As you may already know, after the deluge of official and unofficial reports, Kia has finally debuted it’s all-new Forte sedan today. It seems like we have been waiting for this day to come forever, but it’s finally here, and at last, we can show you the car that has been eagerly awaited by many Kia fans around the world.
The Forte is a very important vehicle for Kia Motors. It was developed not only to succeed it’s best selling Kia model (Spectra/Cerato), but also to show the world that Kia is capable of building good, quality and attractive cars at the same time.
The costs of Forte development exceeded $200 million and it took the company 29 months to to bring the car from the paper to the showrooms. This year, Kia plans to sell 20,000 units on it’s home market and export about 10,000 units. The Forte will be exported to Eastern Europe, Asia and South America, as well as to Australia and USA. You can expect to see it at North American dealers in the first quarter of the 2009. Next year, Kia Motors hopes to more than double Forte sales numbers. The automaker plans to sell 50,000 units at home and export more than 200,000 units abroad.
The Forte has been fitted with 1.6-liter gasoline and 1,6 diesel engine. The gasoline engine puts out 121 brake horsepower, while the diesel engine packs a maximum output of 128 brake horsepower. Both engines outperform domestic competitors in terms of power and fuel consumption.The Forte will also be available with more powerful 2,0L engine that will be added to the range at a later date.
Forte comes equipped with new features such as navigation system with voice recognition, smart key button ignition system and Bluetooth technology. In addition to the high technology features that are normally reserved for larger cars, the car comes equipped with complete safety fetures, such as side and curtain airbags, a VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control) system and active headrests.
The price for the Forte ranges from 11.9 million won (US$11,300) to 19.6 million won, depending on accessories and engine types.
For the beginning you can take a look at the gallery of 28 images, that leaked to the web a few hours prior Forte made it’s official Korean debut. Later on, I hope I can provide a video preview of the ceremonial unveiling and more official images to you.
Gallery:
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August 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I cant even believe this! All of them options damn well better be on the American model or I am going to kick some f-ing ass! YAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Oh, my adrenaline is running so high I can barely stand it!! You want to know why? Click my name, the full tale of me nearly murdering an Optima vandalizer!!
August 21st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
any body know if it will go middle east or not
August 21st, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I take it that “Asia” will include Australia as well. Fingers crossed.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:34 pm
this car is gunna whoop ass! i can’t wait! does anyone know how many speeds the transmission is gunna be? (auto)
August 21st, 2008 at 5:55 pm
How likely is it going to be that all those features are carried over to the US?
August 21st, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Looks mah-val-ous! Ths would have been the one I traded our ‘01 Kia Sportage 4X4 in on if I hadn’t seen the ‘08 Lancer GTS. If the Forte isn’t too heavy those engines should provide enough performance while still giving good mpg. Great new car from Kia!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:06 pm
As far as transmissions go I’d love to see a 5-speed automatic. I’d also love to see a 5-speed manual where 5th gear is actually an overdrive and doesn’t force the engine to rev higher at 60mph than the automatic transmission model (like almost all manual transmission cars now). If not, then perhaps a 6-speed manual would be nice.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:46 pm
At the second image from behind, you can see the gear-shift of the manual transmission and there are only 5 speeds…
August 21st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Damn, this car looks so nice inside!! It’s a step ahead of cee’d’s interior, which is also very nice and built with quality materials.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Very very cool lookin` car - think this will be a winner for Kia and maybe their ” breakaway” model !! I personally have some reservation about the barrel- type instrument dash - but I`ll have to see more pics to form a final opinion. The pics here appear to have less red/orange coloring and are less brilliant than those in the video below — much more appealling from my perspective!!!
August 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I noticed that too Himi, I just hope they’ll toss in a reasonable 5th gear or final drive ratio. Anyway, the whole thing looks good to me. I’m looking forward to seeing one in person when they arrive stateside. I hope the interior looks as good in person and incorporates materials that are good quality as well. If so then this car could be high on my list to replace my Frontier when the time comes.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Actually, the interior will most definately look even more superb when you see it in-person. I remeber when I first saw the interior of cee’d. I wasn’t really exciting about it, but when I sat in the car, it really turned out to be much more appealing than I thought.
Kia will most probably use the 6-speed manual on the 2,0L engine. 1,6L engines in cee’d/pro_cee’ds are mated to five speed manual, while 2,0L versions get six speed m.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
hyundai and kia both need to setup up their interior designs. the new honda fit looks better than this.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
The fit looks better than the Rio, but not this. The interior looks very clean and uncluttered. Solid lines and a great fit and finish like the borrego
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:45 am
colby, i agree. while the rio’s interior is somewhat lackluster, the fit’s dash is a bit cluttered and doesn’t have the aesthetic that this does. honda has been edging towards that for some time, and i think that’s most apparent in the new accord. overall design of the forte is also more pleasing, though i do wonder…. 2 door variant? what becomes of the spectra5? powertrain upgrades for the american sx trim? for as quickly as kia moves as a company, i’m very eager to see the trim packages and options for the us market.
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
There will be no more Spectra5. That is replaced with Soul.
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 am
That is replaced withs Soul….you should not forget the 2-door Forte Koup. This is the model that replaces the 5-door Spectra IMHO.
August 24th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Can’t wait for the 2-door Kia Forte Koup, man. Awesome car from Kia Motors.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I am very satisfied with the Forte’s design. As with Ceed, the design is better than the Hyundai’s (New Elantra, a.k.a. Avante).
Yes, the design is a compilation of elements seen in different manufacturer’s cars. The world is a Global village. so … We shouldn’t care about the different design elements being used by different car manufacturers.
What is more important is to find an visual identity and stick to it, propagate it on the entire car portfolio. BMW has done that with greatest success. Every model is a member of the family, but with different virtues. I think that KIA is on its way to do the same.
Still you couldn’t satisfy all tastes, and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
What would you say to Britain’s Daily Telegraph’s survey of Top 100 ugliest cars of all times?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/08/25/mfuglycars123.xml
As the list is still not completely published I have just seen a part. I’ve selected some well designed cars that still made it to the list of the ugliest. What is wrong with Brits if they don’t like the design of BMW 7, Z3, X6, 6?
98 - BMW 7-series (Chris Bangle’s design)
93 - VW Touareg
91 - Mercedes R-class
86 - BMW Z3 Coupé
84 - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
81 - Peugeot 308
68 - Lexus 430SC
65 - Renault Vel Satis
63 - BMW X6
58 - Honda Element
55 - Chrysler 300C
51 - Chevrolet HHR
48 - Smart fortwo
46 - BMW 6-series
41 - Cadillac Escalade
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:57 pm
how much does it cost?
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
11.9 million won (US$11,300) to 19.6 million won, depending on accessories and engine types.
September 14th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Sorry to rain on your parades, but I drove the Forte last week (in Korea) and… you get what you paid for. While the exterior styling looks good, the interior is another story. I’m not talking about styling here b/c that is a subjective matter…. rather I am talking about build quality and attention to detail. Both are poor. Corners have been cut everyone. The interior plastics are hard and shiney. Small items that add a high-quality touch to a car are missing, like painted door latches, housings to hide the seat mounting bolts, and housings around the fuel-filler and trunk release handles (they just stick out of the carpet with no shrouds at all).
In addition, the thing rides stiff…. really stiff and engine is loud, and neither the stiffness or loudness are in a nice performance way. Both are in a cheap way.
Believe me, I am no Korean car hater. I have lived in Korea for more than 10 years and have driven a Hyundai Elantra (called Avante here) since 2002. I bought it new and picked it up from the factory with just 9 kms on the clock.
Immediately after drive the Forte, I jumped in my Elantra and wondered why I ever thought about getting rid of it. The quality and design are top notch and light years ahead of the Forte and it rides better and is quieter than the Forte dispite the fact that its 6 years old and has 85,000 kms on the odometer.
I wish Kia would have spent a little more time on money on making the car higher quality, kept the price the same (the price is excellent i might add, but again you get what you pay for) and got rid of some of the unneccesary standard features like the ’start button’ etc.
September 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
di you drive a prototype or somethin?
September 14th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Huey did you drive this from the plant in Seoul or was this at a Kia retailer. How many miles were on it? Did you tell the Kia retailer about this problem, If so what did he say? What liter engine was this? Did you bump into others who test drove the Forte? If so what was their opinion? What trim level was it the LX or EX? You said the interior was shiney, what color was the interior? You said it had cheap plastics which told me you were driving the LX but you mentioned the push start button. Did the steering wheel have the hands free phone? Did it pick up its speed under 10 seconds? How long did you drive it? What do you mean the corners are cut off the volume in the car? Were you riding in it by yourself or were others in the car? if so, what did they think? What did the engine look like? If the Forte is nothing like the Elantra, I’m glad that means that they have totally two diffrent personalities. Yes!!!
September 14th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Huey, when November comes, test drive the Kia Soul and put your optinion of what you think.
I have more question of the Forte, What color was the Forte’s exterior? How was the brakes? Can you get other people who test drove the Forte and place their optinon on here? In Korea, you guys get everything first, but I don’t never get any feed back until it arrives in America. Did you feel bumps or was it smooth? What’s the mpg on the car (what did it say on the Forte’s window)?
September 14th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
wait they dont have MPG computer in their cars. its km/l. anyway, the soul is supposed to be launched by the end of this month. not november. or was that production start date? I have feelings that he drove the prototype. because i remember the spyshots showing shiney grey interior. The car on the site which had unproffessional images showed very good fit and finish. I really think you were driving a prototype. .
September 14th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
It must be a prototype, or he’s lying. If the Forte is heavy, the 1.6 might not be good enough for the car, and that pisses me off! KIA: THE WHOLE WORLD ISN’T EUROPE! SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO HAVE SURPLUS POWER! EVEN IF IT IS ONLY 15 HP!
September 14th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
1.6 L is enough. but U.S. is getting a 2.0L. isnt that enough. Kia is known for making fuel efficient cars. hmm. that explains the critics Mohave recieved on some website.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:38 am
even the mohave/Borrego get better MPG than MOST of the competition. its a body-on-frame truck so low 20’s is good IMO. the 1.6L engines making 120+ hp is good for a SMALL engine and its good they are offering the 1.6L as an option. the civic makes due with a 1.8L for years now and nobody complains. the higher perf. Si has a 2.0 and thats fine so the 2.0 in the Soul and Forte and just fine.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:14 am
Borrego/Mohave has got class leading MPG according to EPA and its mentioned on the Kia America site as well. best in class doesnt include crossovers. its best in BOF cllass.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:34 am
Kia Forte
Checkout the new ‘Forte’ sedan from Kia with it sleek and modern looks, this is sure to be a winner. See the pictures on Kia-World.net and see for yourself.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
WOW! I had no idea there would be so much interest in my Forte test drive. Here’s what I can tell you based on everyone’s questions…
K-Sport: I drove a production model NOT a prototype. As I said in my post, I live in Korea and it’s been on sale here for about three weeks already. The fit and finish were okay (not great, but not terrible), but it was 1) the quality of the plastics and 2) the lack of attention to detail that really turned me off. As an option here in Korea, they do offer what they call high-gloss trim… it looks kinda like Darth Vader’s helmet and is actually cool (although I fear it will scratch easily), but it’s the rest of plastics that are absolute junk! I’ve owned more than 20 cars of all makes and models in my life and even sold cars for a couple of years… I know junk and cut corners when I see them, and the Forte is full of them…
JTZ: I drove a model from a KIA dealer in Korea. There were less than 50 kms (about 30 miles) on it. Yes, I told the retailer that I didn’t like the suspension. He told me it was b/c of the front torsion bar and the mounting points for the suspension being different (he didn’t explain how) than other cars. I drove the 1,600 cc (1.6L) model which is all that is available in Korea at this time (there is rumored to be a 2.0L version soon, but not yet.) A co-worker of mine also drive that same car that day (after me). He had the same things to say. The trim level of the model I drove was “Si Prememium” and retailed for 17 million Korean won (about $17,000 USD). I honestly didn’t notice if it had the handfree phone or not. I drove it for about 20 minutes including time by myself and time with the salesman and time with my co-worker. As I said abover, my co-worker (who also drove the car) said the same thing. The engine looked like an engine… nothing special of note. The exterior color was a mid-grey. The brakes were fine, but nothing special of note (neither outstandlingly good nor outstandingly bad), You asked about the suspension… this was one of the reasons why I was looking for a new car… the bushings on my 2002 Elantra needed replacement (as did the timing belt) so instead of putting money into my old car, I thought about buying a new one… The Forte was WAAAAAAY worse in terms of ride quality than my 2002 Elantra (actually called Avante here) with 85,000 kms and worn front suspension bushings. I drove the automatic gasoline model, so it’s milage was rated at 14.1 kms/liter (the stick is 16.1km/l). The car is said to weigh 1,185 kgs here and has 124 hp.
As I said in my original post, I ain’t a KIA hater… I am just callin’ it like I see it… It’s a great looking car from the outside (but IMHO looks better in pictures than it does in person, in person it looks a little too short and a little too tall) and has so really cool features that are unavailable in that class of car, but I can live without those things and would rather have a higher quality car.
Having said that, it’s priced pretty good here (from about 11 million korean won to 19 million) and has been selling well… It’s said to have sold about 6,000 units in 20 days. That might not sound like much, but the Korean car market is not that big… for reference, in August, the best-selling car was (as usual) the Sonata and it sold 8,120 units (in July it sold 9,650 units). The #2 seller, which is a Samsung SM5 sold 5,360 units. So for the Forte to sell 6,000 units in only 20 days is pretty good.
If you want to know anything else, I can drive it again and keep a more detailed account.
Cheers
September 25th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Hey Huey! There’s a huge interest in Forte, because it’s a brand new Kia and there has not been any test drives in English language.
I’m really interested in your Forte test drive reports. Must say I’m a little surprised about your findings, especially with the interior materials, which are, according to your statement, not on the highest level.
I’d love to hear more about the Forte, so if you drive it again make sure you write a report and take some images. If you wish I can post your test drive observations at the front site at the blog. If you’re interested, please email me at: info@kia-world.net
Thanks for the updates.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
thanks them for desing kia forte very buaetiful
i am waiting arrival to markets syrian …. please sent to me email after permission to market middel east for consult