I had a sneak preview of the new Kia Cerato Koup T-GDI slightly over a week ago, where I drove it for an hour around the city. The Cerato Koup comes with a 1.6L Turbo GDi Engine and looks to me, like a hybrid of a sedan and sports car. It’s not often I do a test drive on cars, because I am hopeless with a manual car – immediately drove an automatic when I got my driving license.
Waiting for my turn to test drive :)
On the road!
The few things I look for in a car (besides it being an automatic) are aesthetics, practicality, safety and manoeuvrability. I’ve never been a fan of big cars because my parents own large ones and I’ve been driving them before I got my own. A smaller car makes more sense to me, since it’s just rif and I, and we run errands around the city. rif however, happens to be a fan of sedan cars.
1.6L Turbo GDi Engine
Kia Cerato Koup comes with frameless door, 4.2” TFT LCD Supervision Cluster, vehicle stability management (VSM), 6 airbags system and my favourite bit, a sunroof. It is said to go from 0-100kmh in 7.4 seconds, something I wasn’t able to attempt because there’s just too many cars on the road! Plus I had rif and two Naza folks in the car with me and I didn’t want to give them a heart attack with my driving. :P
HID Headlamps & LED Package
While sedans aren’t quite my thing, I love how the koup is differentiated in terms of design – with 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels and larger lower grille. I’m also pleased that the car isn’t too low or too high for me to climb in, allowing me to enter and exit gracefully. I’ve ripped a few of my skirt hems attempting to climb into four wheel drives in the past. #truestory
18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels
Driving the Cerato Koup was easy and I was accustomed to the car within minutes. The seats are leather, which might be hot for some people though, including me. I found cornering with this car easy, like a sedan but with more pick-up power. I don’t need it to go from zero to 100kmh within 7.4 seconds honestly. But what I do need is for it to go fast enough so I don’t get honked by some road bully (often those who drive large cars) for hogging the right lane.
Koup Lights
Motor Driven Power Steering
Love the feel of the steering wheel too – very nice to manoeuvre and it’s easy on the hands. My “passengers” said they were comfortable at the backseat so I’ll just take their word for it. rif who has rather long legs didn’t have a problem either as the leg room at the front is ample.
Kia Cerato Koup T-GDI
All in, the Kia Cerato Koup is a pretty sweet ride. I was however rather surprised at the estimated price – about RM150K. That’s a bit steep for a model like this. Just my thoughts. :)
For more information about the Kia Cerato Koup T-GDI, contact KIA CARELINE at 1-800-888-KIA (542).