New York: Kia goes 2-door, debuts Forte Koup

[Intrepidation]

Following the introduction of its all-new Forte compact sedan at the Chicago Auto Show in February, Kia unveiled the 2-door variant here at the New York Auto Show today. The car takes not only the name, but also plenty of styling cues from the KOUP Concept that make it distinctively different from its sedan brother. Up front the Koup receives a more aggressive design, featuring a bespoke front end with a larger lower intake and more vertical side intakes. At the rear are wider and thinner taillights with a larger rear fascia and dual exhaust tips.

Powertrains are identical to the sedan; the base EX model gets Kia's 2.0-liter inline-4 producing 156 horsepower and 144 lb-ft torque while the SX features a 2.4-liter four-banger with 173 horsepower and 168 lb-ft torque. Transmission options are a standard 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic on the EX, and a 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic on the SX. Inside the Forte Koup features standard sport seats, power windows, power door locks, remote keyless entry and cruise control, and a leather package is an option on both models. Follow the jump for full details in the press release and check out plenty of high-res photos in the gallery below.

Autoblog

[Intrepidation]

[Justin Bimmer]

Front end = nascar COT

Back end = Lincoln MKZ

[G. David Felt]

WOW, the car yells Honda Knock off to me. The front lower bumper yells to me either the GMC Terrain or some other car I just looked at but says CUV. Gonna have to go look at the other posts and be right back.

Yup the outside edges of the bummper do remind me of the GMC Terrain bumper. I am sure others are like this also as many seem to be going for the front bumper block look with driving lights at the outside edge.

Edited April 9, 2009 by dfelt

[PurdueGuy]

Screams Civic knock-off to me, too.

[Intrepidation]

WOW, the car yells Honda Knock off to me. The front lower bumper yells to me either the GMC Terrain or some other car I just looked at but says CUV. Gonna have to go look at the other posts and be right back.

Yup the outside edges of the bummper do remind me of the GMC Terrain bumper. I am sure others are like this also as many seem to be going for the front bumper block look with driving lights at the outside edge.

Except this was around before the Terrain was even spy photographed.

Screams Civic knock-off to me, too.

I see Civic in the front, but no where else (just like the sedan). One major difference though...

It looks a hell of a lot better than the Civic.

[siegen]

It definitely has a Honda or Mitsubishi vibe to it. Really, if those two companies collaborated on a low cost sporty coupe, this is exactly what it would look like.

It still looks relatively lower quality, but I would take this over a Cobalt based on styling (unless it drives like crap).

I really really don't like the wheels.

If you gave it some nice wheels I think this is one of the better looking sport-compacts. It doesn't look as refined as the Civic Coupe but it looks a little more aggressive.

It looks like it has more head room for the back passengers, and they managed to pull it off without making it look goofy.

[G. David Felt]

DF, true it was around before the Terrain, maybe GM copied them then. :rotflmao:

Edited April 9, 2009 by dfelt

[Intrepidation]

DF, true it was around before the Terrain, maybe GM copied them then. :rotflmao:

Wouldn't that be funny and ironic if that were true.

But neither are really copies...the design is too different.

[G. David Felt]

Wouldn't that be funny and ironic if that were true.

But neither are really copies...the design is too different.

True, the middle is very differant but the over all general outside design has similarities.

In fact I have started to see a sad trend of the Hybrids and the eco box's and that is that they are all looking like the same Jelly Bean mold. Individuality is being lost as everyone goes after the same styling.

Sad.

[Robert Hall]

I see some Audi A5 styling cues in the C-pillar and greenhouse.

Where does the Forte fit into the Kia line..is it replacing an existing model?

[Intrepidation]

I see some Audi A5 styling cues in the C-pillar and greenhouse.

Where does the Forte fit into the Kia line..is it replacing an existing model?

It replaces the Spectra.

[G. David Felt]

It replaces the Spectra.

So then like GM they will isolate and loose at least half of the Spectra customers.

[Intrepidation]

I don't think any of the Spectra customers were brand loyal, and certainly not nameplate loyal.

[siegen]

I see Civic in the front, but no where else (just like the sedan). One major difference though...

It looks a hell of a lot better than the Civic.

At first glance it might look better, but I guarantee if you set them side by side in the same color and looked at them, the Kia would look far cheaper and overall crappier. There is no question in my mind about that.

I still do not like the Civic sedan in pictures, but every one I see on the road looks really nice, especially the 2009 MMC.

[Intrepidation]

At first glance it might look better, but I guarantee if you set them side by side in the same color and looked at them, the Kia would look far cheaper and overall crappier. There is no question in my mind about that.

I still do not like the Civic sedan in pictures, but every one I see on the road looks really nice, especially the 2009 MMC.

Of course there is no question in your mind, you like everything Honda makes, even that disgusting ZDX.

[Satty]

I see the Civic resemblance, but not bad. Not sure I like it more than the Focus.

[2QuickZ's]

I, too, immediately thought Civic when first seeing the pictures. Only this thing is much nicer looking than the Civic. I'm surprised to say it, but I actually like it! I still wouldn't buy one, though.

[Satty]

The more I see them, the more I love the wheels.

[Cory Wolfe]

It's hard not to see the Civic resemblance and I would agree with Siegen as far as comparing the two go. However, that's not to say it looks bad. It looks fairly nice. There are just a few design issues that effect the overall vibe it gives off. Certain cues could have been executed better. In contrast, the Civic, while somewhat frumpy, is a consistent design in coupe form. The sedan is another story.

[K.C.]

Except this was around before the Terrain was even spy photographed.

I see Civic in the front, but no where else (just like the sedan). One major difference though...

It looks a hell of a lot better than the Civic.

I see Civic coupe. I think the front end is unique to the Kia, but the stance and roof are too similar to the Civic Coupe.

[Intrepidation]

I see Civic coupe. I think the front end is unique to the Kia, but the stance and roof are too similar to the Civic Coupe.

I'm going to go with "no".

If anything it has a roof line more like the Malibu's

[ocnblu]

Shoot, it's got a B-pillar.

[Intrepidation]

I wonder if 68's head would have exploded had it been a hardtop.

[regfootball]

2 door jetta.

actually, it looks like the civic, but far nicer. the civic is a joke. this looks pretty nice actually. The interior is far nicer actually.

and it has horsepower too. better looking more power better warranty cheaper than the honda. EASY DECISION.

Edited April 10, 2009 by regfootball

[Polish_Kris]

Awww they screwed it up. The concept was sicker! Gotta see it in person!

[vonVeezelsnider]

Honda/Acura knockoff outside, fugly inside.

Next!

[ShadowDog]

If it's a knockoff, Kia actually made it better. Quite attractive. I like the extra angles in the roofline and the rear quarter over the bubble-top Civic. The rear treatment is quite tasteful in my eyes. In fact, I'm more impressed with the Forte Koup altogether over the Civic, Cobalt or Focus styling-wise. The standard features list, performance offerings and warranty coverage kicks major ass value-wise.

Edited April 10, 2009 by ShadowDog

[siegen]

2 door jetta.

actually, it looks like the civic, but far nicer. the civic is a joke. this looks pretty nice actually. The interior is far nicer actually.

and it has horsepower too. better looking more power better warranty cheaper than the honda. EASY DECISION.

Lol, you can't be serious. Sure it looks nice at a glance, and it does look aggressive. But really look closely at it. The styling and detailing screams cheap. The more I look at it, the more cheapness I see in it. Although I admit the doctored up images really make it look nice.

[saturnd00d]

The similarity to the civic coupe is way too much, however I have to admit it does look nice. I'd still prefer a civic coupe over this Kia version, not because of the nameplate at all, simply because I think the civic coupe looks a bit sleeker and more refined. Interior, I'd actually prefer the Forte's to the civic though.

Good attempt for Kia, and in fact, I think they'll sell quite a few of these. Hopefully it's a bit bumped up in reliability and refinement than past Kias. If so, I think it'll draw more people into the doors for them.

[SoCalCTS]

Great job Kia! This may be the year for Kia to meet Hyundai in quality/design standards.

Time to start chipping away at Honda and Toyota.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Holy son-of-Civic, Batman...

That said, KUDOS to Kia because I actually like it... A LOT!

It's like an actual appealing version of the Civic. (Something Honda can't seem to pull off, even in Si (!!!!!!1111!!!) trim)