Thursday, July 16, 2009

Total transformation: the 2010 Kia Forte

When automakers get ready to bring out a new car, they'll frequently get all the competing models from other brands together and bring in some more-or-less randomly selected members of the public to compare them. They don't tell the people who's paying for the exercise, and they don't show the brand names on the cars - at least not at first.

They have the subjects look over each of the cars, its price, and its specifications. Then they ask the subjects to rank the cars in order of preference - which would you most like to have in your driveway? It's a blind test, so the automaker gets a good sense of whether their car is desirable compared to the competition.

Then they unveil the brand badges on the cars and ask the subjects to rank them again. That tells the automaker how their brand reputation affects people's perception of their product.

Well, Kia just released their new compact sedan, and they went through this exercise. When the cars were anonymous, the new Kia Forte scored highest compared to the Honda Civic, Mazda3, Toyota Corolla, and a few others. But when they revealed the brand name, something totally new happened - people still liked the Kia best.

That's huge for any automaker struggling to overcome its roots as a bargain-basement brand, and Kia has certainly done the necessary work over the past few years to take honest pride in the achievement.

This is the process that Japanese manufacturers went through starting in the 1980s. They entered the U.S. market in the late 60s and 70s as bargain brands - no frills, no luxury, just an inexpensive grocery-getter. But every automaker moves upscale over time, and the Japanese brands had to work to overcome their initial image. As the Korean brands entered the market in the 80s, they came in as bargain brands just like their Japanese predecessors, and now face the same challenge to reposition themselves as something more than that.

So, enter the Kia Forte. This new compact sedan from Kia is the designated replacement for the outgoing Spectra model. I attended the press preview for the Forte this week in Seattle, and I have to say I'm impressed. This is the third Kia in the past year to make the kind of splash that says "throw away your old prejudices about Kia. This is a whole new thing."

First, last fall Kia brought out their mid-size Borrego SUV. Apart from unfortunate economic timing which is not their fault, I believe Kia did a great job with this SUV. Then the new funky-cool Soul came out a couple months ago, and it's doing the job for Kia with the young urban hipster market. Now comes the bread-and-butter car for any import brand - the compact sedan. This is where they take their swing at the Japanese giants and compete head to head against the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Mazda3. And after a full day and a couple hundred miles in the Forte, I'm confident in suggesting that if you're planning on a new small car this year, you simply must test-drive the Kia.

I'll lead with my own bias - the Kia gets great fuel economy. 27/36 in the 2.0-liter and 5-speed automatic "fuel economy" model. You get a little less than that, but still great mileage (22/32) in the hot rod version with the 2.4-liter engine and 6-speed manual. Most of the Forte options split the difference at 25/34.

You get that great fuel economy from your choice of a 2.0-liter DOHC engine making 156 horsepower and 144 pound-feet of torque, or a 2.4-liter DOHC that makes 173 horsepower and 168 pound-feet of torque. To tell the truth, you won't regret buying the car with the smaller engine - it goes just fine.

You also get your choice of 5 or 6-speed manual gearboxes, or a 5-speed automatic transmission. Drop those into your choice of three trim levels, and you've got a nice product range.

Inside, the Forte is every bit as nice as the segment-leading cars. It drives and feels solid, and has the handling we've all come to expect from these sporty economical compact cars. Both the 2.0 and 2.4-liter versions pack plenty of punch.

But Kia still has a hill to climb if they want to take on Honda and Toyota, and so they've tossed a few magic arrows into their quiver. The Kia Forte has a 10 year, 100,000-mile warranty, and an attractive price point. The Forte LX starts at $13,695, the EX rolls in at $15,795, and even the luxury hot-rod edition SX comes in at $17,195.

For that money, Kia gives you all the safety gear modern cars can hold. One thing that blows my mind is when an automaker pitches a low price, then charges you extra for such basics as anti-lock brakes. But Kia gives you ABS, electronic brake force distribution, electronic stability control, traction control, and a tire pressure monitoring system all included in the base price. Good work!

On top of the nice drivetrain and suspension and the safety gear, you can get all the stuff you want in a modern car - hands-free phone support, nice stereo, air conditioning, MP3 and iPod support, cruise control - all of it is available in one package or another.

Kia's people are excited about the Forte, and it shows. "Total product transformation" and "built for the passionate pragmatist" are the terms they're using. The bottom line on the new Forte is just this: If you think you're the kind of person who wouldn't consider a Kia, it's time to think again and take a fresh look.

Jeffrey Zurschmeide
examiner.com

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