SEOUL, South Korea — Kia confirmed on Thursday that its 2010 Kia Forte Koup, which will butt heads with the Honda Civic and Scion tC, will arrive in showrooms later this summer. The Korean automaker has yet to announce pricing on its first coupe, but the sportier SX trim level is expected to come in at just under $20,000.
Kia officials did not return e-mails from Inside Line on Thursday asking for further pricing details.
The Forte Koup, which is based on the Koup concept vehicle, arrives a bit earlier than expected. Kia had targeted the fall as the launch date for the Forte Koup.
The Forte Koup will be available in two trim levels, the base EX and the sportier SX. The SX trim level comes with a sport-tuned suspension and such standard features as sport cloth seats, a tilt and telescoping steering column, speaker lights, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, metal pedals and metal finish trims. The SX features an upgraded 2.4-liter inline-4 that delivers 173 horsepower and 168 pound-feet of torque. Kia said the SX model features a standard six-speed manual transmission and an optional five-speed automatic transmission.
The base Koup gets a 2.0-liter inline-4 that produces 156 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque. Transmission choices include a standard five-speed manual transmission or an optional four-speed automatic transmission.
Kia notes that the Koup was "tuned in the U.S. to appeal to sportier driver preferences."
Inside Line says: Expect a major dose of fun from Kia later this summer, thanks to the rollout of the Forte Koup. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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bry79 says:
08:59 PM, 10/20/2010
just got a new spicy red 2010 kia forte koup ex, i have always owned american cars, then i got stupid an got a 2000 jaguar s-type, nice car and the price was right, but total junk!! i kept hearing this advertisment on the radio about this new KIA dealer grand opening near by, so i went an checked it out, not thinking i would find anything that i would like didnt really know to much about KIA, they are kinda new to this area. i get there and the salesman is telling me about KIA warranty, was very impressed, then he shows me around and i see the KOUP'S, i fell in love!! it was such a COOL and SPORTY car for the money. american cars like that, i would have paid atleast 25,000-30,000....WOW... it handled great, smooth riding, quit interior....its for sure a head turner, so i said bye bye JAG!! when im out and about. i have people coming up to me all the time asking what it is...lol...i say KIA..they all say the same thing, WOW thats a KIA?...great job KIA!!! i love it :)