The thorn in its side
There are very few things wrong with the car. But the one that really gnaws away at the overall charm of the Koup and Koup R are the go, switch and stop controls.
The throttle pedal is completely out of whack: the top 10% of travel musters 75% of the engine and the rest shines by its brilliant skills at doing nothing. Furthermore, the clutch pedal is so soft and without resistance that my first impression was that of a broken clutch cable (the clutch cables on my old VWs would always break or pop off). Combining this with a rock-hard brake pedal and the whole experience becomes wholly aggravating.
Using the pedals on each extremity is akin to crushing grapes and depressing the middle pedal is like stepping on a rock while extracting the juice from the fruit. To top it all off, heal-toeing is nay-on impossible. What a shame!
The tC suffers no such issues, thankfully.
For the price?
This major issue isn't really a major issue; it's not as if the entire car has to be redesigned. I'm certain that Kia engineers can tweak throttle responsiveness electronically and put some weight into the clutch pedal. If they get this right, the Forte Koup will reign in its category, at least for the time being.
With a base price of $21,495, the Koup SX is $645 more expensive than the tC. In my books, that's a small price to pay for a longer warranty, a nicer, slightly quieter cabin and a more refined driving experience.
There are very few things wrong with the car. But the one that really gnaws away at the overall charm of the Koup and Koup R are the go, switch and stop controls.
The throttle pedal is completely out of whack: the top 10% of travel musters 75% of the engine and the rest shines by its brilliant skills at doing nothing. Furthermore, the clutch pedal is so soft and without resistance that my first impression was that of a broken clutch cable (the clutch cables on my old VWs would always break or pop off). Combining this with a rock-hard brake pedal and the whole experience becomes wholly aggravating.
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| The Forte Koup will reign in its category, at least for the time being. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
Using the pedals on each extremity is akin to crushing grapes and depressing the middle pedal is like stepping on a rock while extracting the juice from the fruit. To top it all off, heal-toeing is nay-on impossible. What a shame!
The tC suffers no such issues, thankfully.
For the price?
This major issue isn't really a major issue; it's not as if the entire car has to be redesigned. I'm certain that Kia engineers can tweak throttle responsiveness electronically and put some weight into the clutch pedal. If they get this right, the Forte Koup will reign in its category, at least for the time being.
With a base price of $21,495, the Koup SX is $645 more expensive than the tC. In my books, that's a small price to pay for a longer warranty, a nicer, slightly quieter cabin and a more refined driving experience.
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