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Road Test: 2010 Kia Forte car review, Kia's new look

It doesn’t look like a Kia.

 

Or for that matter, act much like a Kia either.

 

But it is. It’s the new Kia Forte, Kia’s replacement for the aging Spectra. That sedan—or as the Kia Spectra5, as a 5-door hatchback, has been the mainstay of the Kia lineup, so the Forte has the substantial responsibility of continuing Kia’s climb in sales in the U.S.

 

So change—although necessary—was risky, particularly for the American design team responsible for it. Like the funky rectangular Kia Soul, the Kia Forte was designed in California, but unlike the Soul, the Forte has to appeal to Middle America, a demographic/psychographic that might not be as receptive to the offbeat Soul. But the new sedan had to be a fresh face to get attention in a crowded field but without some of the outlandish styling of many of its competitors.

 

Not to worry. The Californians have incorporated new family grille, a shape that looks like the grimace of a Polynesian deity, into a sleek original shape. With its rake, high rear deck and subtly creased and raised fenders, the Forte looks like it’s in motion even when standing still. We apologize for abusing our poetic license.

 

The interior is well designed, perhaps not as distinctive as the exterior, even though Kia says the instrument panel is made up of “three cylinders.” A large speedometer is centered between a tachometer on the left and on the right, an outlandishly large fuel gauge that matches the tach in size.

 

The center stack is laid out well though no space is available for a navigation screen…nor does Kia have immediate plans for one. Need help finding your way? Get a handheld/mountable unit—Garmin, TomTom or whatever—which would be less expensive than an in-dash unit anyway. Perhaps the Suzuki SX-4 arrangement will become common at least in the lower vehicle price range.

 

Seats are comfortable, with leather available in the model-topping SX trim line, wide but still supportive with good lumbar support. It’s ostensibly a five-seater, but like its competitors, the center rear seat is best left for emergency seating, at least for adults. But for two, the legroom is generous and the headroom adequate for all but the tallest.

 

View the photo gallery for more pictures of the 2010 Kia Forte SX.

 

The trunk is surprisingly large for a compact car, at 14.3 cubic feet, equal to many large cars, due in part to the tall rear deck.

The Kia Forte is available in three trim levels, the base LX, the upgrade EX and the sport-trimmed top-of-the-line SX. The first two are powered by a 2.0-liter four rated at 156 horsepower continuously variable valve timing four-cylinder. Buy the SX for the bigger 2.4-liter that despite its extra size is rated at only 173 horsepower. Unlike the LX and EX, which have only five-speed manual transmission and an optional four-speed automatic, the SX gets a six-speed manual and five speed automatic. The only exception is the EX with Fuel Economy Package, which has the 2.0-liter engine with the six-speed auto standard. There is only a sedan at the moment, but the Koup, a coupe, is forthcoming and hatch—a la Spectra5—is certainly in the future.

 

We had the opportunity to drive both the LX with the automatic and SX similarly shiftless. The difference was striking in several ways. Of course the SX is quicker, but the newer transmission was much smoother shifting, and climbing hills was much easier with the SX, with fewer and less drastic downshifts.

That’s not the only difference. The SX gets a sport-tuned suspension and it shows in the twisties. While there’s springiness to the lesser models, we think due in part to the narrower and taller tires that can twist more, the SX instead stays better planted with less roll in the corners.

 

The SX also gets bigger diameter front brakes, though braking systems have four-channel anti-lock, stability program, brake assist and brake-force distribution, technology often limited to more expensive models.

 

Kia wants to position the Forte as revolutionary. It’s not, at least not in term of individual mechanical bits and systems. But it is for Kia as it moves from being a car one buys for price and “value”—the hardware and accessories one gets for the dollar spent—to a car that competes on overall merit before even price and equipment are considered. If it’s not a destination

vehicle for all, it’s definitely a worthwhile waypoint.