LexFather

Sorry gang nothing exciting but a car that will sell in droves. Got it as a rental so here is a review.

As I was driving this car and enjoying it for what it was I couldn't help but giggle about our history here on CL with the Kia/Hyundai brands. Ten years ago when I first joined there were no Kia/Hyundai threads. Certainly not Kia. Its amazing to think in ten years we now have discussed the brand. I was driving around thinking "I can't believe this is a Kia".

I've always supported their improvements and been impressed with how far they have come. However objectivity is needed and I will also point out their faults and need to prove themselves over time. This is NOT flame bait I do not want people to dislike the brands b/c of trolls. Look at what the brands have done objectively. That means you don't have to like it but you have to admit they have come a long way. Their ascension is simply good for consumers as it pushes the smart brands to be more competitive. This also means if you are a fan of the brand(s) you should not look only to argue your points and also note when people compliment the brand.

I had the car for 3 days and drove it around the city, on the freeway and then drove it like the STIG just to see how 99.9% of owners won't drive the car but what the magazines worry about.



Exterior

For an entry level car for most people it looks good. Don't expect to be floored by it but it is way better than anything Kia has produced in this class. The front end has the new Kia grill and headlight surround that reminds me of past Honda/Toyota fronts but it looks fine. The sides are well done and there is a nice design element from under the window to the front fender/hood line. The Rear is nice as well and overall the car is good proportions. Trust me you won't confuse it for a Aston Martin but its nice.

It was painted refrigerator white and the paint seemed good. Exterior fit and finish also seemed pretty good.

The trunk is HUGE. I wish the GS had a trunk that big. You could easily fit 4 or more suitcases inside AND the seats drop down. Very well done. (in the pic is some of the great Cuban food in the trunk on the way home)

Interior
They did a nice job here. The only thing that felt cheap was the cloth on the seats. The door had a rattle and the plastic there felt hard but I didn't think it was poor. Getting past that I felt Kia really did their HW. The gauges are big and legible behind a nice feeling steering wheel. There is some piano black touches on the dash so it breaks up the non glossy black. Switches felt good with the usual chrome trim around. Everything was easy to find, the anti I-drive. Kia really did a good job with the two plastic dash. In the middle there is a nice softer touch plastic that takes up most of the dash and its surrounded by the harder cheaper plastic. It does a nice job of not coming off as super cheap.

This car of course had no sunroof and there is A LOT of room inside. As yall know I am 6"5, 230 and I was fine up front. I even drove around with 5 people in the car a couple of times (all good sized adults) and they commented how they were not too cramped and I didn't have to move my seat up. Very well done. Tons of headroom. The headrests up front also have a nifty feature where not only do they move up and down but forward and rearward..

One of the best parts was the lower part under the radio that has a nice storage area for your phone and camera. It has an Aux port and two 12 volt charging stations.

The Drive

From a review standpoint I had to lower expectations since I (we) are spoiled. It really is utterly amazing to think how plush a Lexus rides in most cases even with 40 series tires. The Forte suspension I am sure for its price is very good. The ride is pretty compliant on good roads (though in MIAMI there are not many of those) and on rough roads it does the job. Its loud but not terrible. Better tires would surely help. When I hit big potholes etc the suspension soaked it up well with no loud thump.

Handling is good as well with the highlight to me is the steering. I felt the steering feel was very well done, a nice weight with a nice size steering wheel and I felt very confident when I was pointing the car. It was actually quite impressive to me. There is no getting past the fact this car is FWD though and I really do not understand people that say "you can't tell the difference". Bull****, you can tell it in a Kia/Honda, you can tell it in an ES/TL, you can tell it in a DTS. Which means it steers well but I did not find an ounce of fun in the drive. I did not want to toss it around, I did not want to test its limits.

Well I did not want to but I did. The Forte drove like most econo car FWD cars when pushed. Howling, blah and "please slow down". Nothing to report.

MPG seemed to be very good as I drove it around over 120 miles and the gas needle didn't budge much. I would estimate around 30 MPG with mixed driving 70/30 City/Highway.

Engine was relatively quiet and pulled very well in most cases. Sometimes the throttle was slow to respond and move the car at lower speeds. The car never felt underpowered in most instances. It did get buzzy at higher RPMs but nothing outrageous.

The 4 speed auto shifted VERY smoothly and I barely felt it. What did absolutely SUCK was the fake sport shift. They need to remove this. You slap it in manual mode and get to shift gears but it never holds the gear and the car will not go in certain gears based on your speed. Sport mode sucked *****.

Stats

The Forte starts at $13,695. It has 156hp and 144lbs of torque. It has a 4 speed automatic with sport shift. MPG rating is 25/34. It is 178 inches long and 70" wide and a tall 57.5" height. So nearly as long/wide as an IS but much taller. The Forte weighs 2740 lbs so its relatively light. It has a 14.7 cube trunk but it is shaped very well so it looks bigger. Tires are 195/65/15s.

Summary

The Kia Forte is a very good entry level car. I knew about Kia's turnaround so I was not surprised that I would be impressed with it. The people I knew unaware of Kia's turnaround were impressed with it as well. I don't think the Civic and Corolla are running to the drawing boards THIS TIME but the next Forte might be something really good considering the leap this generation is.

Its crazy to think my first car was a Sentra years ago and this will be many kids first cars and it is leaps and bounds better. It is utterly amazing how far econo cars have come. The Forte is like a luxury car compared to my old 89 Sentra! People buying entry level cars today have it GOOD!

If you have any kids that need cheap transportation or you need a beater or you just need good reliable transportation, give this a few minutes of your time to check out, Kia did a great job with it.

Thanks

Mike

eternal07

I have Kia Soul as my rentle car. My younger brother got into accident so I gave him my daily minivan and got Soul.

I'm impressed with this car. It looks small but I can fit lots of stuff inside and for $17K car, It is above my expectation. I would get this car over honda fit.

mmarshall

Nice Review, Mike. I like your new format.

You came to many of the same conclusions I did when I reviewed a new Forte. It's hard to pass off the new Hyundai/Kia products....like it or not, they simply are not junk anymore like they were in the 1990's and before. It's no secret that I don't care for the styling of some of the newest sedans as much as I did a couple of years ago, but, of course, that's subjective.

That is even more the case with BMWs, even with their Sport Packages. You won't believe the ride/handling combination of the 335i Sport with 35-series tires.......one of the main reasons why I have such a high opinion of that car.


Korean manufacturers have intentionally stiffened up the ride/chassis of their latest-generation products a little. Back at home in Korea, the public, in general, likes a cushy ride (and this was evident in most recent Hyundai/Kia products sold here, except maybe for the rather stiff Genesis 3.8 Track Coupe). But the auto press, here in America, has complained about what they consider too much ride and not enough handling in Korean-designed products.....and so Hyundai and Kia have appropriately responded. How the general public reacts to it, of course, remains to be seen.

This is probably a result of the relatively inflexible 4-speed automatic....although you yourself said you felt it still shifted smoothly (I agree). Using a 4-speed automatic, as Hyundai/Kia does in most of their lower-line, entry-level products, is one way they keep the price down......yet you still, overall, get a lot for your money. Still, Honda gives the also-inexpensive Fit a 5-speed automatic, and Ford has found a way of putting in a 6-speed automatic in the Fiesta for roughly the same amount of money.

IS-SV

Excellent review, I'll plan on renting one soon.

Yes, the ride/handling combo in this price and class of cars is a challenge, since they do not come equipped with the more sophisticated and better isolated suspension systems of the premium cars.

Note: Many CL owners have complained about the ride quality with BMW sport package. I for one know a recent 328 owner (who now has several thousands of miles of extensive driving experience with the car) that has the same complaint.

But all the premium cars by Mercedes/Lexus/BMW equipped with low profile summer tires do a decent job with ride quality/handling combo versus these budget price cars with less sophisticed suspension.

bagwell

I rented a forte in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago - exterior was white I interior a weird brown. I thought it was pretty nice aside fromthe plastic wheel covers and no sunroof

YEH

The Forte is a pretty decent effort from Kia, but it's just missing that extra 5-6%.

The Forte to get is the Koup SX (sportier suspension setting), but even then, I would wait until the Koup gets the 6 spd (the Forte hatch will arrive w/ the 6 spd) and a more powerful/efficient engine; rumors are that Kia is thinking about putting in the 2.0T found in the Sonata in the Koup SX (and hopefully by then, Kia will have fine tuned the steering feel and suspension).

Fizzboy7

Clean styling. It's nice they gave it manumatic shifting.