Kia Forte vs Civic, Mazda 3, Corrola, etc....

[BlueTriangle]

I am doing some work with Kia, and wanted to see what everyone thinks of the Forte vs other compact sedans in the class and if you would consider one. Here is a pic and review from Motortrend:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_0909_2010_kia_forte_review/index.html


http://image.motortrend.com/f/16867054+w750/112_0902_05z+2010_kia_forte+front_three_quarter_motion.jpg

[attgig]

the 2 door looks a lot better. I generally don't like buying a new model, and would rather wait a year or two for them to work out any kinks.

that said, it would definitely be on my list to test drive if i were in the market for a small car.

they're pricing it right, and it looks better than the mazda3, corolla, & focus.
the rest would definitely depend on the ride & the negotiated price.

[Cheesypuff]

the front part looks like a civic. and it looks pretty sleek

overall, do korean cars still have the stigma of being a 'crappy' car. At least compared to Japanese cars?

i personally haven't done any research (aside from when i bought my 04 civic) But back then, I held japanese cars at the best quality, then korean, than american. has that stigma changed?

[mechmike0034]

The Forte is on a modified Hyundai Sonata platform, correct?

Hyundai and Kia both have been turning out some pretty impressive vehicles of late.

I have family employed at a local Kia store, though I have not driven anything there.

[ray]

I had a Hyundai Sonata as a rental vehicle and thought it was a pretty good ride. Steering wasn't as smooth as my Camry, but otherwise things worked great.

Never drove a Kia.

In all honesty though, if i had to rank them, i would say:

1) Toyota
2) Honda
3) Mazda
4) Hyundai
5) Kia

[LPMiller]

frankly, this class is too small for me. Having said that, and with the caveat that I've owned a Kia in the past, I'd have to say the ride would have to be really impressive for me to put it over a mazda 3, which are a blast to drive. It does look good, though kind of tame. Styling is a little generic for my tastes.

Of course, I find Honda's and Toyotas really really boring to look at, no matter how good the drive is, and I've come to hate owning the car you see 20,000 copies of on the way to work, so that would speak in Kia's favor. I'd have to drive one.

[attgig]

If you put much stock in jdpower's rankings in terms of quality:
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/quality-ratings-by-brand/sortcolumn-1/ascending/page-#page-anchor

when you go by overall quality (initial quality)
5star:
Lexus
Porsche
Cadillac
4star:
Hyundai
Honda

kia is at a 3 star, but they (hyundai/kia) are the same company, so I would expect kia to come up soon to hyundai's...especially when they eliminate the spectra.


all the crazy warranty stuff seems to have taken effect over the past 10 years or so, slowly raising their quality with each iteration of each vehicle.

[attgig]

The Forte is on a modified Hyundai Sonata platform, correct?


i believe it's all new. 100% new, doesn't share anything with anyone, but I'd have to double check.

this was the project of the audi designer that they hired.

[BlueTriangle]

The Forte is on a modified Hyundai Sonata platform, correct?

Hyundai and Kia both have been turning out some pretty impressive vehicles of late.

I have family employed at a local Kia store, though I have not driven anything there.

The Forte is actually built on a modified (wider, longer) Elantra platform rather than the Sonata.

[Jihforce]

That does look like a Civic! LOL. I've seen the pics for the Forte and it looks impressive, but I definitely would wait for them to work out their issues. That said, I'm not in the market for small cars, but if I were, I'd go with the Civic, Mazda3, Forte then Corolla. I just don't like the Corolla, the styling is way too conservative for my tastes.

[Showtime]

That jd report is for initial quality?

Because in no way do any of the korean or american cars hold up as well as hondas or toyotas. Korean cars are much much better now. But after a few years use, the japanese cars don't have as many creaks, loose panels, and other minor things go wrong. Driven the same, the japanese motors and drive train hold up better too. I'd love to see them catch up soon though. It would be nice to be able to recommend other brands.