2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Kia

image2014 Kia Forte EX Long-Term Road Test

Xenon headlights are a must-have for me on any car. And on our 2014 Kia Forte EX sedan, this worthwhile feature is actually affordable.

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  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    I'll just take good headlamps, regardless of the light source. Unfortunately, its hard to find a brand or model that has consistently strong headlamp performance. Changing the long life bulbs for some high quality, higher output/shorter lifespan ones helps a little, but there's no way to fix poor optics. If I were thinking about getting upgraded headlamps in a model, I would seriously want to see them in person before putting up the money. Some of them just flood the foreground with bright light which gives us nice warm "I can see so well" feeling, but not necessarily better distance or side lighting.
  • jeepsrtjeepsrt Member Posts: 88
    I agree, I bought a set of '13 F150 HID's off of eBay to put on my '12 Raptor because the stock headlights were so bad. Cost about $1300.00 total but was worth it after not having them when I traded my '11 Jeep Overland.
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    While I have never owned a car with HID's, I am always impressed with the quality of light when I am behind one on a dark road. But the reality is that I am rarely on anything but well lit streets and highways. I would definitely pony up a few hundred extra dollars at purchase time to get them, but I don't know that I would buy an expensive package with lots of stuff that I don't care about (e.g. panoramic sunroof, My Ford Touch, nav) just to get them.
  • typeshtypesh Member Posts: 22
    My biggest issue with HIDs is the potential replacement cost. Case in point, friend of mine just had one of his ballasts go out on his '07 328i, cost just about $1,000 between parts & labor (independent mechanic & dealer were charging about the same). Last time I changed a halogen, it cost me $9 in 'parts' and 15 minutes of my time.
  • typeshtypesh Member Posts: 22
    I just wanted to add, that top picture of the Forte out in the desert with the big rig, wow. The Forte looks pretty darn fine there.
  • greenponygreenpony Member Posts: 531
    I used to think the same thing, but I just can't justify spending several THOUSAND dollars more to buy into a trim packagage I don't want, just so I can get HID's or Xenon's or whatever. I'm strongly with bankerdanny on this one. An extra couple hundred is reasonable, but thousands + unwanted options is not.
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    The LED headlights on my Leaf are pretty good, and a nice low-power alternative technology to HIDs.
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