Kia Cerato Koup 2009 Review - International

What we liked
>> Aesthetics
>> Sedan-like packaging
>> First-world build quality (or better?)

About our ratings

OVERVIEW

So there's a gap in the market, one which Kia expects to fill with its Cerato Koup when that car goes on sale locally in September. As the name suggests, the Koup is a booted two-door based on the Cerato sedan. While the frontal styling treatment links the Koup with the Cerato sedan, the Koup's body is unique.

The Cerato sedan has already garnered a positive response from the local press and the Koup is likely to maintain that response when it arrives, possibly at a price that will please consumers as well (more here).

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

According to Kia Australia's PR manager, Jonathan Fletcher, the Koup may sell for no more than about $26,000 (price guide, recommended price before statutory and delivery charges). In the next few months, we'll see how the Aussie dollar fares, but that's looking hopeful for the present.

At around the mid $20K mark, the Cerato Koup would represent pretty good value.

There's no telling yet what sort of model mix and equipment we'll see in the local Koup range, but Kia has provided information concerning the three grades offered in 'general markets' starting with the entry-level LX, moving up to the Koup EX and topping out at the Koup SX.

Equipment fitted as standard in the base-grade Koup LX is as follows: 15-inch steel wheels, 195/65 R15 tyres, space-saver spare, hydraulic power steering, automatic remote central locking, auxiliary power outlet in centre console, electric front windows/mirrors, keyless entry, tilt-adjustable steering column, fabric seat trim, four-speaker CD audio system, driver's airbag.

Additional standard equipment in the Koup EX comprises: electrically-heated mirrors, remote audio controls, trip computer, 60/40 splitfold rear seat, height-adjustable driver's seat, MP3-compatible CD audio with USB/iPod connectivity and cruise control.

The Koup SX flagship adds: 17-inch alloy wheels, 215/45 R17 tyres, full-size spare/alloy wheel, front fog lights, leather-bound steering wheel, alloy pedals, four-wheel disc brakes, premium instrument cluster, active front headrests, instrument lighting rheostat, auto-on/off headlights, reverse-parking acoustic guidance sensors and added under-bonnet sound insulation.

The international specs are a guide at best. For example, Kia's equipment for 'general markets' lists dual front airbags, stability control, reach adjustment for the steering wheel and manual air conditioning as options. We’d suggest a car like Koup would need all of these features as standard to fare well in the local marketplace.

MECHANICAL

In other markets, the Koup can be specified with either of two petrol engines, 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre four-cylinders. For the Australian market, the larger-displacement unit is the strongest prospect. Developing 115kW of power at 6200rpm and 194Nm of torque at 4300rpm, the Euro IV-compliant 2.0-litre uses 7.7L/100km of fuel (or 7.8 with the automatic transmission option) when 17-inch wheels are fitted -- and produces 183g/km of CO2 emissions (186 for the auto).

The engine drives to the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or an optional four-speed automatic transmission. Kia is working on six-speed transmissions (both manual and automatic) for release in the Koup within 12 months.

Suspension comprises MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear. Steering is a rack-and-pinion setup, hydraulically-assisted -- with the option of an electrically-assisted upgrade. Whether we'll see both these systems in Australia remains unclear. The hydraulic system may offer more feel, but we didn't have the chance to try it in South Korea.

Four-wheel disc brakes (ventilated at the front) are standard for the Koup SX flagship, but lower-grade models are fitted with rear drums. Australian-delivered cars may very well come with rear discs across the board.

As already mentioned, there are some differences in dimensions between the Koup and the sedan on which it's based. The Koup is generally smaller than the sedan, but the front track is 3mm wider and the wheelbase is the same.

PACKAGING

The steering wheel, not especially nice to grip, did at least allow a clear view of the instruments. The switchgear operation and layout were both sensible and the driver’s footrest was quite generous.

Headroom was tight for average-sized adults in the rear and it was also borderline in the front, with the sunroof fitted. There was no height adjustment for the passenger’s seat either.

The boot is reasonably deep, despite offering the advantage of a full-sized (alloy) spare. It’s a useful size and shape for what is essentially a stylish coupe that will seat four. Access to rear seat is not easy for adults as the rear of the driver’s seat base is virtually adjacent the B pillar and the roofline is low. Curiously, you would expect egress from the rear to be harder still, but it’s not, because you can just step out on the road or footpath.

Fit and finish in the Koup meet a high standard for the car’s prospective purchase price. Plastics are soft and deformable where they need to be and are solid enough for fixtures such as the glovebox lid, for example. Doors and the boot lid close with remarkably little effort and they secure quietly all the same.

SAFETY

According to Kia, the Koup will come to market here with as many as six airbags -- including side-curtain head-protecting bags. There's no word on whether the Aussie-spec Koup will also feature active headrests, but it's a reasonable prospect.

For the sake of active safety, we're likely to see the Koup here with stability control, traction control, Brake Assist, ABS/EBD and reverse parking sensors with both an acoustic and graphic alert system.

COMPETITORS

At a pinch, a couple of three-door liftbacks that might come close in price and offer qualities comparable to the Koup's are the Citroen C4 VTS and the Holden Astra SRi.

ON THE ROAD

Kick-down is responsive, but the four-speed auto is the Koup's most obvious flaw. Second gear is quite high to take advantage of the engine's healthy output for the overtaking increment between 80 and 120km/h.

An unfortunate side effect is the spacing of the ratios, with first too low and second attempting to bridge the gap. It seems like Kia is relying on the engine's variable valve timing to make up for a '1.5th' gear. It's a good effort, but owners are likely to miss that additional gear ratio under full load from 60km/h. A six-speed automatic transmission is due around the middle of 2010.

Sequential shifting for the transmission was accomplished by knocking the lever across to the right from Drive. 'Manual' shifting was quick and, thankfully -- or otherwise, according to your own views -- the transmission won't allow the driver to kick-down when it's in sequential-shift mode. We take the view that's a good thing, presuming that if you're sequential-shifting you know what you're doing and prefer not to have the transmission make changes for you.

For the steering, Kia has found a reasonable balance between weight and feedback. The Koup exhibited a little slack around the straight-ahead from about 80km/h. Steering feel was what might be called adequate, as far as we could judge, based on an anodyne freeway experience.

Even from that, we can say it's not steering that startles you with its liveliness. And that's rather curious, because its cousin, the Hyundai i30, offers such communicative steering from low speeds -- even in car parks!

Ride is moderately firm, even on Seoul's freeways. Handling and roadholding were hard to assess thanks to a sanitised drive loop. Indeed, the problem with attending an international launch such as this is that one never knows whether the local-specification car will be anything like the vehicle tested overseas by the time it arrives in Australia.

Leaving aside such issues as the four-speed automatic (which definitely won't change before the car's local launch), we can't say whether the Koup will reach us in the same state of suspension tune as the vehicle driven in South Korea.

As it stands, the Cerato Koup is a genuinely appealing car offering impressive packaging, decent build quality and class-average dynamics. It would be nice to report from September this year that the Australian-spec car provides class-leading dynamics.

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