Kia Forte Review

Kia Forte Review Hi I'm Mike Hanley with cars.com. Kia’s latest entry in the compact car segment is the Forte which debut for 2010. There's a clear leader in this segment already and that’s the Honda Civic and it takes direct aim at it in the way it looks and drives but does it have what it takes to dethrone the Honda? Let’s take a look. The Spectra has been Kia’s small car up until recently and it had styling that was softer and a little smoother but the new Forte has a pretty chiseled look overall and it’s a pretty attractive small car. You don’t have though to see similarities between it and the Civic. Just take a look at this front grill and headlight design. It’s very reminiscent of what’s on the Civic Coupe. The Forte is offered in three trim levels. There's a base LX, mid level EX and up level SX. This is an EX model and it has upscale features like these turn signals integrated into the side mirrors. It’s also equipped with an optional premium package which adds things like a moon roof and 16-inch alloy wheels. The LX and EX versions of the Forte parted by a 2-liter 4-cylinder engine that makes a pretty strong response for a smaller motor. It makes 156 horsepower. It does have pretty decent fuel economy. It’s rated at 25 miles per gallon in a city and 34 on the highway. Inside, the Kia Forte shows that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a nice cabin. The material quality is pretty good in this car eventhough features hard plastic. It has a nice finish to it. It’s not really shiny. And the center controls are well within reach for the driver for the air-conditioning and the stereo. Now the Honda Civic offers some of the better fit and finish in this segment but the Forte stacks up pretty well in comparison. The Forte comes with a standard height adjustable driver seat which is a nice touch but not standard are these leather sheets. They come in the optional EX leather package and they include—besides the leather upholstery itself a leather shift knob, a leather steering wheel and heated front seats. A couple of issues though with this is that the leather steering wheel doesn’t feel much like leather at all and the heated seats only have an on/off setting. Like many of its competitors, the Forte has a small backseat that not ideal for taller plus it’s doable in a pinch. Right now, I have the front seat adjusted for where I would be driving and I have just enough space in the back and that’s thanks to the front seats which give a little bit here to allow me to have some knee room. EX and SX models of the Forte have a center arm rest in the back which is nice to have and they also have a split folding backseat, so there are levers to release the back if you’re looking in the trunk. You can see it just falls down so it’s nice to have feature when you're going to be carrying large cargo items in this car. In terms of the overall driving experience the Forte still has some things to learn from competitors like the Civic and the Mazda 3. So I don’t think we’re ready to call it the champ yet. But having said that, it offers a nice highway ride, good power and gas mileage from its base engine and lots of standard safety features and perhaps most importantly in this class is price and a less than $14,000.00, the Forte undercuts competition like the Civic, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla by significant margins. For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net. For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net.