Plenty of major league auto journalists are expressing feelings close to love for the 2010 Kia Forte EX.
The car offers plenty of power, smooth handling and solid braking and should receive a five-star safety rating because of its anti-lock brakes, six standard air bags, and electronic stability and traction control.
After spending a week driving the car, I can see there’s a lot to like.
But love? Not so much.
In fairness, the stylish, aggressively designed Kia Forte EX is priced at just $15,795. The lower-end model is priced at just under $13,695.
Still, Kia has spoiled us with a lot of luxurious extras in some of their competitively priced models — such as the Kia Soul, which has all kinds of cool technology and interior design extras with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of just about $13,000.
The Forte just doesn’t offer all of those cool extras; it’s a basic, front-wheel-drive car.
Again, that’s not to say there aren’t any positives. The Forte is fine-tuned enough to give it a smooth ride while blocking out exterior noise and minimal vibration.
It’s also got plenty of space — 98.6 cubic feet of volume including 40 inches of headroom and 43.3 inches of legroom in the front seats, and 37.8 inches of headroom and 35 inches of legroom in the rear. The trunk is also huge — 14.7 cubic feet.
The Forte is adequately appointed with a six-way adjustable driver’s seat, tilt steering column, and dual 12-volt power outlets.
But the little things — a too-small center storage area and not enough room on the dash to hold a portable GPS — detract from the overall interior comfort.
I drove an EX, which has extras including power windows, remote keyless entry, and steering wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls. Those are nice extras to have in a lower-priced car.
Drivers can also select from a host of options including two transmissions: a standard five-speed manual or an optional electronically controlled four-speed automatic. The higher-end SX even features a standard six-speed manual transmission and an optional five-speed automatic.
Again, there’s no real downside to the Kia Forte EX. Unfortunately, the automaker has spoiled us enough to expect more upsides from its cars.
