Capsule Review: 2015 Kia Forte5 SX Turbo

Capsule Review: 2015 Kia Forte5 SX Turbo -

second generation Kia Forte, the successor to the Spectra and Sephia generated coupe and sedan derivatives like its predecessor. But in the second generation form, Kia has taken a step further by including the turbocharged 1.6L four-cylinder Hyundai Veloster Turbo the in the top-spec Forte5 hatchbacks and Koups two doors.

While the Forte EX sedan top with a 173 horsepower, naturally aspirated 2.0L four-cylinder - an upgrade of 28 horsepower 1.8L in the Forte Sedan LX - Forte5s Koups and come standard with the 2.0L and SX trim, are equipped with this -horsepower 201, 195 lb-ft 1.6L turbo. With the SX luxury and technology packages and an automatic 6-speed transmission, the price of the Forte5 SX in the US rose $ 21,715 to $ 26,915

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• Have Tested USD Price :. $ 26,915

• Power: 201 @ 00 rpm

• torque: 195 lb-ft at 1750 rpm

• observed fuel economy: 26.4 mpg

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You are responsible for rendering the final verdict stylistic, but the Forte5 SX collected more compliments over her stay with me as the Ford Mustang the week before and the week before the Audi TTS. I think it looks particularly nice on the back of three quarters, but if we are honest with ourselves, we will all readily acknowledge that its wheels that give the SX outside.

These 18-inch wheels, wearing 225 / 40R18 Bridgestone Blizzak winter, are some of the best OEM alloys currently available, and I'm not talking only affordable area.

The interior is certainly no place for the shock and fear, but it is built with intuitive controls and a great space for four occupants, five in a squeeze. From the standpoint of comfort, able Forte5 is a family car. Its dimensions are more like the average size of the Optima subcompact Rio5 of. There are more than 11% of passenger volume than in Rio, but only 4% less than in the Optima.

It feels much more spacious in the back of a Golf Mk7, a car, we will discuss later, and the numbers prove it. Overall human capacity is 5% better. The official figures of space for the legs, not the most reliable, only show a "differential 0.3 for the Kia, but the gap feels more apparent in the real world.

Of course, the real victories in all modern Kia cabin are won by the technology layout and amount of kit with which the car is equipped. There is no learning curve for the user interface. More importantly, there is a nice mix of traditional buttons and buttons and functions of the touch screen. More importantly, the level of luxury is truly luxurious. This is not one of those cases where we speak of the content of premium car brand it was five or ten years. No, the Forte5 is equipped as a luxury car today entry. Heated steering wheel adjustment remembers his previous player. The seat of power driver has three stages of heating and cooling (the front passenger seat and outer rear seats are heated but not cooled) and provides adjustable lumbar support. There is also a memory function for two adjustment for the driver's seat. The kit list is long, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and auto-folding close access mirrors, Xenon headlights, dual automatic climate control zone, leather seats, navigation and a sunroof.

But to be honest, a heavily equipped Kia is nothing new. With 2015 Forte5 SX, however, Kia tries to play fun card as often as the card value they have long since mastered.

In many ways, Forte succeeds. The car is more responsive than conventional through Fortes added firmness in the suspension, but Kia struck a good balance: it does not rise too steep for a daily commuter. Brake feel and performance (the fronts are ventilated 11.8-inch, against 11 in the non-SX Forte5s) is better than I have come to expect from Kia. And 3122 pounds, it is not so heavy that fails an agility test, although a Civic Si sedan with 150 fewer books feel much more tossable. A Mazda 3 hatch with 2.5L powertrain weighs slightly less than the Kia but both up more smoothly and responds to directional changes more skillfully. The Forte5 SX handles very well, but not memorable.

online performance right lack the punch always on 2.0L turbo GTI and 258 lb-ft of torque. How automatic 6 speed masks need the 1.6L, I can not be sure. Car & Driver tests revealed the car with automatic be much faster than manual 0-60 car trans - 6.4 seconds instead of 7.5 - but it certainly is not VW DSG Quick shift. Smoothing in everyday driving? Yes. 6 Kia speeds does not just himself known, and it is both better and worse as a result. The powertrain perspective, the final conclusion says I must not expect to turn the Forte5 as much to access its power hot hatch-proof, and it is not the sweetest-sounding thing when revved to the limit. It is powerful, but you will not go to bed with emotion recalling its surge line.

If I was only highlighted a Forte5 SX fault, however, it would not be the real compromise (which I mostly love) or lack of outright power focus ST (I must not break out beyond the speed limit in a snap), but the strange configuration management manipulation world. Kia provides drivers with its FlexSteer system, but after scrolling three modes I left in search of a nonexistent fourth mode with a progressive weighting and just an ounce or two comments. Comfort mode would be in a minivan, but it is much too light for this car. Sport mode is simply bizarre, with a sticker on the center and very few return to center after turning. Normal is the preferred method, but with such numbness, much of the lightness of comfort, and some weird sport behavior, management becomes key deficit of the car. These are not unique to the SX; I complained about the same after driving other Fortes. But it is exacerbated in a car that is designed to provide a strong dose of pleasure.

And it is fun, though less dynamic in the Volkswagen Golf GTI. Given the extent to which the two cars are similar, I'm not sure that matters. Forte5s with the 1.6L turbo start below $ 22,000, almost $ 4,500 less than the point of the GTI four-door entrance. And if you equip a GTI Strong like this, you can not, the price points would be on different planets. The Forte5 SX is not perfect. But as a family car fast, elegant and mildly amusing, it represents tremendous value.

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net , which obsessed the free and frequent publication of US and Canadian sales figures of automobiles.