This is it, boys and girls, the all-new second-generation Kia Forte Koup. And what a beaut it is! We’ve seen some pretty impressive designs from the upstart Korean brand recently – both production models and concepts – but we believe this one is something else again. It’s Kia all grown up.
Lower, longer and wider than the original Koup, the new model eschews the current car’s angular looks for a more organic and shapely appearance to bring it in line with the latest Forte. The swept-back headlamps with LED positioning lights give it a striking front end, while the angled shoulder line allows for a shallower glasshouse and sportier profile.
Again we see a split standard EX and high-end SX model variants, each with its own set of appearance and equipment list. What you see in these pictures is the top-of-the-line SX model with its 18-inch alloy wheels, sporty front bumper and grille openings, dual exhaust tips and LED rear lights.
What’s less obvious are the larger front brakes and faux-carbonfibre bumper inserts and rear diffuser. Inside, alloy sport pedals and seats with carbonfibre-style accents set the SX apart. The EX makes do with 16-inch wheels and non-LED rear lamps.
The new two-door Forte Koup gets an all-new engine line-up, mirroring that offered on the five-door Hatchback. The EX gets a 2.0 litre direct-injection engine with 173 hp at 6,500 rpm and 209 Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm. That’s already a healthy bump of 17 hp and 15 Nm over the current Koup 2.0 litre.
Opt for the costlier SX and there’s a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine offering 201 hp at 6,000 rpm and 264 Nm between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm, making it the most powerful Koup yet. A six-speed auto is offered for both models, but SX buyers can opt for a manual gearbox too. Driven wheels are the fronts of course.
What is disappointing is the use of torsion-beams at the back instead of the Forte Hatchback’s multi-link items. Don’t get us wrong; finely tuned, a twist-beam set-up can do wonders, i.e. the Renaultsport Megane. But why use a lesser assembly when a better, more advanced option is readily available?
With this debut, Kia has now refreshed its entire Forte line-up, as the Koup joins the sedan first shown last year and the five-door Hatchback unveiled in February. What do you think of the new Koup’s fashionable looks; does it improve upon the original’s much-loved styling?
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Seriously, koreans are getting a lot better these days. If we are really unsatisfied with what the japanese are giving us, we consumers have the power to change the market trend, choose korean cars, help nurturing their RV. Honestly kinda upset with what Vios are giving us in terms of features and spec considering their high price.
The current Forte koup.
0-100 is above 10s.
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not everybody is entirely interested in resale value, we get cars we like.
unless you’re like an accountant, who “runs with the pack” in which case i suspect you’re driving a camry or some other extremely predictable car.
IF want RV.. then u just keep sell your uncle car Toyota Camry , Altis & Dugong..without any technology advancement.. apanama 4 speed auto!!
You must be frekking poor to keep on looking at resale value. Hug your vios to sleep.
Not cool dude, looking down on the financially challenged just because you can afford some lousy expensive foreign car
Sam Loo deserved every bit of it, taking delight in someone else’s misery at the used car dealers.
Look, no one put a gun on these sorhai’s heads to buy these rotten cabbages.
They are ill informed, driven by their tainted testosterones, blinded by their ego and blurred by their lack of intelligence
Sam, the same applies to you. My money, my choice, and you seriously have no respect for us buying non Toyota cars. So what if RV doesnt matter? I want a safer car, so i bought other brands.
And if you call us sorhais, i would say you are the ignorant, arrogant one that doesnt respect people and tries to lord over us car buyers. FYI, im still driving my Accord which i love to bits, despite having a Spectra 5 as my daily driver.
Sam, I am a supporter of Toyota and I like Toyotas for their frugal engine and general low maintenance cost.
However, I do have to admit that their design is general boring and they don’t seem to want to provide the latest technology for their cars in this region. Things like CVT is very common now but the new VIOS doesn’t seem to have it which is very disappointing. Is this UMW’s strategy or is it Toyota’s Japan’s strategy for Malaysia? I like the other cars like Honda, Kia and Ford’s new design outlook which are refreshing to see and I am waiting to see if the Governement will allow Ford to bring in their Ecoboost engine on the Mondeo which could be a game changer (I am not holding my breath though with gov’s policy right now).
Its our money and we should buy the cars we want and we will learn from our mistakes if our choice turns out wrong eventually.
Haha, it may bring u a smile on resale value N years later, but you’ll be spending N years to drive that Toy car with a sad petty long face.
If wan resale value go n buy properties and take lrt, dun buy car. all cars depreciate n most msian hardly change their car in 5 yrs time.
how many times do you want me to remind you son. Don’t put silly comment on this page. For god sake go buy gold bar for higher RV.
Come sam, please buy my Mahathir appointed, certified, endorsed, gerenti win win hiba Geneva Gold Bar ? Sure very good resale value wan. Even bank negara so envy with Genneva gold and help the customer keep the gold bar in their bank vault. So, stop buying your toyota and invest in Genneva Gold, ok or not ?
Totally love it when idiots like you buys a new car and thinks of selling it later instead of enjoying the drive.
What’s the point of buying a car in the first place?
How can anyone enjoy a ride knowing that kimchis here are so low in quality and specs ?
Are you high on drugs? kimchi low on spec? if that’s true than toyota must all be zero quality and spec.
Haha…if u wan RV…better dont buy car dy la…buy property la better…typical Toyota salesman…
Daddy, you need to take your meds on time. Please don’t skip med times. Otherwise we have to keep you in the nuthouse again…
Just cannot understand ppl with mindset like RV Sam. Talk nothing but RV all the time. People that buy cars only got 3 reason:
1.) Basic car to get from A to B. In that case a basic car like saga or viva is sufficient. No point buying any overpriced toyota crap. It depreciates more than saga or viva for sure.
2.) To be happy and to enjoying a good quality motoring experience and good safety.So they will be willing to pay more for their ride and almost anything be it korean, conti or jap is better than overpriced stone-age toyota crap in malaysia.
3.) Ppl like uncle Sam that will pay 100k for a car worth 50k just for the sake of RV. Pretend to be happy throughout the ownership of the overpriced junk while secretly envying those that are willing to spend to enjoy their ride, and hope and pray he can get a good trade-in price 5 yrs later.
Well said!
the sohai Sam Loo is just a simply low life creature that lack of both the money and brain~
May I ask SAM, how do you see those owners of Ferrari, lambo, bently..etc? are those cars’ RV good? are they sohai??
u just like to pick on Korean car owner, but u tend to forget u always envy and jealous those who can afford n driver a car that cost few times higher than yours~~
well… u can keep on dreaming, with your attitude like this, u will never ever can be the same lead with those u envy and jealous now!
INSTANTLY… I see VW Passat CC’s rear being copied.
I prefer Passat CC’s rear than Arowana/Almera rear. Thank god KIA kopied the correct product!
The price differential (to Korea’s advantage) will narrow due the the lower Yen and appreciating Won. Don’t be surprise if the new car costs a few thousand more.
Nampak kurang maskulin
I know I’am going to be ripped apart by Kia fans, but I prefer old look, this car wheelbase is a bit too long for a short hood/bumper, two-door coupe, like the rear wheels is way to back, and quite literally, ruining it. But never mind there’s still the awesome hatch version which is IMO, is better looking and still have the same internals. On the side note, they still spelled ‘coupe’ wrong[sarcasm].
I agree with your point that the existing koup looks nicer. This new koup front looks a bit weird to me and the rear looks like the VW CC.
Good job korean, if this engine is coming into bolehland and the price is not crazy it will be getting good sales! Thumbs up for the manual gearbox!!
like how everyone said the new Vios looks like a Saga FL, I failed to see the resemblance to the VW CC. Though with the Veloster not having a GDI in Malaysia, I really wonder weather the GDI will make it, or the manual. Really hope for the hatch, I liked the hatch better as stated.
It doesn’t look like VW CC but rather Lexus IS 250. A much sleeker and sexier rear light than the IS though.
i believe as a giant company, Kia knows how to spell the ‘coupe’ correctly and i guess the use of ‘Koup’ is deliberately so that it sounds/looks special than the majority others..
Guess you didn’t notice I bracketed sarcasm.
yea dude…spelling coupe as koup is a big deal…wat a let down to all literate motorist worldwide
Agree. I still prefer the first generation for being edgy and exhibit its very own character, somehow remind me of those classic American muscles.
At least they didn’t mess it up when they translate the hatch version to a coupe/sedan. E.g. Mazda 2.
Get your fact right. Mazda 2 was originally designed only with Hatchback in mind. The sedan was out much later and they have to follow the stream from the Hatchback design. Can you say the same to their Mazda 3 sedan and hatchback? No, because it was designed with both from the scratch. This apply to this Kia too.
So which of my stated fact is not correct?
I’ve stated that Mazda 2, when implementing the sedan design did a bad job. I have never mention whether it was designed from scratch or not. So let me get this straight, are you implying Mazda 3 sedan and hatch are a completely different car since it started from scratch?
A bad job done is still a bad job regardless of the approach to it. They’ve chose to do it like that and that’s the outcome.
Get your word right before you start firing at others.
i still wonder till now..whats actually the pronunciation of “coupe”?
some say “kup” and some say “ku-pay”..
I like the old one more.
The old one looks Meaner. This one is too sexy.
The new 1, copy Lancer’s bumper.
Mitusbishi, good leadership.
Everybody COPY his Lancer bumper.
the rear look very much like a VW CC.
the rear lights reminds me of the Passat CC…good thing i guess
Hope the gearbox does not die like a Passat CC
The gearbox used in Forte Koup is either manual or conventional automatic gearbox. The gearbox used in VW cars is DSG or conventional manual outside Boleh Land.
since we’re on the topic, i prefer the previous gen quad ring tail lamps on the CC, looks waaaay cooler than the current one.
Let’s wait to see the actual model on the road as sometimes photos don’t do it justice. I love the sleek profile of the ori Koup but it lacks the power one expects. Also the rear lights (like the ones on the K3)remind me of the K5 which I personally feel is not the way to go since it looks like a mini K5 or mini-me syndrome.
What thrills me most about the latest model is the turbo engine and manual transmission. Now this is what I call a true sports coupe with power to back up its sporty looks. No more a wannabe like the original Koup !
The rear look so much like a CC but with the bumper and the spoiler it look more sexy ! Not bad
Now we are talking! Get the SX version. At least KIA realised, with a little Turbo help, u get torque at much earlier rpm. Sweet looking car too. Can beat my Passat for sure now. Good. I bet my bottom dollar, that Hyundai will follow to introduce turbocharged engines in their car and the Japs will realise too. Imagine Honda follows too. The road race will begin. Thumbs up to this KIA SX.
japanese is the best for turbo, but they wont make it oem, they are good at it but turbo is not stable, poor ppl like me need to use a car for 30years, reliability is important, turbo is for rich ppl, mayb type r is the only hope for turbo, rumors says that type r civic will b a 1.6 turbo, the owner can afford to maintain it, not me:(
dont know why i feel the tiger nose this time is out of place, like they simply slapped it on the face because it is kia
No matter how nice the new design is, don’t ever buy any Korean cars. Talking through my experience of owning Kia Spectra, Naza Citra, Kia Forte and Hyundai Trajet their technology is still way behind as compared to Japanese cars and not to mention continental cars. Looks can be deceiving, so don’t be fooled by them!
Okay, got you. 4 speed auto is way more advance!
with all those korean cars you’ve owned, looks like you been fooled more than once!
Yup, even now he’s being fooled into believing that the new generation of KIAs haven’t improve at all.
Yah man. How many times does a person need to be fooled before he learns a lesson? Somemore want to give advice…
Guys, its almost 99% certain that all Hyundai GDI engines will not make it to Bolehland… no thanks to your high sulfur content gasoline. Even your Vpower and Caltex 97octane Techron can’t make the grade.
Here in SG, our local Hyundai and Kia dealerships have issued a service reminder to all customers who purchased GDI engines Hyundai and Kia models.
A reminder note is included in the glovebox of every new Veloster/Veloster Turbo, i40 GDI, Kia Sorento 2.4GDI on the day of new car delivery. The note reminds customers to refrain from using Bolehland fuel on a long term, consecutive basis. The note also detailed the possible damage to the Direct injectors if high sulfur fuel is used repeatedly. Our local service advisors will remind customers about this whenever they send their cars in for svcs as well.
GDI engines requires Euro 4 and above fuel quality to work properly. SG gasoline quality has just been certified Euro 4 while our diseal are Euro 5.
My Ford Ranger has 375 Nm torque
Dude, ford ranger uses diesel…this kia uses petrol…can’t compare la
lol..my colorado has 420nm
Awesome! I didn’t get the current Kia Koup because of the lag in power. Too bad. A true beauty. But now that it’s powerful, it lacks the aesthetic look.
Jam this engine in the current Forte Koup, put a a different make up (though there’s nothing much to do to it because it’s such a gorgeous car), and sell it at the current price!
Don’t get drawn by RV talk by Sam Loo and his other accounts. We talk about car technology and offering not resale value. We don’t buy car to sell them. We want to have the best driving experience.
To sum it, this is a Lemon
I dont believe in Korean cars…..car design can be futuristic but people get bored with it quickly…..I’m not fond of Hyundai fluid or Kia tiger nose design….
Fraid not! There’s always the arowana fish and almera for you.
no..u bored me to death.. please go away
Here we go again. Nice design but 0-100 in 11s , crappy handling, not fun to drive. Cheapo ugly looking interior.
Aih, malaysians easily cheated.. Those who bought the old Koup, try selling now. See how much u get
Some say, he trash talk every korean car;
Some say, he’s a Toyota Salesman;
Some say, he doesn’t really drive a Maserati;
All we know is, his nickname is Maserati.
Some says Maserati –> Masa Roti
He only can afford roti krim while sitting at the bus stop imagining how he wish he can afford a 4 wheels.
MasaRoti, perhaps you should try buying sports toto, then you can afford the real Maserati.
LOL
Masak Roti
2 years of enjoyment with my current Koup and love it to the bits. This latest Koup still maintaining the current look but tone down a bit on the aggresiveness. What can i say, haters will keep on going hate, and to those special upcoming n current buyers, u will always be special on the road.Not a mainstream and always be a looker. Congrate!
does multilink setup is bigger than torsion beam? i mean , eats up more rear n boot space.?
on a same car..maybe yes..hard to compare with other model..since different approach of designing. for example, proton did a good job using multilink+big boot n rear leg room.
A look like a Volkswagen CC….good shape! Come on…bring in the GDI, this is what we need!!!!
The front is a bit too much for me. Still prefer the design of Kia cee’d and pro_cee’d.
Gotta see the real car first. Basing on the picture, the new car seems to look less sporty. At least it has a turbo engine now.
The front is from the new Forte 5-door.
What is the expected selling price in Malaysia? any rough figure? I love this car. especially the SX
price?.. hmm better wait after GE.. if lucky, it will bring good news to all car enthusiasm.. =)
opt for the current model!
especially the ass, imo kia shud keep the current design and focus on the car’s performance
Please buy a new one instead.
Just can’t wait to show you the Hilux when you trade-in the vehicle in less than a year
why korean car sold in M’sia dont comes with GDI engine? All comes with MPI engine.
I am an owner of the current Koup. Totally satisfied with the car.
Still like the 1st gen look better but I want turbocharged 1.6 litre engine!
Cool i am waiting
any idea when the new gen will be in m’sia?
Will this new koup come to Malaysia?? Pls reply i want this car so badly cuz its awesome. And there is no other car in malaysia that suit my taste. :(
i think korean cars is 100 times better than those stupid japanese cars which is useless,irritating and discusting……..almost all korean cars today is feature packed and totally ready in action…….just see the sonata how masculine is it and see how modern and superb is the optima k5……..what u guys say?????????? and wht u guys rate the new rio and the new cerato……….the sportage,tucson,sorento,new santa fe,the i40,forte,elantra and the new picanto
and currently nazakia is planning to launch and debut the all new kia carens,cerato koup and new kia soul………all are the best in its class….so what are u guys waiting for,,,,go and get one as soon as possible
Look people…
lets not waste our time arguing. Obviously if a buyer is looking for resale value they will only buy a honda… not even Toyota. If they do buy a Toyota they are “Dumber” than they look.
As for other brands/make… a “Driver” will buy a car based on his affordability & if its looks good & feels good to “HIM”.
Whilst a person with a driving licence, analyses everything & buys a Toyota.
isit lauching in malaysia? no latest news about it…waited since last year
yes… i still waiting.. reaching march is 2 year. i saving money for this. :)
please come with 1.6gdi turbo.