2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

After a weekend in the desert, the 2014 Kia Forte EX wins over a skeptic.

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greenpony

"Beyond reproach" eh? Sounds like you've decided what your next car will be. For me, though, this would be a second tier choice. The first reason is the styling; if I can't like it walking up to it every day, I don't want to own it. It's not as crisp and sporty as the Optima. Secondly, it's time for me to get out of an "economy" car and step up to something with just a wee bit more power; that's my automotive need at this time. For about $25k I can get a Civic Si, GTI, or ST, or even a V6 Mustang. To each their own, though.

duck87

What about the ride and handling? A few editors already noted that this car leaves them flat in that department. This looks like a good substitute for a Corolla.

reminder

How about crash test data? The one feature nobody wants to test. Survivability is a big deal.

agentorange

" The problem is, it just doesn't give you that burst of power, the low-end grunt we like." Sure sign of a CA emasculated SULEV engine. The throttle calibration is always soft on those cars. I refuse to buy them for that very reason. Test a car from a free state and feel the difference.

sharpend

Safety could be a problem, as reported this month: The IIHS called the Forte "the worst performer for both restraints and structure of all of the small cars evaluated" because too much belt slack and a side curtain airbag that didn't provide enough forward coverage allowed the dummy's head to hit the windshield pillar and instrument panel. The dummy's bottom half was also in bad shape. "Door hinge pillar, driver footwell, and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a high risk of injury to the left thigh and a significant risk to the left lower leg," the agency said in a statement.

nick944

Shapend, it should be noted that this was only in the new IIHS small overlap crash test which only half of the compact vehicles tested passed. Otherwise it is on par with other vehicles in other crash situations. Once, manufacturers take the new data from the small overlap test and design vehicles to survive this type of crash most of these vehicles should pass.

bassrockerx

for 25k that competes very competitively with your camry SE that you had last year? i know this car is price-competitive in it's class but with the midsize sedans allways "on sale" and with low prices all the time im having a hard time justifying this car at this price compared to a midsizer. also for speed there is the civic SI that you might be able to get cheaper as well. (although you would be sacrificing lots of features like mentioned above)

duck87

@nick944: Well... the Elantra passed the test (barely). Not to mention the Forte is a new car, one that was designed when they should have known the small overlap test was coming (the Civic was redesigned for the test when it underwent its first year make

agentorange

@duck87 I don't think the IIHS small offset crash is a part of the NHTSA requirement yet. Kia and everybody else will have been working on the design for some time based on the regulatory requirements. To gripe about them failing a test invented after the

duck87

@agentorange: Nobody is griping about anything; these are just observations.