I spent four days with the
Kia, which I actually ended up using for school work. As part of my ongoing
study on the defensive use of firearms, I took a vehicle-safety class from
Safety Solutions Academy in Toledo, Ohio. Gun-specific safety topics aside, it
was extremely instructive to just learn how to secure a vehicle and its
passengers. The bonus: It was all done very comfortably in the Kia Forte 5. At 6-foot-2, I was a little
concerned going in that I would have trouble repeatedly getting in and out of
such a small car, but it wasn’t a problem at all; my long frame fits easily
into the driver seat, and the door opening provides excellent ingress and
egress. The passenger seat has just as much room and is extremely comfortable.
As for driving, the
six-speed manual transmission is responsive, and the engine is surprisingly
peppy. While no race car, it accelerates well both off the line and in highway
passing. The exterior design is stylish, too, while inside, the utility is
unmatched for the size. Once you let the backseats down and open the hatch,
there is more than enough room to fit a pop-up tent, folding table, four bags,
three tarps, a folding chair and a large cooler.
To start, this is more or
less a range-topping Kia
Forte5. With SX trim, you get the sporty powertrain, I guess -- peppy, but
nothing mind-blowing. The presence of a six-speed manual on such a loaded Kia
probably marks this as one of the rarest vehicles in America. Fuel economy
seems so-so for a 1.6-liter, with 29 mpg combined predicted. I suspect we
returned substantially less than that based on the real-time economy readout.
If you’re looking for a true
driver’s hatch, you’d be better served with the Ford Focus ST or the Volkswagen
Golf GTI. But you weren’t looking at the Kia Forte5 because you wanted a
driver’s hatch, were you?
Didn’t think so. What this
car offers is value -- yes, even at $26,000. It’s an unremarkable if
inoffensive-looking car the outside, though the SX-standard five-spoke 18-in
alloy wheels are a nice touch.
Where it shines is inside:
The interior is really, really nice, and not just for a Kia -- it actually makes the
Audi A3 look a little shabby, to say nothing of its Japanese competitors. What
it lacks in luxurious materials it makes up in premium, solid feel and unfussy,
fresh design. It doesn’t seem like it’ll come off as dated in a design cycle or
two.
And the features! They go a
long way toward justifying the price. This thing’s got basically everything you
could ever want in an economy car, including a heated and ventilated driver’s
seat (the front passenger has to make do with a seat that’s merely heated).
Plus, the UVO infotainment system is right up there with the Fiat-Chrysler offering
for clean, easy-to-use and intuitive design. I just drove a car costing $10,000
more that didn’t come with a backup camera; it’s standard on this trim level.
As pleasant as this package
is, though, it’s not quite the one I’d recommend to a non-enthusiast friend; to
maximize value, I’d probably go with the Forte5 SX you see here sans the
$2,300 premium package. That way, if they absolutely needed to upgrade to the
automatic transmission (a $1,000 option), they’d still be looking at a $24,735
sticker. Not so bad after all, don’t you think?
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