2011 Kia Forte5: A sedan with a bigger trunk
Not so long ago, Kia replaced the Spectra with a pretty sedan, the Forte. Since then and only since then have the words "pretty" and "Kia" been allowed in the same sentence. Next, the Korean brand launched the aptly named Forte Koup, a coupe derived from the sedan. And following the same logic, Kia is now presenting the hatchback version of the Forte, the Forte5. As you may have already guessed, the "5" stands for the fact that the compact vehicle has four doors plus a hatch. This naming string is nothing new for Kia as they previously had the Spectra5 (may it rest in peace).
Are you willing to bet $5 that the new Forte5 is basically a Forte sedan with a different trunk? You’re right, it is. That said, there are a few less noticeable changes too. The car is the same from the front to the rear doors, but the windows of these doors have been modified to suit the different roofline. Other than that, it’s practically identical. Inside, too, you really have to look hard to find any real differences. Obviously, changes have been made to the back section of the vehicle. I did not find the rear seats any more comfortable than in the sedan, but the head clearance is better (+20 mm). In fact, for a car in this category, the Forte5 offers quite a bit of room for rear passengers. Its main competitors are the Mazda3 Sport, Toyota Matrix and Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback (though Kia management refuses to acknowledge the latter).
Baby’s got back
Logically, this car’s interesting features are in the back. The hatch is easy to lift and is tall enough that you won’t bang your head on it. The loading height is appropriate, and the floor, while lower than the trunk opening, is not too low – on the higher-end EX and SX models, at least. In fact, these versions feature a handy in-floor storage compartment (just above the spare tire). The base version, the LX, doesn’t have it, but it does offer a little more trunk space since its floor is lower. That adds 112 litres (550 instead of 438).
Unfortunately, during its presentation to the Canadian media, Kia was not able to provide figures for the cargo capacity with the seat backs down. Speaking of the back seat, it’s 60/40 and fold down flat in the EX and SX (but not even close in the LX). To fold down the seat backs, you have to lift the seat, slide it forward using a mechanism that seemed less than solid, remove the headrest and, at long last, lower the seat backs. To return them to their original position, you go through the same process in reverse order, making sure the seat belt buckles are out of the way. In other words, unless you’ve been graced with unlimited patience, try not to fold down the seats too often. The consolation is that the cargo cover is easy to use. Three-quarter visibility isn’t great due to the way the C and D pillars are designed.
Under the hood, you get the same as in the sedan: two four-cylinder engines. The first, a 2.0-litre that delivers 156 hp and 144 lbs-ft of torque, equips the LX and EX. This engine will more than satisfy most drivers, despite its aversion to sudden accelerations. And since this vehicle’s soundproofing leaves something to be desired, you quickly learn where the sound system’s volume control is. I can only imagine how much this car would struggle if it had to go uphill with four or five adults aboard. For the automatic, Kia posts a fuel economy of 8.0 L/100 km in the city and 5.5 L for highway driving. Those are some excellent numbers... in theory. But they remain to be proven in a more involved test drive. The other engine is a 2.4-litre that produces 173 hp and 168 lbs-ft of torque. It’s only available on the SX version, which costs more. That said, it quickly became clear to us that this was the better option for the Forte5, thanks to its linear accelerations and better pick-up. Naturally, it consumes more gas (9.0 L in the city and 6.2 on the highway) but the difference is not enough to put a damper on the pleasure you get from it. During the press conference before the test drive, Kia management neither confirmed nor denied that a more powerful version could appear. And, according to my little finger (which I call Jaguar because it is questionable reliability), it might even give the MazdaSpeed3 a run for its money.
Six gears all over
Kia pleasantly surprised us with its transmissions. Goodbye four- and five-gear transmissions. From now on, all Fortes come with six-speed gearboxes. Sadly, we didn’t get the chance to try out a manual Forte5 as Kia didn’t get them in on time for the launch. But we loved the automatic. At 100 km/hr, it had the engine running at only 1,800 rpm, which reduced noise and fuel consumption! This transmission also comes with a manual mode on all versions. We especially appreciated this mode on the SX because of the shifters behind the steering wheel. On the other versions you have to use the stick shift, and in at least one of the models we tried, the stick proved a little stubborn on downshifts. Most people will simply stick to automatic mode, for which we have nothing but good things to say.
On the road
Following market trends, Kia offers its Forte5 at a very appealing base price of $16,995. However, for that price you can forget 16-inch wheels, heated seats, telescopic steering, stability control and, especially, air conditioning. Deck this car out and it’s easy to hit prices above the $25,000 mark. In my opinion, the best Forte5 is about half way between these two extremes. Kia thinks the most popular model will be the EX Plus with an automatic transmission at $20,395. If this pretty Korean interests you, it should already be available at dealerships. And if it’s not, you can expect it there within the next few days!
