2010 Kia Forte - Review

By Tim Healey

Tim Healey

Contributing Writer BIO

Tim Healey was formerly an associate editor at Consumer Guide Automotive in Chicago. Before that he worked in the automotive industry as a service... More

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2010 Kia Forte

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2010 Kia Forte

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Small cars aren't known for soft rides, and this one certainly is on the stiff side. Pavement imperfections intrude more than they should, and potholes will announce their presence. There's a fair amount of racket of rough roads. Not exactly a peaceful place for a napping passenger.

On the other hand, the usual reward for a stiff ride is sporty handling, and while no one would suggest bombing down the Laguna Seca Corkscrew in the Forte sedan, there is at least a modicum of joy in the handling aspects while cornering. The steering reacts actively to inputs, and the car moves through traffic nimbly.

Interior materials are class-competitive and the build quality appears solid. The control layout is pretty simple and straightforward, with plain shapes that manage to still be handsome. Legroom and headroom were adequate if not plentiful. Interior cargo space struck me as about average--the center console is fairly deep but not particularly wide--but the trunk is surprisingly large.

Not everyone agreed with me on build quality--my mom was in town for a visit and from the passenger seat she lobbed a volley at the extensive use of plastic, hinting that it looked less than expensive. That was seconds before she said the Forte was a good value for the money. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Forte comes in three trims: Base LX, EX, and sporty SX. LX and EX models have a 156-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder, while the SX has a 173-horse 2.4-liter four. Transmission choices are a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic on the LX and EX. SX offers a choice 6-speed stick or 5-speed auto. EX buyers who opt for the Fuel Economy Package get a 5-speed automatic.

My tester was an EX with the 4-speed auto. Standard features included ABS, traction control, an antiskid system, A/C, satellite radio, an AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system, a wireless cell phone link, USB and auxiliary inputs, power windows and locks, cruise control, dual power sideview mirrors, and more. The base price was $16,795.

Options were limited to the $1,000 EX Leather Package, which included leather seat trim, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, and heated front seats; and the $800 power sunroof. For reasons that escape me, the sunroof option included 16-inch wheels, replacing the stock 15s. Plus destination fee ($695), the as-tested total came out to $19,290.

The Forte needs some work in the areas of refinement and ride quality, but it's a perfectly capable contender in this class. It's not yet at the level of the Honda Civic, which remains the gold standard for compacts. But it's better than Nissan's Sentra and on-par with the Corolla and Elantra.

A good feature per dollar ratio and a potential for high fuel-economy numbers. I guess you could say that value is the Kia Forte's...strength.