Kia Forte S is your daily commuter
Will Chamberlain|For Calkins Media
On road the Kia Forte S is a tight and peppy sedan. It will eagerly run through the revs and take bends with ease. Even highway trips are a blast with minimal road noise and remarkable stability.
Will Chamberlain/For The Times
2017 Kia Forte S
Will Chamberlain/For The Times
2017 Kia Forte S
Jump into the front seat of a Kia Forte and you may find yourself delighted by your surroundings. The Forte is a compact midsized sedan and a very good example of basic transportation. Adding the S and EX trim levels get you options like HID headlamps, navigation and upgraded wheels. For a car starting at $16,600, getting all the options you want will still keep your budget below $25,000.
Under the hood is a 2.0L 4-cylinder producing 164 horsepower mated to a 6-speed automatic and down to the pavement via front-wheel drive. The sport tuned suspension is really fun to toss around corners and keeps things lively. The transmission is butter smooth and even sounds decent when pushed hard – not like a tin can. Acceleration won’t win any races, but it’s adequate to say the least.
Exterior styling is much better for 2017. The body was stretched and the shape now has a more fluid expression from the front to back with an athletic stance. Too often do economy cars take the easy and boring way out, the Forte has some style and refinement. The tail light design and LED incorporation is impressive as in several other Kia and Hyundai products as of lately.
Jump inside and you’ll be very happy with the interior. Premium cloth seats, good use of rough and smooth surfaces and everything is easy to read and use. There’s a touch screen centering the dash with all your stereo and system info needs, but this one didn’t have navigation. Nice to see a quality screen in the lesser trim levels. Even with the front seats positioned overly generous to the front, the rear seating room was very comfortable for adults. Child seats are installed very easily with anchors positioned more towards the edge of the seat and not buried in-between the cushions.
On road the Forte is a tight and peppy sedan. It will eagerly run through the revs and take bends with ease. Even highway trips are a blast with minimal road noise and remarkable stability. The trunk is only limited due to the overall size of the car, but it’s good for groceries and shopping trips. The car does feel like you’re leaning forward and sitting close to the front wheels. It handles well, but a few times I felt the rear tires floating around. This is one of those cars that actually drives better when full of people. The weight gives it more feel and stability.
I recommend the Forte to anyone looking at Corollas, Civics or other compact sedans. It’s got good interior volume and excellent road manners.
The MSRP for the S model I road tested is unknown, but S models start at $19,300. The loaner provided had emergency braking, blind spot detection, fog lights and LED tail lamps among other additions.
Kia estimates 32 mpg combined, and I was able to squeeze 30 mpg during most of my travels. I bet you could manage over 40 mpg on the highway in Eco and cruise.
Will Chamberlain is a local freelance automotive journalist and can be reached at wchamberlain@pghcarguys.com and www.pghcarguys.com.