2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

The final stirring chapter in Edmunds' road trip to Las Vegas in the long-term 2014 Kia Forte EX.

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alex4515

Agreed - even if it's going to be further in terms of distance or take longer overall, I'd rather be moving than creeping along or sitting still.

jeepsrt

We were on vacation in Palm Springs and I drove to Vegas for the SRT experience at Las Vegas motor speedway for the night and headed back at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon. It took me 9 hours to get to Palm Springs, I rented a Chrysler 300C so at least I was comfortable but it was a nightmare.

gslippy

I wish Edmunds would qualify its fuel economy number with the speeds driven. 30.9 mpg in this car is terribly highway fuel economy, so I'm guessing you were going about 75 mph.

If this is so, please don't complain about how "Kia lied, mpg died", when the average highway speed in the EPA test protocol is 48 mph.

jeepsrt

We were on vacation in Palm Springs and I drove to Vegas for the SRT experience at Las Vegas motor speedway for the night and headed back at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon. It took me 9 hours to get to Palm Springs, I rented a Chrysler 300C so at least I was comfortable but it was a nightmare.

gslippy

I wish Edmunds would qualify its fuel economy number with the speeds driven. 30.9 mpg in this car is terribly highway fuel economy, so I'm guessing you were going about 75 mph.

If this is so, please don't complain about how "Kia lied, mpg died", when the average highway speed in the EPA test protocol is 48 mph.

agentorange

So how was the ride on those two lane roads across the desert? Last time I went that way the surfaces were mixed to say the least. I also recall some interesting curves on crests with adverse camber. That sort of thing will find any flaws in the chassis in double quick time. I am guessing that the gas mileage took a hit as there are fewer places to make use of the cruise control going that way, at least until you cross I-40.

ryster

30.9 average mpg is not bad at all. The car is rated 24mpg city, 36mpg highway, 28mpg overall. Driving 75mph on the highway with the AC blasting will not get you 36mpg. At the same time, driving around with the AC blasting and returning 30.9mpg average is extremely respectable.

emajor

Mike, I gotta admit that I've been badly disappointed with your 3 road trip entries for this car. I like some discussion about why an editor went on a trip, what they did there, the back routes they took, but you have left out just about any discussion of the car and how it performed. Was it quiet enough? Seat comfort? Steering feel? Passing power? Was the audio system sound OK at freeway speeds? Gimme something here, man, because all I know from your entries is that it didn't overheat and eeked over 30mpg.