My Kia Forte SX review Options

[xdforme22]

I mentioned in the Koup thread that I would post a review of my Dad's new Forte sx.

My Dad bought a Forte sx 4 door with moon roof right before thanksgiving. When I was home over the holidays I got a brief chance to drive it and also spent a couple hours riding in it while visiting the Yuengling brewery.

The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was compared to my 01 Elantra. Driving down the road I noticed a positive difference in road and tire noise. While it is not luxury-car like, I would be surprised to hear anyone complain about noise. The same goes for engine noise. While I have heard negatives about the engine being coarse in the upper rpm band, I wonder if that criticism might be overly harsh. While I could not explore the full limits of the engine, I found the engine volume to be well muted and wished for a little more positive noise (think CAI).

The main reason for buying the sx trim, surprisingly, was the interior. Sx trim gets upgraded cloth and metallic accents. My mother hated the interior cloth of the lx/ex levels. It is very plain, kinda cheap feeling, and would probably not wear very well over time (for stains and the like). I like the cloth used in the koup sx even better (its different, more like the gls tiburon arrangement), however, it still is quite nice. The seats are also a bit different and offer better support over the lx/ex trims (I like the koups sport seats better though).

The car was a very good drive. Steering was precise and well-weighted. Even with the sport suspension, I found the ride to be very good, equal if not better than my stock 01 suspension. It won't soak up every bump, but it catches most. I was pleasantly surprised to see that kia fixed one thing many of us do not like about our Elantras - the clutch engagement point is not at the top of the pedal but just about the midway point (which took a little getting used to for me). The shifts were crisp and pretty short - I'm not sure if many people would find the need for a short shifter as the Forte's stock one is about as tight as my ebay short shifter. Acceleration is brisk and is noticeably better than my modded 01. It may not be a "sports" car, but it certaintly can get up and go.

Overall, I'd call the Forte a nice "sporty" daily driver that is at or near the top of its segment.

[elantragt]

Thanks for adding the review. Sounds like the car is a very solid contender. 

[Bobzilla]

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! I already want one and you guys are only making it worse.

[xdforme22]

Haha, I guess porky's just holding up too well huh?

[Bobzilla]

yES.... and so is the accent. Damn well built Korean cars.

[afob3]

Did somebody say Yuengling

Great tour and well worth the time. We visited BC (before children) and I still have the worn keyring in my pocket that I picked up at the 'gift store'.

It was one of the things I missed moving down from PA. They have only recently started selling in TN.

Back to topic...

The SX looks nice and IIRC it has the 2.4 instead of the 2.0 in the rest of the Forte lineup.