Reader Review of the Week: 2010 Kia Forte
“Liz” from Cincinnati recently bought a brand-new 2010 Kia Forte after looking at eight vehicles with sticker prices under $25,000. Is she confident that the Forte was the best choice? Despite some minor complaints and nitpicks, the Forte seems to be working for her, but sometimes minor complaints can add up. Read Liz’s full review to find out the complete story and then post your own review here.
“Overall, I like the Forte. I've had it for about two months now, with just a few complaints. The exterior styling is great. The interior (I have the stone leather) I really like, too. It looks good, is easy to clean (I have two dogs) and matches the interior well.
“My biggest complaints are all fairly minor. Road noise seems loud when driving. The doors (at least the driver's door) do not stay open unless pushed all the way out (there's no place for it to stay locked unless completely open). The iPod cable renders the iPod completely useless as you must control it entirely through the display in the car, which, if you're looking for a particular song, is much easier to do with the click wheel than going through the categories of playlists and finding the correct playlist and then the song. I also haven't found a way to pause a song.
“Also, with the display, I love that it shows the artist and song title (when listening to Sirius), but if either is longer than the display, it would be nice if it would scroll to either direction to be able to read the artist's name or song title in its entirety.
“ I seem to have a hard time getting the headrests in the back seat to stay all the way down. Last thing, there's no automatic setting to make sure that when you are driving and have the fan set on "0" to have NO air coming out of the vents; you have to push the button to control that, but when you turn the car off and back on again another time, the button is no longer activated.
“On the positive side, I love the center console with two sections and use it all the time. I also appreciate the extra cupholders on the two front doors, and the display is great for Sirius and the iPod. It's a great looking car, I really do love the interior, and it's a steal at the price. I test-drove eight other cars, all $25k or under, and went with this one. I have my complaints but I would definitely recommend it.”
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I bought a Forte in October 2009 and I'm of similar mind - overall I really like the car, but I have a few issues. Mine I would say are more fit and finish issues. I get a lot of "creaking" sound on uneven pavement I believe coming from the insulating door rubber, most noticeably from the driver's door, which seems slightly misshaped at the top of the window frame. I get a popping sound from the seat back of my driver's seat. And I have an early production model, so I have a different dash material and the doors in my EX are all hard plastic, no cloth insert and no soft-touch on the arm rests. The door panels are also prone to damage easily from light every day use. Yes, the car takes over control of an iPod by using the Kia cable, as it is meant to work. I leave my iPod on random, and enjoy not having to pick it up to use it. When using the iPod, song titles scroll to show the entire name, but not the artist - this is not a concern to me.
All iPod interfaces deactivate the ability to use the actual unit- it's not just a Kia thing.
Road noise? I don't know how it compares to its competition but this is a compact car afterall, so a litte road noise is to be expected in this class.
Kia, are you listening? LOL. Can anyone at cars.com confirm that all 2011 Fortes get a 6AT or 6MT or is it only the new 5-door that picks up new 6-speeds?
Brian,
if the door seal is source of the noise, you can spray it with silicone spray.
CAR SUCKS! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. VERY CHEAP. I'M VERY UPSET AND DEPRESSED I GOT THIS CAR. I FEEL UNSAFE. IT'S NOOISY. I REGRET GETTING THIS. PLEASE READ, DON'T WASTE UR TIME. NOT A GOOD CAR. EXTREMELY CHEAP AND TOO MANY PROBLEMS AFTER THE 1ST WEEK. TAKE IT FROM ME. I REGRET EVERYDAY I HAVE THIS CAR. I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE IT, UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE TO.
I have had a 2010 Forte 4d for about 2 months and I am enjoying the car. My complaints are very minor - the seats are a bit hard for extended driving, the interface for usb music (iPod, thumbdrive) is a bit obtuse and the car did not come with an automatic carwash - bugs bugs bugs!
In terms of driving, the car is peppy, quick, brakes well and gets very good gas milage. I have not experienced any fit and finish issues and the thing that struck me the most is that, for a small car, it's as quiet as it is.
Great car!!