Forget the Japanese – Kia’s new
compact family saloon is set to take on the Germans
Peter Schreyer. The name is synonymous with
Kia’s undeniably meteoric rise up the global car sales charts. And with his
newest creation, the Kia Forte K3, he has another potential winner on his
hands.
The German, Kia’s design chief since 2006,
is single-handedly responsible for adding some much-needed verve to the Korean
automaker’s cars. He made Kias desirable, and not just because they are
attractively priced.
Kia
Forte K3
The Forte K3’s predecessor, the Cerato
Forte, was one of Schreyer’s first projects after he joined Kia in 2006. The
ex-Audi man was fully involved in this model, from the drawing board to final
production.
It landed here in March 2009 and was
discontinued last December, spawning a two-door coupe (the Koup) and a
five-door hatchback during its production run. The Cerato Forte contributed
significantly to Kia’s bumper year in 2009 – where the brand finished fourth on
the sales charts – and just before high COE premiums pushed the price floor so
high as to make budget cars unviable.
Why the Cerato Forte did well is no mystery
– it was light years ahead of its predecessor, the Cerato, in just about every
conceivable metric. For the first time in years, a Kia could be described as
handsome, boasting a quality interior, handling well and having a decent enough
drivetrain while remaining affordable.
In its second (post-Schreyer) iteration,
the Cerato Forte, renamed the Forte K3, is even better-looking than before. The
Schreyer design hallmark of the “Tiger Nose” grille, now finished in chrome,
has grown and dominates the car’s front end.
Turbo
not inside: We get a 1.6-litre with 130bhp, but can we have that turbocharger,
please?
It’s a similar size to the one used on its
bigger brother, the Optima, and entirely intentional, says Schreyer. “The front
of a car needs this recognition, this expression. A car needs a face, and I
think the new Kia face is strong and distinctive. It should immediately allow
you to identify a Kia even from a distance.”
If that oversized grille isn’t enough to
grab your attention, perhaps the xenon headlamps with LED daytime running lamps
will. Or, the handsome 17-inch alloys wheels and rakish wedge-shaped profile
might possibly win punters over. All told, the Forte K3 is a tough car to fault
on the design front, although we do think that the wraparound LED tail-lamps,
bright and stylishly designed as they are, seem a little too large and intrude
too much into the profile’s design.
Most important, though, is how the Forte K3
has improved in quality. Where its predecessor could look a little rough around
the edges, especially upon closer inspection, this one has almost Teutonic
levels of build quality. There’s a tautness to the shut lines and panel gaps
that rivals that of European offerings.
The Forte K3 improves on what is
already a winning formula
Indeed, even the little things like the
key, with its flush-fit buttons and shiny chrome finish, are akin to those made
for German models. While we’re on the subject of carmakers from Germany, the
Forte K3’s cabin is another indication that Kia is edging ever closer to these
powerhouses in terms of build quality, ergonomics and design. Almost everything
in the cabin looks and feels a couple of notches up from the Cerato Forte.
Call
this budget: Forte will land with plenty of kit, including a touchscreen
infotainment system
The well-planned dash is angled towards the
driver (like the one in the Optima K5), with all controls falling nicely to
hand. The Forte K3’s cabin is also populated with top-drawer items including a
colour multifunction display, touchscreen infotainment system, integrated
reverse camera, and ventilated and electrically adjustable front seats. Along
with all the above, our test car (the range-topping SX variant) also gets
air-conditioning vents for the rear bench and factory-tinted windows. It’s this
that will hit local showrooms in the third quarter of this year, although local
dealer Cycle & Carriage will omit the sunroof that came with our test car
(citing headroom compromises). Not too shabby for a car in the “budget” class,
we say.
The
Forte K3 seats
That will be powered by a 1.6-litre
4-cylinder petrol engine with 130bhp, the most powerful in its class for a
naturally aspirated unit, although the conspicuous absence of any turbocharged
powerplants has to be noted.
The lack of forced induction is evidenced
by its CO2 emission figure of 160g/km, which barely scrapes into the CEVS
rebate band. While this makes the car eligible for a $5,000 tax break, it’s
also notable that just 1g/km more and it will be in the CEVS’ neutral zone.
This is unusual for a mid-sized car these days, with its forced induction
European rivals easily coming under 140g/km ($10,000 CEVS rebate).
