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Kia has decided that it's cheaper to learn from the mistakes of others. So the Koup is an honest car. Convincingly striking yet subtle with its strong angular lines, it is sultry in a quiet way. Included in the package for the face-lifted version, is the full bodykit you see here. Complete with the chunky front bumper add-ons, side skirts and rear bumper.

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Honestly Good | Kia Forte Koup 1.6 SX

Kia's sportiest drive has been a success on our roads since its launch two years ago. The new face-lifted version sports a new bodykit and a smooth 6-speed gearbox. We drive the 'better' Kia Koup!

If there was only one car that I attended the show for, it would be the Lamborghini Aventador. The Western Australian release of the Aventador was THE showstopper.

Happenings

The 2011 Perth Motor Show

IN 2011, Perth, Motor, Show,

With the show being on hiatus since 2008, Wei Jie from E3lipse Photography attended this year's edition to find out what it's like.

Nokian Tyres is one of Europe’s premium tyre brands, known worldwide especially for their winter range tyres. It is the only tyre manufacturer in the world that focuses on products and services that facilitate safe transportation in Nordic conditions. The company's innovative passenger car, van and heavy-duty machinery tyres are mainly marketed in areas that have snow, forest and changing seasons that make driving conditions demanding. Now, what about summer tyres?

Happenings

Tyrepac Adds Nokian Tyres To Its Portfolio

IN Tyrepac, Nokian Tyres, H, V, Z, G2, SUV

Nokian Tyres, a premium European tyre brand now has an exclusive dealer in Singapore.

As well as its all-new body shape, the new Forte Hatchback (the official name for the 5-door model) introduces styling, equipment, refinement and technical improvements, which are also featured on the new 2011 Forte sedan and two-door Koup models introduced last December. These include six-speed transmission with paddle shifters, boot-type gear shift, LED side repeaters, and integrated blue-tooth. Technically similar to its sedan and Koup sister cars, the new Forte hatchback has the same overall width, height and wheelbase as the sedan. The difference lies in the reduction of 190 mm in the rear overhang, therefore the five-door model is 4,340 mm long. Despite its more compact dimensions, the hatchback’s cargo volume of 385 litres (VDA) is highly competitive in its class.

Happenings

Kia Adds Stylish New Forte Hatchback To Line-up

IN Kia, Cerato, Forte, Koup, Hatchback

The addition of third body style to Kia’s best selling model is set to attract a broader range of customers.

The uncomplicated overall design is accentuated by a number of striking key details, such as the wrap around windscreen and asymmetric sunroof design, the front and rear dot-style LED head and positioning-lamps. This juxtaposition of simple and complex is a common trait of many traditional Korean art and craft. Asian Celadon-style pottery, in particular, was a major influence on the car’s styling — with the pottery’s asymmetric form lending itself to the sunroof design, and the typical jade coloring giving Naimo its unique exterior finish. Kia’s design team also made use of innovative technology features to give the car a premium feel and to ensure the car’s exterior remained uncluttered. For example, Naimo has no traditional wiper blade on the windscreen — instead it employs a high-intensity air jet at the base of the windscreen that performs an ‘air wiper’ function. Conventional door mirrors have also been replaced with miniature cameras installed in the A-pillars.

Happenings

Kia Naimo Electric Concept Stars In Seoul

IN Seoul, Motor Show, Kia, Naimo, EV

Making its world premiere at the Seoul Motor Show, the Kia Naimo electric concept car combines Korean heritage with innovative modern features.

This year, the judges bestowed the awards on the Kia Sportage compact CUV and Kia Optima sedan. The new mid-size Kia Optima sedan was also awarded the 2011 red dot “best of the best” title.

These latest wins bring the number of Kia models to receive a Red Dot award to four — with the Kia Venga winning in 2010 and the Kia Soul in 2009. The Kia Optima and the new Sportage also won 2011 iF product design awards in December.

Happenings

Kia Wins Two Red Dot Design Awards

IN Kia, Optima, K5, Magentis, Sportage, Red Dot, Awards, 2011

Kia Motors was awarded top honours in two categories at this year’s Red Dot product design competition in Germany.

It stops very well too, the 18-inch rims hide 280mm disc brakes in the front and 262mm in the rear. They stop this charging car with finesse and the brake pedal feels great to stomp on too, providing a firm feel. While we weren't mad enough to make the stability controls kick in, this also boiled down to the good grip that the tyres provided.

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Brimming With Optimism | Kia Optima K5

IN Kia, Optima, K5

For those of us that still remember the bland old days of Kia, the last few years have seen it's rise right up to the top. Can the new Optima continue Kia's success?

Happenings

Optima-stic New Kia Arrives In Singapore

IN KIA, Optima

The new Optima K5 looks set to be the next rising sun.

While the Cerato Forte and Forte Koup were equipped from Day One with the latest generation features to exceed the expectations of discerning drivers, Kia is going one better with the addition of even more equipment for all available versions. The wide stance and athletic lines of both models are tastefully enhanced with the addition of LED indicator repeaters on the wing mirrors. These not only improve the already dramatic looks of the Forte duo, but add to an already long list of safety features by better communicating the driver’s intention to change direction. The cockpit environment also receives new features in both cars. A new boot-type wrap adds a dash of class and style to the transmission lever, for starters. Drivers of the enhanced Forte duo will also be delighted to find a set of Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel, for seamless operation of compatible hands-free mobile phone headsets. These not only take Bluetooth integration to new levels, but are yet another important safety feature, ensuring that the driver’s hands never stray far from the steering wheel, where they belong.

Happenings

Forte Duo Stay Ahead Of The Rest

IN KIA, Cerato, Forte, Koup

Less than two years after transforming itself into a heavyweight player on the local motoring scene with the launch of the Cerato Forte, Kia is taking another leap forward.

Since its launch in 1953, the annual iF product design award has been one of the world’s most important prizes for excellence in design. The award has its origins in the product show “Die gute Industrieform” (Good Industrial Design) initiated by the Hanover trade show and is now one of the world’s largest design competitions. For the iF product design award 2011, the organizers received 2,756 submissions from 43 countries for products registered in 16 categories. Kia Sportage and Kia Optima won in the category “Transportation Design.”

Happenings

iF Design awards go to Kia Sportage and Optima

IN Kia, Sportage, Optima

Latest additions to Kia’s line-up recognized for their design quality, workmanship, innovation, eco-friendliness, ergonomics and safety.

To sum it up, the general driving impression of the Koup is one of a lifestyle car that has been styled to look sporty, with mechanical paraphernalia that delivers an improved driving experience as compared to its sedan sibling. That being said, KIA is spot on in terming the Koup as a sporty car, rather than a sports car, and with a fairly competitive price and no real competition in the market at the moment, the Koup is the ideal car for those who are more concerned over aesthetics than outright performance.

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Koup De GrÃ¢ceful | Kia Forte Koup 2.0 SX

IN KIA, Koup, Forte, Cerato, SX

Eschewing the rear two doors, KIA has turned their highly popular sedan into a sporty coupe.