2014 Kia Forte Quick Spin

By now, this is a well known fact; Kia’s real forte is overachievement. Giving you more than what you bargain for is the Korean automaker’s stock in trade and it’s latest offering, the 2014 Kia Forte bears this out completely. How would a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats, navigation, a rearview camera, power front seats, and Bluetooth streaming audio and handsfree telephone sound?

Pretty good right?

OK, so let’s fold in turn signal repeaters and puddle lights in the folding outside rearview mirror housings, xenon headlights, keyless entry and ignition, and leather upholstery.

Now it sounds really expensive too — yes?

2014 Kia Forte Quick Spin

Well, all of this can be had for just over $25,00 in the 2014 Kia Forte, along with a five-year/60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, and 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain coverage with roadside assistance. Pricing starts at $16,700 (including $800 in destination charges), a fully loaded Forte can be had for $25,400.

And, no, you don’t have to sacrifice eye-popping style to get it.

The 2014 Kia Forte is easily one of the best-looking cars in its segment.

Further, that good looking exterior foreshadows a pleasant interior treatment too. Soft touch plastics are used in all the right places. The overall design is comprised of an amalgam of flowing organic shapes that are decidedly soothing to the eye. Layout of the secondary controls is highly intuitive as well.

2014 Kia Forte Quick Spin

Two engines are offered; a 148-horsepower/131 ft-lb, 1.8-liter four is the base powerplant, while a 173-horsepower/154 ft-lb, 2.0-liter is the “big” thruster. Transmission offerings are a six-speed automatic and a six-speed manual. The manual can only be had with the 1.8, though the automatic can be fitted to either engine.

Fuel economy is rated at 25-city and 37-highway for the 1.8 with the six-speed manual, and 25-city/36-highway with the six-speed automatic. Get the 2.0-liter and you can anticipate 24-city and 36-highway.

We spent a few hours behind the wheel of a 2.0-liter Forte and from that experience we can tell you the 2014 Kia is considerably quieter than the model it replaces. However, we still wouldn’t exactly characterize the car as quiet. Tire roar is pretty evident, particularly over coarse pavement—but there has been marked improvement in that regard.

Our 2.0-liter equipped EX model pulled willingly enough and its power was adequate in nearly every circumstance. The Forte’s automatic shifted smoothly and responded to kick down requests in earnest. In the manual mode it did what was asked of it in a perfect utilitarian manner. Steering and braking were about average for the class, and the Forte felt good in the corners, if not exactly sharp.

2014 Kia Forte Quick Spin

Pushed hard, the engine winds pretty freely, but does exhibit a bit of coarseness up high in the rev range. The Kia’s 2.0-liter four is happiest running in the middle of its power band; it won’t encourage you to wind it for all it’s got. This isn’t what the Forte is all about.

Now before you go away thinking the 2014 Forte is a coarse, slow, uninspiring slog, that’s not what we’re saying here at all. Our 2.0-liter test car ran to 60 in just over seven seconds. What we’re saying is if highly visceral performance is your primary criteria in a car of this nature, you’ll probably be happier in a something like a Honda Civic Si.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for comfortable and competent transportation with a host of features, a strong warranty, and refreshing good looks—at a terrific price—the 2014 Kia Forte is definitely worth investigating.

For now, Forte Koup and 5-Door remain unchanged.