Koup lands Down Under

Delivering a significant image boost to Kia and the burgeoning Cerato range, the new Cerato Koup has landed in Australia.

Sitting lower to the ground, weighing less and looking more sporty than the already handsome Cerato sedan, the Koup is Kia's first "sports" car and starting at $23,690 for the five-speed manual is shaping up as a winner.

The Koup is also available with a four-speed automatic for an extra $2000.

With a long feature list comparable to its range-topping sibling, the Cerato SLi sedan, Kia envisages sales of around 600 Koups per year. However, with such a sharp price point, not to mention its dynamic design, this figure could be viewed as conservative.

Kia is hoping the Koup will fill gaps left in the market by the long-gone Toyota Celica coupe. And as well as taking on current two-door competitors such as Hyundai's Tiburon, Kia believes the new four-seater will poach buyers from sporty hatches, such as the Lancer VRX and Mazda3 SP25.

Kia's sports coupe is powered by the same 115kW/194Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine that provides motive force to its four-door cousin. Though it's no supercar, it achieves a "brisk" 9.3sec 0-100km/h dash (10.5secs in the auto).

Using a claimed average of 7.7L/100km in its manual variant (0.1L/100km more for the four-speed auto), the Kia Koup scores four and half out of five stars in the Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide. During a brief drive after yesterday’s local release we recorded some very good figures dropping to as low as 5.0L/100km at times on the freeway.

Despite having riding 10mm lower than the Cerato sedan and having a stiffer suspension setup thanks to a thicker front sway bar and revised shock absorber rates, the Kia Koup still rides well. This is also one of the sedan's stronger suits.

We haven't had a chance to drive the car in more demanding conditions yet, but a faster steering rack and tweaks to the front-end should improve steering feel.

Another element of the car that has been improved is the manual gearshift. Both the friction point in the clutch and shift feel in the gear lever have improved dramatically. Kia says these gearbox changes have been deployed on the updated 2010 Cerato sedan as well.

Standard features on the Kia Koup include electronic stability control, six airbags, iPod and USB connectivity, cruise control, air-conditioning, a leather steering wheel, dual tone 17-inch alloy wheels (with a full sized spare) and bolstered sports seats.

On top of an impressively long list of standard features is the slick design, which has gone from concept car to production car on the road in Australia in just 18 months.

First seen as a concept at the Los Angeles auto show in 2008, the Kia Koup's catchcry is the rather apt "Get in. Stand Out". During our initial drive of the car it attracted the attentions of a few drivers at the stop lights, which isn't a huge surprise considering the vehicle was penned by Peter Shreyer, who spent more than two decades at Audi.

Shreyer now heads up Kia’s design department and his influence on the car is clear. "Without any extraneous features, its crisp, clean exterior styling conveys a powerful and aggressive image that exudes speed," says Schreyer.

The proportions of the Kia Koup -- long bonnet, stubby boot, short overhangs and low ride height -- give it a suitably sporty pose that is augmented by an enlarged front air dam, flared wheel arches, dual-tone 17-inch alloy wheels and 'premium' style frameless door windows.

Even from the rear the Koup looks good with its small diffuser, 50mm lower roofline and twin exhaust outlet. Seeing it in the metal for the first time saw many of gathered media doing a double take.

Only one trim level is offered and though leather seats are not available yet (there has been a two month delay), Kia hinted that a special edition version will usher in that option early in 2010.

At this stage there are no plans for a high performance version of the vehicle (a more powerful 2.4-litre engine is offered in the US), but direct injection engines are being looked at for the future.

After Korea and the USA, Australia is one of the first markets to get the new Kia Cerato Koup. Though Kia admits that initially stocks will be "tight" for the first months, it doesn't expect delivery delays.

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