This car is going to be killer...

I bought some cheap vinyl smoke tint for my taillights on Ebay. I didn't want to buy the expensive stuff because I wasn't sure if I'd like the result and didn't want to spend $50 on Lamin-x pre-cut that I might not like. The Ebay stuff cost me $11. The tint is a light smoke that blocks maybe 10-15% of the light. I didn't want to go too dark and I think this almost looks stock but sexier. Here's a quickie cell pic I just took. Keep in mind on a sunny day they would look a bit brighter. Let me know if you like.

The more I see of this car, the more impressive it looks.

The Chinese version features a bunch chrome that will (thankfully) be toned down in the North American version.

OK, I'll say it. The next gen Forte is one of the best looking sedans I've ever seen in it's price range. Kia nailed this.

You can definitely see the MD heritage.

Here's the US model:

From the front


Sexy rear view


Sporty seats


Lovin' the lights


This looks like a much more expensive car.

We've seen a few shots of the pre-production version without camo but here's some spy pics of the production model with camo. You can really see the MD shape in a few of these.











This is gonna be nice.

You've seen the artist rendering but here are the first pics of the Forte/K3 in the flesh. This is one classy looking vehicle, IMO.







Peter Schreyer has hit a home run here. Koup and hatchback to follow.

Of course we know the real thing will be a bit toned down but since these are official KIA renderings; it will be close. Of course, the real car will get door handles, side mirrors and such.

This will be based on the MD platform.

I literally bought these door sills last year but couldn't get them to stick. No matter how much alcohol I used and no matter how much 3M acrylic tape I used...they just fell off. I sort of gave up on it. Recently, I decided to buy some adhesion promoter and that did the trick. These are stainless steel and I like them although not as much as I liked the ones in my GT. Still, these are the best I could find for the Forte and they look pretty nice. Here's a pic:

Just a couple pics after applying some Klasse AIO today...

Living in a townhouse without a garage means parking on the street, which sucks. Careless neighbors make the parking lot a ding war zone. And you know me when it comes to my cars... I need them ding free and shiny! These days I know all the new cars (well most) including my Forte SX are going to the no side molding look. It's very clean looking, no doubt, but in a weird way it looks like something is missing. Hey, I loved the black molding on my GT... yeah I'm weird. Old school I guess, or just old.

I decided to go ahead and add aftermarket body side moldings to my car. I found a place that does factory color matched moldings at a very good price (spoilerandwingking.com) and ordered them. You have to do a ton of measuring and have a steady hand. The 3M tape sticks hard and one mistake and you're screwed. I'm proud of the results. These look great IMO... very factory looking.

Here's a bunch of pics. Sorry my car isn't as super detailed as usual because of the weeks of rain we've been having here.

Ok, some of you may have read my previous thread where I added aftermarket body side moldings to my Forte SX. Having to park on the street makes them pretty much a necessity. Anyhow, there was an issue. Opening the back door caused those moldings to get scratched by something inside the door. I was seriously bummed and took them off.

Well, after much research I found the answer. The body side molding from sportwing.com is OEM quality and the rear door moldings have that "shaved" area that would prevent them from getting scratched inside the door. I'm really pleased with the quality.


New molding close-up:



New molding side view:

Here's the latest shots...







It will be interesting to see the final product. The first gen Forte was an improved version of the HD. Will Kia improve on the MD/UD with this car? Time will tell.

These aren't official but it could be close to the real thing.

I added Lamin-x yellow fog covers to my SX and it looks pretty sweet I think. Not only does it give a different look
but it also protects the lights and gives off more of a fog fighting yellow light at night. Not a bad little mod for $18.

Sources in Korea say this is an artist rendering of what the next gen Kia Forte might look like. It will be based on the MD platform. I like it!

I've been going back and forth on whether I wanted to change out the "KIA" badges. They look fine if not a bit blah. A lot of Forte enthusiasts have been using the stylized "K" logo badges from Korea and I finally decided to go with the newest version of those. I bought the front and rear badges as well as the steering wheel one. Today I tackled the steering wheel badge. These are designed to go one one of two ways. Either directly on top of the existing logo (the easy way) or totally replacing the existing badge (the hard way). And of course, I chose the hard way.

The stock badge took quite a bit of work to get off as it's held on by 6 metal prongs that go pretty deep into the air bag cover. But... I got the job done w/o any problems (other than it taking me an hour to remove the badge)!

Here's the new logo badge (sorry for the low-res cell pic):

A member over at forteforums replaced his Forte 5 bumper with the Koup bumper and the results are mega sexy:

Now I'm sure that title got your attention.

I haven't done much modding to our Forte for a number of reasons but I have been doing some small stuff here and there. Last week I transformed the back of the SX into the "eurosport" look I've always liked. I added both a rear lip spoiler and a rear window/roof spoiler. The lip spoiler is actually OEM and comes from a Forte Hybrid (only available in Korea). The lip spoiler is KDM aftermarket. The overall look is subtly aggressive and I love it. My wife Tammy loves it too.

Gotta love Ebay (not only did we buy these on Ebay but we sold stuff on Ebay to get the money ).

Here's a pic:

Remember that great experience I had with the KIA dealer a little while ago? Well, things have taken a nosedive. They have since been bought out and it shows.

A couple of weeks ago my A/C started to blow nothing but outside temperature air so I made an appt. with that same dealer. I took it in and they diagnosed it as a bad A/C compressor. Ok, that's fine as it's a warranty thing. The problem was they said no one in the country had one in stock. So I patiently waited two weeks to have the A/C fixed. I took it in today...

I had to wait for the work to be done at the dealership because we're down to one car. I was told it would be a couple hours. Well after two hours it was still up on the lift and I questioned that. The service manager was somewhat rude and kind of avoided my questions about what was going on. He finally told me that the A/C compressor they got from KIA was "defective"... but they conveniently had another one in stock. So here we go again... back on the lift and I waited another two hours only to be told that it looks like the problem is actually not the compressor but the expansion valve? WTF? Don't these dealers have diagnostic equipment? So I ask if that part is in stock and they say, nope... on backorder from Korea. I also asked if it could be the condenser and was told no.

So now I have to wait another two weeks to see if that valve is gonna fix my A/C. And if they're wrong again what do I do?

And why are KIA parts not being stocked??

I wasn't planning on adding a dash kit to the Forte SX but after some prodding from Tammy (afterall we share the car) I did just that. Her point was that the all black dash with gunmetal accents and dark gray seats was just too dark and a bit monotone. So now the interior is definitely lightened up and features a mix of gray/black/gunmetal and now brushed aluminum.

Here's the before:



And the after:

Yeah, I'm getting older but I'm still 6'2". Nope, I'm talking about antenna height. The Forte already has a shortish antenna but I wanted to go even lower profile.

Here's the stock look:



My new 3" stubby:




I'm not too worried about reception because I mostly listen to Sirius or MP3's. This was a great deal too. $13 shipped. It's available from http://www.mangowalk.com and comes with adapters to fit mosts cars. They even make this in a 1.5" model.

I've been researching cars since my car got totaled in hopes I could maybe get a loan for a new one. I came to the realization that maybe the HD was the way to go. Sure it's not my favorite but it's a very fine car overall. So I decided to get one. I was ready to go to Fairfax, VA with the intent of buying one last week. The dealer there had a great price and the color (silver with black interior) I wanted. But I got a call from the salesman saying the car was no longer in stock. I was kinda PO'ed but maybe it was a blessing in disguise...

From day one I was hoping to maybe hold out for an MD but Tammy's car was pretty much done... we needed a reliable car NOW. So there was another car I've been researching and that's what I wound up getting. And the car is...

A 2010 Kia Forte SX sedan. In copperhead metallic. No real options but this is the model with the 2.4 engine and a lot of goodies standard. Since I didn't have to fix up Tammy's car I was able to use all of my money from the GT as a down payment. My father in law also gave me a loan to put a little more down on the car. I think I did well in negotiations on the car and got $3,000 off the sticker.

To say the least, I love this car! Styling wise it kinda reminds me a little of the Acura TSX in some ways. The guy that designed the car actually designed the Audi TT. The cars pretty fast from what I can tell (a guy has a YouTube video of this car doing 0-60 in about 7+ seconds with an A/T) but I'm just babying the throttle. It's definitely geared to be quick off off the line (nearly 170 lb/ft of torque help). The ride is firm but mostly controlled and it's quiet, very quiet. The steering is GREAT. The sportmatic 5-speed seems pretty smooth and thankfully has a manual shift mode. I'll post a really detailed review when I've driven it a lot more (it was a crappy rainy day here today).

Before I post a few pics I want to say that although me and Tammy own a KIA now there are no worries about EC. It's not going anywhere. I'm very excited about the MD and can't wait to post as much as I can about it. One thing's for sure, I'll whore up the Forte forum here.

One note. After taking the test drive on Saturday I noticed one of the wheels had a bit of a gash in it. So today they swapped out for another wheel for me and off I went on the highway. Well at highway speed I felt a slight vibration in the steering wheel (wasn't there Saturday) and figured the new wheel was out of balance. Well, long story short it was caused by a big pebble stuck in the tread. Now all is well. Kinda shows the Forte is sensitive to balance issues like the Elantra.

I posted this at the Forte forum and even though it's mostly Koup fanboys over there, I think they were impressed. I'm sure if the timing of my wreck and then Tammy's car falling apart were different I'd be in a 2011 Elantra right now, but I do like this car overall. My Forte is pretty freakin' sexy. Hey, yesterday the pizza delivery dude kept looking at it and peeking in the windows... I guess that's good.

This is for Mitch


http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/13/kia-cap...sports-victory/

"Kia's second-year motorsports program took the checkered flag in Saturday's GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race in Birmingham, Ala.
Large crowd of local Kia dealers and team members from the company's U.S. assembly plant in nearby West Point, Georgia were on hand to see Kia's first-ever win"

The results, by the way:
1. Kinetic Motorsports Kia Forte
2. Doran Racing BMW 128i
3. Race Epic BMW 328i
4. APR Motorsport Volkswagen GTI
5. i-Moto Mazda Mazda3
6. i-Moto Mazda Mazda3
7. Freedom Motorsport Mazda MX-5
8. APR Racing Volkswagen GTI
9. Insight Racing BMW 328i
10. Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si
11. RSR Motorsports Mini Cooper S
12. Bimmerworld Racing BMW 328i
13. V-Pack Motorsports BMW 330i
The are more cars but they weren't on the lead lap.

To be fair, this was the Street Tuner class, not the overall race winners, which were a bunch of Mustang Boss 302R's, M3s and a Porsche Cayman. How did the Forte compare? The best lap was down about 5 seconds, 1:44 to 1:39, and their average speed was... half a second faster than the Mustangs and M3s. (which is some sort of mistake...right?)
http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/results.c...=k&eid=2373

Remember how we all cried out for the i30 hatch back when the rumors were swirling? When Hyundai brought the wagon over, and not the hatch, for the Elantra Touring, many of us were disappointed. Now that the Forte hatchback is coming, I was curious to see how the two are related. Both are built on the Elantra platform, so they will probably share engines and suspension setups. Take a look at the photos below. I think the two are very similar from a general form standpoint, with the Forte being a little more sloped (which I like) and I think the Forte has better looking tail lights.



I think they're very close cousins, and I think the Forte has a sportier look. I particularly like the black lower bumper area with red reflectors and the tail lights, and the lip spoiler is a nice touch. If I were in the market for a new car, this would be right up my alley.

-Roy

Well sort of.

I wanted to add a performance drop-in filter to the SX's stock airbox versus doing a CAI. I originally was going to go with a K&N but went a different route. The limited edition Koup SX-R up in Canada features a custom AEM Dryflow panel performance filter as part of the package so I decided to get one. The problem? They're not available in the US, only Canada. I contacted club moderator Mely and he was able to track one down at a dealer and ship it to me. Thanks Marc. B)

The filter is great. Super high quality and because it's a Dryflow no worries about over oiling. It's also cool because it's a performance part by AEM that come in a KIA part box; no warranty concerns, either. Throttle response seems slightly better as does the top end. Again it's nothing hugely noticeable but it's good to know this is the last filter I'll need for the car.

For the first time tonight, I had a full load of 5 adults in my Forte. I was curious to see how the car would do with a full load like this (we also had some stuff in the trunk). And we were traveling in a very hilly area. I figured full load, auto trans, and big hills would lead to some not so great performance. But I forgot one thing... this 2.4 Theta II has a shipload of torque. Two words... no problemo. This car went up the hills with ease and the transmission only downshifted once on the steepest hill.

Color me impressed. The engine has about 35 ft/lbs more torque than the Beta II in my GT and it makes a huge difference in the low end grunt.

So I have been rolling past a local KIA dealer in anticipation of spotting the new Forte 5 and today I was granted my wish, they had an SX in stock: a spicy red with the black cloth interior.

After walking through the lot and into the dealership and back out and around and then back through again I finally caught the attention of a salesperson! He asked if I liked what I saw and I told him I did, then he wanted to know if I wanted to take it for a drive. I told him I was hesitant as it had been raining all day and was drizzly and I had really just stopped to see if one was on the lot as I needed to get back to the house. He responded that if I owned it I would be driving it in the rain and how about a quick roll around the block?

OK sure twist my arm...

He went to get the key and I waited in anticipation while seated in the driver's position. I adjusted the seat and rearview and got a feel for the cockpit. Not surprisingly it had a similar access and feel as the Elantra in addition to layout (or at least intuitively so). After starting it up and engaging reverse, my first surprise was the brakes, they were noticeably more potent than the GT (11.8" discs up front!). After strolling through the lot, I got out into traffic and had my second surprise: This thing has really decent power, much more potential than my daily driver thanks to the 2.4L.

Everything felt in place in terms of access and management, I had to clear the front and rear windows as well as defog the windshield and shut off the radio. Now these tasks seem easy enough in simple terms, but sometimes the layout and controls are counter to what one or at least I find usable, but as I mentioned before the dash controls seem to fall into place, maybe because there is some Hyundai/KIA DNA at work or maybe the designers just did their homework. Either way I was happy with this aspect, because it's these little things that go far in making driving a pleasure, not some tedious task to be best avoided.

Seeing around from with in the vehicle was typical with regards to hatchback visibility. The Elantra has pretty good visibility all around, the 2010 Mazda 3 hatch not so much, or a least I felt more inhibited than my current sled when I've sat in them. The Forte 5 was acceptable and I felt comfortable looking around. Granted I did not spend my usual time in the car (20-30 minutes per drive to/from work) and would need a longer drive to sus out this aspect, but I feel it may measure up well in this regard.

The interior is decent and nicely appointed for a car that can be bought for less than 20K, but to be realistic though I don't have a whole lot to write home about and found some areas of it to be more 'plastic-y' than I had hoped. That said it's functional and serves it's purpose with due regard to it's parentage which is to say that it's humble and dutiful but not luxurious or sleek (as the Mazda 3 is). I do wish other interior color options were available, but like the Model T you can get any color you like as long as it's black. I understand the SX has paddle shifters with the 6 spd AT, but took no notice if they were present (only because it was after the fact that I understood they were standard in this trim level).

Something else I didn't rightly take note of was handling, feel and ride, my drive was all of about 5 minutes some of it freeway at 65-70 and the remainder street at 35. This is something I will fixate on if I take another test drive this week. The 17's I suspect are a bit harsher than the 16's on the other levels/models.

Other minor points: the rear cargo tray insert is a formed bit of dense styrofoam, it seemed cheap and easily broken, maybe a slathering of tool dip or a thin coat of fiberglass would give it some durability. The rear leg room was more than ample at least with where I had the front seat adjusted. Metal pedals were a nice touch and I think I would pay extra for the moon/sun roof as I have never owned a car that had one.

Overall I was impressed with all that I saw of the car and liked it far more in person than in photos. I'm debating whether to go and drive it some more tomorrow or later this week (it may not last, it's the only one on the lot!). That said I probably wouldn't buy the spicy red version and would hold out for the titanium I think. I would also price out the leather as the suede/cloth seats were decent the GT has spoiled me towards leather (sorry PETA...).

But now here's the sticking point: Gas mileage.

I was not overly impressed with the figures for the SX or even the lesser trim levels. In my heart of hearts I would own the Alfa Giulietta with the 170hp Multiair motor and the TCT transmission. The claimed average mpg for this combination is 40! Man would I love to get those figures with a gas powered vehicle, to hell with the Prius! But Fiat may or may not bring the Alfa to NA and at the very least the Dodge Caliber will be replaced with some sedan built on this platform (Compact Wide), and though I like the tech specs, I really love the Alfa hatch styling and doubt Dodge will even come close. It may not be until late '12 before Sergio brings Alfa to the states if at all. So either I wait or I make up my mind on something more concrete. And besides who knows, maybe KIA will have some design improvements motor wise to tart up the mpg figures by then? But a wish is just a wish and a want can be more easily satisfied in the present tense. I do know this, I currently get roughly the same mileage out of a lesser powered vehicle...

OK so to sum all this up I would heartily recommend this car to anyone considering a hatch that has style and substance with a great warranty and improved track record.

Well I did it. Added the first mod to my car... an Ultra Racing front strut bar. This is a one piece, powder coated steel bar with 2 connection points per side.



I'll probably be adding a rear sway bar down the road but for now this is my first suspension mod. There are a couple of plusses with this added. First of all, the steering is a bit more precise. It also tightens up the front end to the point that less noise is transmitted into to cabin over bumps and ruts... a real nice plus. Lastly, it does help the handling a bit but you'll only notice that when you really push it. Adds some nice bling underhood, too.

Looks like there will be a hatch version of the Forte in the not too distant future. No real details but I posted a couple shots of the prototype in the Gallery. 

Here's one...