Kia's Forte falls short on comfort, styling
"That's a humble vehicle," my friend Kathleen said, walking past the vanilla-white 2010 Kia Forte sedan in my driveway.
"Humbler than it looks," I replied.
From its underpowered engine to its drab interior, Kia's new midsize sedan is no match for leading midsize models like the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. In many ways, it is a throwback to the days when Kia, lacking technical or stylistic sophistication, tried to compete solely by offering more cubic feet of passenger space for the money.
Prices for the 2010 Forte front-wheel drive midsize sedan start at a remarkably low $13,695 for a base model equipped with a rather faint-hearted 156-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission.
A four-speed automatic — they still make those? — raises the base model's price to a still-appealing $14,695.
A five-speed automatic is part of a fuel-economy option package that also includes electric power steering that costs $600 on the Forte EX. The top-of-the-line SX adds a 173-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with six-speed manual for $17,195. An SX with the 2.4-liter and five-speed automatic costs a mere $18,195.
I tested a Forte EX sedan with the optional five-speed that stickered at $17,395. All prices exclude destination charges.
Its low price and high fuel economy give the Forte a couple of bragging points, but the car has a lot to be humble about otherwise.
It lacks the comfort, refinement, performance and style that vehicles like the Malibu, Fusion, Accord and Camry have made de rigueur for a competitive midsize sedan.
The Forte's 96.8-cubic-foot interior provides good passenger space, but is smaller than the Malibu, Fusion, Accord and Camry. Its 14.7-cubic-foot trunk is also the smallest in the group.
The Forte's interior is trimmed in hard plastic throughout, including touchy-feely places like the armrests where comfort — and the competitors' refinement — calls for something soft and accommodating.
The fit of some interior trim pieces is visibly uneven. The gaps between some pieces of trim are quite wide.
The Forte's EPA fuel economy ratings — 25 mpg city/34 mpg highway with the four-speed and 27 mpg city/36 mpg highway with the five-speed automatic — exceed that of the competitors.
The Forte has noticeably less power than the other cars' four-cylinder engines, however. Acceleration is unimpressive. In addition, the electric power steering which, with the five-speed automatic transmission, is part of the Forte's $600 fuel-economy option package, is heavy and has poor feel.
The Forte's Bluetooth system for hands-free telephone calls functions poorly.
Sound quality is fine inside the car, but the party on the other end of the connection gets caught in an echoing feedback loop in which they hear their own words echoed back to them.
It's bad enough that a friend who called in the midst of a personal crisis gave up and asked me to call back when I got out of the car.
A few days later, when I had an exceptionally bad connection for an international call, my editor asked if I had brought the Kia with me to Germany.
If Ford's Sync system can provide clear Bluetooth calls in the 10-year-old Focus compact, there's no excuse for such poor quality in a car that's all new for 2010.
The Forte offers a broad suite of safety equipment: antilock brakes, stability control, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, curtain and front-seat side air bags are standard.
The Forte sedan's styling is — what was I thinking? — forgettable.
The shape is vaguely wedgy but undistinguished, the polar opposite of the head-turning Soul compact Kia introduced earlier this year. The gaps between exterior panels are even, but a bit large.
The car's visual presence is done no favors by a shape that makes the gaps more obvious, particularly in cars painted in light colors.
The Forte's price is appealing: lower than most compact cars, thousands of dollars less than a Malibu, Fusion, Accord or Camry. Despite that, the new Kia's shortcomings are such that if you're in it for anything other than the money, you probably want to be in a car other than the Forte.
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RELATED INFORMATION
At a glance: Front-wheel drive five-seat midsize sedan.
Engine: 2.0-liter, 156-horsepower variable valve-timing or 2.4-liter, 173-horsepower variable valve timing four-cylinder
Transmission: Five- or six-speed manual, four- or five-speed automatic.
Price range: $13,695 to $18,195 (excluding destination charges).
Key features: Antilock brakes; brake assist; electronic brake-force distribution; electronic stability control, front-seat side air bags; curtain air bags; tire pressure monitor; 15-inch tires with wheel covers; air-conditioning; tinted solar glass; AM/FM/CD/MP3 six-speaker sound system; three-month subscription to Sirius satellite radio; Bluetooth hands-free phone system; power windows, locks and mirrors; remote entry; cruise control; manually adjustable six-way driver's seat; 60/40-split folding rear seat; manual tilt-steering column.
Competitive EPA fuel economy ratings:
(Automatic transmission models)
Kia Forte w/five-speed: 27 mpg city/36 mpg
Chevrolet Malibu w/six-speed: 22 mpg city/33 mpg highway
Ford Fusion w/six-speed: 23 mpg city/34 mpg highway
Honda Accord w/five-speed: 21 mpg city/31 mpg highway
Toyota Camry w/six-speed: 22 mpg city/32 mpg highway
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2010 KIA FORTE EX
Front-wheel drive five-passenger midsize sedan
Price as tested: $17,395
Rating: 2 out of 4 stars
Reasons to buy: Price, fuel economy
Shortcomings: Interior materials, performance, bland styling, poor hands-free phone system
Wheelbase: 104.3 inches
Length: 178.3 inches
Width: 69.9 inches
Height: 57.5 inches
Curb weight: 2,740 pounds
Where assembled: Hwasung, South Korea
Comparative base prices:
(not including destination charges)
(Automatic transmission, four-cylinder engine)
Chevrolet Malibu LS $21,825
Ford Fusion S $20,495
Honda Accord LX $21,855
Toyota Camry $20,445
