These days, too many cars seem to be going through identity crises. You can’t help but roll your eyes most of the time, like when an SUV calls itself a “coupe” even though it clearly has four doors. But once in a while, you strike gold because a vehicle that’s confused about what it is ends up being one of the best money can buy.
That’s the Kia Forte Koup SX in a nutshell. It’s one of the best ways to spend $30,000 on a compact car, but it also can’t decide if it’s a sport-compact rocket or a sexier, two-door alternative to the econoboxes that seem to dominate Canadian roads (and sales charts). It certainly doesn’t help that most automakers have abandoned the compact front-wheel-drive coupe market – the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Scion tC being the Forte Koup’s biggest competitors.
But you know what? Absolutely none of this means the Forte Koup SX is a lame duck. Far from it, actually – it’s a hidden gem.
The Forte Koup is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-four, rated at 201 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque.
Nick Tragianis, Driving
On paper, the Forte Koup already has an edge over the two-door Civic, Elantra and tC. Base models come with a normally-aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder, but the SX is fitted with a 1.6-litre turbo-four. There’s 201 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque on tap, sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. It’s the most powerful of the bunch, but the numbers lie a little because the Forte Koup doesn’t exactly feel sporty.
Torque steer is minimal and the turbo-four has a fair bit of kick. Kia also says SX models are fitted with a “sport tuned” suspension, but it’s not exactly agile and the numb steering provides little feedback, despite the Flex Steer system’s three settings to adjust effort: Comfort, Normal and Sport. The clutch-and-shifter action also feels spongy and disconnected, but the Forte Koup is effortless and forgiving to drive all around.
It’s also pretty frugal – Kia rates the Forte SX at 10.8 L/100 kilometres in the city and 8.1 L on the highway; depending on how heavy your right foot is, expect to see fuel economy averaging out in the 9.3 range. And thankfully, it happily sips 87-octane gas.
The Forte Koup isn’t a sport-compact rocket – that much is clear – but it makes up for those drawbacks in other ways. Styling is one of them: It’s no secret the Forte family is among the proof Kia has upped its design game. The Forte Koup looks a little chunky from the rear, but the proportions are tidy and it wears some tasteful styling cues such as 18-inch wheels, LED daytime running lights and tail lights, and some carbon fibre-look accents. It’s a tasteful package that’s much less polarizing than the Hyundai Veloster Turbo, the Forte Koup’s second cousin.
Under the skin is where the Forte Koup shines. For the $24,195 price tag, it’s extremely well equipped with goodies such as heated seats, a back-up camera, smart-key access with push-button start and power-folding mirrors, a neat feature many larger and more expensive cars don’t offer as an option. The interior layout is logical and the materials are stellar – it feels upscale and there’s very little hard plastic up front, but the metal pedals and fake carbon fibre accents add to the charade of sportiness.
As far as infotainment system is concerned, the Forte Koup’s Microsoft-based UVO system is intuitive enough, but it’s missing key features like GPS navigation, and the screen could be larger. You could shell out an extra $4,600 for the Luxury Package – which adds navigation and a larger in-dash screen, as well as a sunroof, HID headlights, leather seats, a heated steering wheel and a cooled driver’s seat – but then you’re up to $28,795 and you also lose the manual gearbox, as the Luxury package is automatic-only. At that price point, things get dicey because you’re in Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ pricing territory, and about $1,000 away from the 348-horsepower Hyundai Genesis Coupe R-Spec.
If you’re worried about practicality, you should really look elsewhere. That said, if you’re in a pinch, the Forte Koup’s backseat is passable. It’s tight to get in and out, but there’s enough legroom and headroom for all but the tallest of passengers, and trunk space punches in at 378 litres – larger than the two-door Civic, but behind the Elantra and tC.
It’s easy to see how Kia has jumped from being an underdog to a force to be reckoned with in pretty much every segment, because a car as good as the Forte Koup would’ve been almost impossible a decade ago. Automakers don’t seem to care much about compact, front-wheel-drive coupes because if you want something that’s affordable, sporty and just has two doors, you’ve got a ton of other options.
That being said, some people don’t care about low curb weight, high-revving engines and rear-wheel drive. If all you want is a car with two doors, packed with standard equipment and enough kick to have fun on highway on-ramps, wrapped in a package that will still look good in five years, the Kia Forte Koup SX is tough to beat. It’s the benchmark in a segment that’s quickly drying up.
