last year during the Great Recession. The bar has been raised and it's time we take off the kid gloves. With that in mind, we turn our attention to the 2010 Kia Forte Koup. A brand new model, the Koup joins the Forte sedan in displacing the Spectra, Kia's former best-selling model in the U.S. So the stakes are high for this four-door and accompanying Koup (blech, we mean coupe). We've already sampled the Forte sedan and called it "a stylish, comfortable, frisky automotive companion for surprisingly short dollars." Along with losing two doors, the Koup also gains more aggressive bodywork that suggests the potential for higher performance than the sedan. Does it fulfill that promise or come across as a parts–bin twin with two fewer doors? Let's follow the jump to find out. %Gallery-84181% Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc. With the Forte Koup, Kia has followed a well-worn strategy originally employed by Honda when it dropped the Civic hatchback in favor of a two-door coupe for 2006. Ford then nixed its three- and five-door hatchback versions of the Focus for 2008 and replaced them with a two-door notchback. Likewise, the Spectra five-door wasn't repeated in the Forte range, instead being replaced by the Forte Koup. We like hatchbacks, but these companies have sales data that proves Americans, on the whole, don't. For better or worse, the utility of a hatchback is fast being replaced in this segment by the style of a coupe, and fortunately for the Forte Koup, it has enough style to fill a few hatchbacks. Think of the Forte Koup's competition and aesthetic beauty probably isn't what comes to mind. Even after a few years on the market, the Honda Civic Coupe still looks a bit odd, the Ford Focus Coupe is just plain ugly, the Chevy Cobalt Coupe old and the Scion tC anonymous. The Forte Koup is easily the most attractive, and at least some of that has to do with the sedan. Both the sedan and coupe come with Kia's new corporate grille and headlights, which come off as clean and expressive. Other trademark design cues on both the four- and two-door include a complex meeting of sheetmetal above the front fenders and a character line along the side that creates a chamfered look around the windows. The Forte Koup, however, gets its own front bumper treatment that adds a dose of attitude. A pair of fog lights are deeply set in the corners of black …
Full Review
2010 Kia Forte Koup - Click above for high-res image gallery It's time to stop being surprised that Koreans can make good cars. Kia and its sister-brand Hyundai have been doing it for years now, with each successive model being better than the last. Hyundai has been selling vehicles in the U.S. for 24 years, Kia for 16, and they don't deserve bonus points anymore for exceeding expectations. Want proof? Along with Subaru, they were the only three brands to increase sales last year during the Great Recession. The bar has been raised and it's time we take off the kid gloves. With that in mind, we turn our attention to the 2010 Kia Forte Koup. A brand new model, the Koup joins the Forte sedan in displacing the Spectra, Kia's former best-selling model in the U.S. So the stakes are high for this four-door and accompanying Koup (blech, we mean coupe). We've already sampled the Forte sedan and called it "a stylish, comfortable, frisky automotive companion for surprisingly short dollars." Along with losing two doors, the Koup also gains more aggressive bodywork that suggests the potential for higher performance than the sedan. Does it fulfill that promise or come across as a parts–bin twin with two fewer doors? Let's follow the jump to find out. %Gallery-84181% Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc. With the Forte Koup, Kia has followed a well-worn strategy originally employed by Honda when it dropped the Civic hatchback in favor of a two-door coupe for 2006. Ford then nixed its three- and five-door hatchback versions of the Focus for 2008 and replaced them with a two-door notchback. Likewise, the Spectra five-door wasn't repeated in the Forte range, instead being replaced by the Forte Koup. We like hatchbacks, but these companies have sales data that proves Americans, on the whole, don't. For better or worse, the utility of a hatchback is fast being replaced in this segment by the style of a coupe, and fortunately for the Forte Koup, it has enough style to fill a few hatchbacks. Think of the Forte Koup's competition and aesthetic beauty probably isn't what comes to mind. Even after a few years on the market, the Honda Civic Coupe still looks a bit odd, the Ford Focus Coupe is just plain ugly, the Chevy Cobalt Coupe old and the Scion tC anonymous. The Forte Koup is easily the most attractive, and at least some of that has to do with the sedan. Both the sedan and coupe come with Kia's new corporate grille and headlights, which come off as clean and expressive. Other trademark design cues on both the four- and two-door include a complex meeting of sheetmetal above the front fenders and a character line along the side that creates a chamfered look around the windows. The Forte Koup, however, gets its own front bumper treatment that adds a dose of attitude. A pair of fog lights are deeply set in the corners of black …
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Retail Price

$16,595 - $17,695 MSRP / Window Sticker Price
Engine 2.0L I-4, 2.4L I-4
MPG Up to 25 city / 34 highway
Seating 5 Passengers
Transmission 5-spd man w/OD, 6-spd man w/OD
Power 156 - 173 hp
Drivetrain front-wheel
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