New Kia Forte to hit the lot in May
On April 20th I was not only blown away but I was very excited to meet this totally unsuspecting wonder called the Forte. KIA has really hit the mark here with this mid-range compact car. The car comes in 3 models, the 2.0 L, the EX and the impressive SX with a 2.4l and an optional 6-speed transmission. When a car is ready to hit the floors, Kia Canada sends out the vehicle to all the major city’s and offers our sales team the opportunity to test and become knowledgeable with its exceptional features and performance abilities. This also gives the team a chance to put the cars through a small road test and to see who the competition is and how they compare to our Kia product. In this industry they call it a ride and drive, let’s take a look at the Kia Forte versus the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus
Let’s begin with the Mazda 3. The one we had was loaded with leather and a navigation system. A very impressive looking vehicle but I found it fell short on handling and room in the cabin – especially in rear seating. Breaking was exceptional but it was found that the front-end dove down in hard breaking situations causing an uneven distribution of the cars total weight. Power was disappointing with a full passenger car load. The overall feeling of the Mazda 3 was that it was a neat looking car but after driving it I felt the things noted above really took away from its appeal.
The Ford Focus was less impressive than the Mazda, and couldn’t possibly compare to the Forte. The model that was tested came equipped with many of the features the other cars had but fell incredibly short on safety and performance. For safety the Focus only had front airbags, no active head restraints and was not equipped with a Stabilitrack control system. In performance features the car felt under powered and had much less cabin space than the Forte.
2010 Kia Forte SX
2.4L 173HP 168lb.ft Torque
Look from its bold face and the wedge-like character lines give the car a very dynamic profile.
I was solely impressed with the Kia Forte, the breaking and handing were outstanding and I was also excited with the SX model with it’s 173HP 2.4L and 6 speed manual transmission. I put this car to the test and pushed it through the course, the S turns had very little body roll and the car sunk right down when the breaks were applied quickly in the stopping portion of the course. Overall the Kia Forte is a winner inside and out. I like the fact that the car performs well looks sporty and sophisticated, plus a fit and finish that rivals its competitors. I was amazed with what comes included in this beautiful entry level car that starts at $17,900 (well equiped). Below are some pictures from the ride and drive held at the Assinboine downs.
Special thanks to Jack and Claude from Kia Canada that put the event on for us.
Kia Forte EX
Written and Photos by:
Dain White
Story editor:
Kristine Rae
