Kia has officially entered the traditional hot hatch market today at the Chicago Auto Show with the 2014 Kia Forte 5-door. Based on, you guessed it, the redesigned Kia Forte sedan, the four-door-plus-hatch seems to have Volkswagen’s Golf in its sights with an optional 1.6L direct-injection turbocharged engine good for 201 horsepower. Kia has yet to release full details but with 201 ponies and a curb weight likely to be under 3,000lbs, it should give VW a run for their Euros.
Kia seems to have heard the complaints of hard interior plastics and the model on the show floor is a definite improvement over the first Forte. Kia is also throwing in their revised UVO infotainment systems that seem to look Ford SYNC without the glitches. It may be hard to notice in the pictures, but Kia decided to give the 5-door a more aggressive bumper cover, smaller grille and large lower air intake for a sportier look than the sedan.
Ok, Hyundai, where’s my Elantra GT 1.6T?
What everyone wants to know -> Is there a stick option?
6 speed manual or automatic on the Turbo SX.
That grille opening looks tiny compared to the normal Kia grille.
Yeah, funny that. You’d figure you’d see that on a cr set up for Euro front plates, but we get a different car from the C’eed Pro_C’eed siblings in Europe.
Kia has used the small “tigernose” grill on models like the Rio and Soul.
The front end is better than the one for the new Forte sedan, but don’t quite like the shape of the oversized lower air intake.
The design of the dash in the new Forte reeks of the 1980s; the cee’d/pro-cee’d has a much better dash design (and also look better on the outside to boot).
The forward slant of the back end subtracts a sizable fraction of its hatchback utility.
Ditto for nearly every “hatchback” today… that dysfunctional slant and/or dropping the rear roolfline to where it’s nearly indistinguishable from the sedan version.
I hate CAFE worse than stink.
I assume you refer to aerodynamic requirements to get better gas mileage because that is complete rubbish. The aerodynamic savings on a car this size, doing public road speeds is negligible and not worth the debate. The VW Golf has a much more traditional shape and manages MPG just fine.
The modern hatchback look is pure style and comes out of Europe anyway where they do not have CAFE so blame it on European emissions regulation, if you must.
Ya, what’s with these hacked off hatches? I like hatchbacks (and wagons), but the car’s got to have the proper proportions. Others guilty of this are the Mitsubishi abortions (can I say that?) the RVR and to a degree the Lancer Sportback. It smacks of budget contraints. The Rio 5 door has got the right proportions and looks great!
It’s hard not to like a 200 HP hot hatch but if Kia wants to appeal to enthusiasts then they’d better also have worked on the driving dynamics which up to now have been sub par.
It seems like Hyundai/Kia is great at nailing the on-paper aspects, doesn’t it? Power, acceleration, features, price are all competitive, but then reviews always note the steering, suspension, and refinement need work.
Head to head, Kia’s Euro lineup has gotten better reviews than Toyota’s Euro lineup and the older Optima has been rated better than the new Camry, Altima and Malibu in comparison tests.
Based on early reviews of the new Forte, Kia seems to have gotten everything right but the steering (using Hyundai’s Flex steering mechanism, a bit overboosted).
Yep, yep, yep. Recently I drove an i30 and then a Focus back to back. Incredible how being the flavor of the month helps sell cars. Just no comparison. (Of course the Ford is the -much- better drive)
The driving dynamics of the Optima SX is better than anything within its segment other than the Mazda6 or Fusion and cee’d, while not quite Golf level, is better than what Toyota (Auris) or Honda (Euro Civic) have to offer.
glad to hear there a stick option. Is this the engine out of the turbo veloster? any idea what the EPA ratings are gonna be?
By the numbers it might line up with Golf (or GTI) but the styling role model was clearly BMW 1-series. Too bad.
The rear is actually an update of the old car, it’s very clear to see that. Which in fact was designed after the Audi A3, thank you Peter S.
I don’t see 1 series in it at all. front or rear.
Are you familiar with the 5-door 1-series (I don’t think it’s sold in the US)? The greenhouses look interchangeable, see here: http://www.gmotors.co.uk/news/2014-bmw-1-series-f20-facelift-spied-for-the-first-time/2013-bmw-1-series-5-door-facelift-rear/
My daily driver is a sportback A3, but despite Schreyer’s presence, I don’t see any Audi resemblance in the Forte 5-door (unlike many of the other models he’s done for Kia).
Compare the 2011 Forte 5 door to the 2011 A3, the rear looks very similar.
And again the Forte does not look like the 1 series.
I agree with you Zeke. Copy of a bad-looking car. Not that hot in my eyes.
I see it in the side crease. It has that unflattering orphaned-crease/pork belly effect going on, like the 1-series has. Hyundai is very good at incorporating the door creases into the overall lines of the front and rear. In this case, there’s no crease-integration whatsoever. I don’t even understand the point of it. I guess they wanted to break-up the monotony of the smooth sides, but they did it in a very haphazard way.
Wait, I was about to get a Mazda3 Hatch. Is this worth waiting for?
I think I would, yeah. I’m kind of in the same boat, but was waiting for the NEXT Mazda3. I have the true luxury of waiting…
However, I still would. 201hp + 38mpg (stick)… (based on the Veloster’s numbers)
I have been thinking about waiting for the next Mazda3 too, but I sold my car, and don’t know when the new 3 will come out. I am taking the bus to work, which is not bad at all. But being car-less in the midwest is not really ideal.
Any idea when the next 3 debuts?
There are trademark pictures already leaked of the next 3:
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/new-mazda3-sketches-leaked-via-european-trademark-office-52277.html
Since they’ve already applied for a trademark, I don’t think its release is too far away. If I had to guess, it would be debuted at auto shows at the end of 2013 and released 1Q 2014 as a 2015 MY (like they’ve done with the CX-5 & 6).
The renderings of the upcoming Mazda3 5 door (wagon) look fantastic. I thought i’d read about a Fall intro. I’m waiting myself.
So if it’s like the Veloster…
0-60 ~ 6.5s
27/38 mpg (w/the stick, 25/34 w/o)
(Sidebar: Not sure I’ve ever seen an automatic such a big hit on MPG vs the manual)
low-ish 15s in the 1/4mi
and 201 hp on 83 grade gas
That’s not too bad.
I doubt it’ll be as fast or handle as well as a Civic Si or a GTI, but then, I don’t think it quite has to, if it’s priced at $2-5k less it won’t really have to. Talk about getting the numbers game right…
The styling looks great. The styling on just about every late-model Hyundai and Kia vehicle looks great. It’s the experience that they need to work on. If this has its sights set on the Golf and GTI, I hope it doesn’t underdeliver in the performance arena, a la Veloster…
My favorite small car is the Golf. This is the first Kia I would consider buying.
Keep in mind, this is not conventional HP, but Hyundai/Kia’s own brand specific HP, which amounts to about .8-.9 conventional HP. Conversion is the opposite for the “gallons” they use in their fuel economy calculations.
And yet, H/K has faster times and better fuel economy than Ford’s ecoboost engines.
Btw, 0-60 times has more to do with H/K’s still balky MTs – Car & Driver got a significantly faster time in the Veloster Turbo with the AT than with the MT.