Topic: Kia Forte

[mmorriso]

Cars depreciate. What's your point? Owning the same car for 3 years will probably cost around the same amount of $$$.

yes, cars depreciate.  although KIAs faster than others which translates into a higher cost of leasing or lower re-sale values.  in this scenario BernardP is going pay a significant amount of money to lease a Forte then pay a premium to buy a new one in 3 years.  if a compact car is going to fit his needs for a long period of time then purchasing a new Forte now might be a better option in the long run.  or better yet pick up a pre-owned vehicle like an Acura CSX for similar money.  

choice is wonerful

BernardP, thanks for your insightful review!



  

[BernardP]

Thanks BernardP for coming through with your review of the 2 models as you promised, and on the same day too. Its interesting that you found the interior satisfactory and without negative comments about the trim. Did you notice a big difference in the overall change in interior between the LX and SX? 

Basically, the interior is the same for the 3 trim levels, except that the SX has leather seats, steering wheel and shift lever, aluminium trim on the center stack (looks good) and part of door panels (looks like plastic, too shiny). Also, the SX has different (but not really better) instrument panel lighting and electronic instead of manual controls on the center stack, which also has better-looking LED-style lighting.

There are no soft-touch materials on the dashboard and doors. But although materials aren't soft, they look soft, with convincing graining. This is for me a commuter car. If, for 21 K$, it drives well and looks good outside and inside, with a decent stereo and enough room, I can bear resting my elbow on hard plastic as I spend 20 to 30 minutes driving to work.

As for leasing I have always bought cars outright, but with a Kia, I want to take the resale value question out of the picture. Residual after 3 years is 49% (not worse than with japanese manufacturers), and interest rate is acceptable at 3.9%. Although I like the Forte, I don't want to have to peddle it as a trade-in down the line.

[acmax2]

Just ordered a Forte sx with the 5 speed auto.  The dealership here in saskatoon, had a 6 speed for the test drive and I absolutely loved it.  My wife will be the primary driver so that is why i went auto.  I like the canadian driver review, but i don't like the fact all interior pics are that of the ex.  When my wife and I stopped at Kia the first Forte we looked at was an ex.  The interior was ok, and she still liked it, but i found it to be too much of one solid color.  When we stepped outside and they had a Silver SX with 6 speed sitting there, one glance on the inside and we were immediately sold on the car.  The Silver trim makes a world of a difference on the interior presentation, cheap trim or not.  This car prices at 22K, fully loaded, with many options you don't get from the competition.  I found the 6 speed real fun to drive, and thought the car handled really well.  It's no 370Z, but the 370Z isn't a 22K car now is it.  I will post pics when the car arrives.

[dougjp]

Congrats! Looking forward to the pics!

[wstam]

I am looking for buying a small car for my own use. It is now down to the Corolla and the Forte. I test drive both the car and finally I choose Corolla.

I am 40 years old. I don't need a performance car. I just want the car be quiet, with the feature I want, and not too short of power on the day to day ride.

The Forte drive must better than the Corolla. It is more powerful and the handling is better. When I drive it to highway, I don’t feel any difficulty to accelerate this to 130km/h. The handling of Corolla is soft and a little difficult to accelerate to 130km/h on highway. However, the performance of Corolla is still acceptable.

The downside of the Forte is the interior and the price. The interior of the Forte feel must cheaper than Corolla and the list price with my required option (AC, Power Windows, Remote Power Lock, and Cruise Control) are almost the same. Corolla is CE with Enhance Convenience package for $20470 (includes PDI and exclude Tax) and the Forte is the EX without sunroof for about $20300. The Forte EX has the Alloy wheel, Bluetooth, and 4 speeds Triptronic Automatic but I don’t care on these features.

Because of the unacceptable cheap look feel and it is Korean car, I consider Forte is one level below Corolla. If the list price of the Forte is $2500 lower than the Corolla, I may consider the Forte.

I know the actual price after bargin should be lower than the list price, but list price is the best to compare at the very beginning. The Kia dealer even offer me that if I buy the car today (May 23, 2009), they will sell the car in cost to me. It mean what they pay is what I pay, they don't earn any money. They will show me their recipt to proof their cost. It is still not interested to me because I am going to buy the car via a car broker. The final price will already be the cost + the minimum profit of the dealer and the broker. I estimate it will be about cost + $1000-$1500.  $1500 still not meet my $2500 cut off line. (I buy a 2009 Camry LE V6 last September, the list price with tax is about $34000 and my final price via broker is $30150 everything included, no bargin required.)

In conclusion, Forte has excellence handling and performance, unacceptable cheap interior look, and too high price for a Korean brand car. Corolla is balance in every area plus it is produced by the good reputation Toyota.

[Cortina]

KIA's are budgets cars with not so budget prices in NA. Corolla is better deal and it be worth at least 2000-3000 more over the KIA even in a 3-5 years. 

[BernardP]

Everybody who prefers the Corollas can get one.

The Corolla doesn't do anything for me, but to each his own. There is no doubt the Corolla's resale value is going to be much higher than the Forte's. That's why I'm only interested in a reasonnable lease (in terms of residual and interest rate) on the Forte. Resale value is not going to be my problem 3 years down the line.

The Forte is one more credible choice in the compact class.

If the Forte languishes on dealers' lots because too many people are buying Corollas, Kia will have to offer incentives.

[Newatcars]

korean kars?

i dont kn0w about that one boylang

[Ontariodriver]

I sore my first Forte this morning. It looks a lot less Honda Civic in person the saloon does anyways.