Kia Cerato Koup
Turbo Rear View
Standard paddle shifters are welcome and get the best out of
the sweet wee engine which displays little in the way of turbo lag, likes to
rev but isn’t hard on gas (combined figure of 8.0L/100km). Its keenest
operating zone is from 4,500rpm onwards where it really hikes, but there’s a
palpable lift from 3,500rpm as well. The turbo starts spooling from just below
2,000rpm. As speed rises some road roar makes its way into the cabin.
Seven-inch touch
colour LCD screen, dual-zone climate control air-conditioning, clean air module
and auto defog system
We didn’t much like the electric steering in the original
Koup but stone the crows, this is transformed. The Flex Steer works best in
Sport mode as it gives the right weighting, but there’s nothing particularly
artificial about how the wheel feels, and there’s even some liveliness
there.
Which is well and good because dynamically this is a much
improved offering. There’s far better body control, and it really takes major
undulations to upset the torsion beam rear end. The tyres don’t look like much
but certainly hang tough in the dry. What’s also good is ride quality,
something you notice because this isn’t a bouncy or hard sports offering.
Being a touch taller than average, I found myself peering
out of the upper section of the windscreen, even on the lowest seat height, and
the pews themselves could be more enveloping. The adjustable lumbar support
using an air pump is appreciated, and expected in a car costing this much.
Kia Cerato Koup
Turbo Badge
Back to cost then. Is it justifiable? By moving into
the low $40k area, it immediately places itself into Toyota 86 competition,
which is the better drive but here you get a turbo for ease of cruising. A
Cooper S costs extra and hasn’t as much luggage space. Ditto the Veloster Turbo
which the Koup undercuts by $7,500 odd.
Look out for more blown Kias in future as the company has
both smaller and larger displacement engines in the pipeline, all with single-
or twin-scroll turbos attached.
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Specs:
KIA CERATO KOUP T-GDI SX
·
Price $42,490 ·
0-100 km/h 7.70s ·
80-120 km/h 5.19s (146.5m) ·
100-0 km/h 35.68m ·
Speedo error 98.5 at an indicated 100km/h ·
Claimed fuel use 8.0L/100km ·
C02 output 190g/km ·
Ambient cabin noise 76.0dB@100km /h ·
Engine capacity 1591cc ·
Engine format IL4/T/DI/transverse ·
Max power 150kW @ 6,000rpm ·
Max torque 265Nm @ 1,750-4,500rpm ·
Specific output 94.3kW/L ·
Weight-to-power 9.15kg/KW ·
Bore x stroke 77mm x 85.4mm ·
Compression ratio 9.5:1 ·
Cylinder head dohc/16v/vvt ·
Gearbox 6-speed automatic ·
Drivetrain front wheel drive ·
Front suspension Mac strut/sway bar ·
Rear suspension torsion beam/sway bar ·
Turning circle 10.6m (2.85 turns) ·
Front brakes ventilated disc (300mm) ·
Rear brakes solid disc (262mm) ·
Stability systems ABS/EBD/BA/ESP/TC ·
Tyre size f-225/40R18, r-225/40R18 ·
Tyres Nexen NBlue ·
Wheelbase 2,700mm ·
L/W/H 4,530/1,780/1,410mm ·
Track 1,563/1,576mm ·
Drag coefficient 0.30 ·
Fuel capacity 50L ·
Luggage capacity 433L ·
Weight (full tank) 1,373kg ·
Weight distribution 61.3/38.7% (front/rear) ·
Corner weights 277 414 256 427 ·
Verdict In 2nd gen guise, Cerato Koup takes major
upticks on power and pace, thanks to turbocharging, and dynamics. But as a single
model top-spec variant, cost rises significantly and puts it up against
the talented Toyota 86.
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