The premise of our test is to see how the Forte5 SX compares to a VW GTI, Ford Focus ST and others. But it has to be pointed out it starts out at a much lower price point of $21,715. This is some $2,000 less than the Focus ST and $3,000 less than the GTI.
Our tester however is fully loaded with both the Tech and Premium packages, a few options and an automatic transmission which brings it to $27,000 and some change. All of this gives the exterior of the Forte5 HID headlights and a sunroof.
The SX trim of course brings larger 18” wheels, fog lights, dual exhaust tips and LED combination rear tail lamps. Trims like door handles and mirrors also get a unique black pearl color.
An interesting element here is the carbon fiber pattern black plastic trim found on the front and rear fascias. This theme continues to the interior, with the same trims found on the dash and center stack.
With the packages on our tester, it has both heating and ventilation for the driver seat, but only heating for the passenger. It was a strange omission I think, but the rear seats do have heat which is conversely an uncommon addition.
The good news is that seating up front is very supportive and comfortable, with adjustment easily made. Rear seat passengers will find the space compact, but that is the class we are in.
Controls are well laid out for the most part though I find the overall interior design to not be quite as well defined as the exterior. It just has a lot of uninspired shapes and forms that don’t really seem to gel together as well as in competitors cabins.
The optioned UVO infotainment system offered adequate sound quality but not as good as you would hope for the top-end system. While the menus and on-the-road operations of the touchscreen are generally good, the interface has one flaw in my opinion that almost washes all the good away.
Every single time you get in the car and start it, the system forces you to press a button agreeing to a legal disclaimer before it will provide you any menus, navigation or radio display screens. And unlike other brands, it won’t just go away after a period of time.
Instead it will stay there and deny you access to your infotainment screen menus until you relent. It’s frankly annoying to the point that after a while I just ignored it and let the screen stay up, using the steering-wheel mounted controls to change radio stations and adjust volume.
On the road, the Kia Forte5 has a decidedly sportier handling feel than base models with a performance suspension and the sharper athletics of its 18” wheels and lower profile tires.
It has MacPherson struts up front, but unlike competitors has a twist-beam rear axle instead of a modern multi-link independent suspension.
Steering on the Forte5 has an adjustable effort level which provides three different driving modes of Comfort, Normal and Sport. They differ the level of required steering effort so you can set your preference which is a good thing.
Unfortunately, the steering in general has a strange on-center feel that is artificially sticky. The effort to create a stiff on-center feel makes the steering twitchy on the highway when going straight and trying to maintain a path. You constantly have to fight the stickiness of it in minor corrections.
Under the hood is a direct-injected and turbocharged 1.6 liter four-cylinder engine which cranks out 201 horsepower and 195 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s available with both a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic which our tester has.
Power is more than adequate to provide a fun to drive character to the car. The engine is refined enough and has a decent sound. It does however fall behind major competitors like the VW GTI and Focus ST which both have significantly more power.
While fuel-economy isn’t always the top concern for performance buyers, the EPA rates the KIA Forte5 SX at 21 mpg city, 29 mpg highway and 24 mpg combined. In our testing we observed 28 mpg combined which is a good deal more than promised.
As to safety according to the IIHS, the 2015 Kia Forte sedan achieves a Good rating on all their tests except the new small-overlap test where it gets a Marginal rating. The Forte5 while different at the rear than the sedan likely offers similar results.
In the end the issues with the steering and the overly parental infotainment system mar what is otherwise a pleasant car to live with. These two things along with a cheapish interior and lack of competitive chassis precision make it an also ran.
This week it achieves three of five stars in our testing.
