2016 Kia Forte Review

Whether you want a sleek and practical 4-door sedan, a sportier 2-door Koup or a 5-door hatchback the 2016 Kia Forte lineup has you covered. Featuring lots of equipment even on the base model and plenty available options and with a starting MSRP of $15,990 there is a lot of value in these compact cars.

Available Trims
As mentioned there are three body types for the 2016 Kia Forte. The 4-door sedan (MSRP $15,990) comes in two trim levels powered by different engines. The LX (MSRP $19,990) comes with a 145 horsepower 1.8L I-4 engine and 15” wheels while the EX comes with a 173 horsepower 2.0L I-4 engine and sits on 17” wheels . The LX offers many upgrades over the EX such as auto-on/off headlights, LED positioning lights, front fog lights, power folding mirror with turn signal, exterior chrome features, leather wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob, rear seat armrest with cup holders, cruise control and a rear camera display.

The 5-door Kia Forte5 comes in three trim levels the LX (MSRP $18,090), the EX (MSRP $20,390) and the SX (MSRP $20,990). The LX and EX trims are powered by the same 2.0L I-4 engine found on the Sedan EX trim while the SX has a 201 horsepower 1.6L turbocharged I-4.

The 2-door Kia Forte Koup comes in two trims the EX (MSRP $19,890) and SX (MSRP $20,690). Like the other body types the EX comes with the 2.0L I-4 engine while the SX comes with the turbocharged 4 cylinder engine.

Interior Features
The interior of the 2016 Kia Forte is attractive and nicely laid out – EX and SX trims have lots of quality soft touch material around the dash and door inserts.  There are a lot of high tech features that are either standard or available such as UVO eServices Telematics, navigation with HD radio, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with 6 speakers, Bluetooth wireless technology, dual 12V  power outlets, trip computer LCD.

While the standard seats are either cloth or knit and woven cloth heated, vented leather seats are available on the the SX and EX trims

For a compact car there is sufficient head room front and back – in the sedan there is 39.1 inches of headroom in the front and 37.3 inches in the back and a trunk capacity of 14.9 cu.ft. The Koup has 38.2 inches of front row headroom and 36.4 inches in the rear seats with a smaller trunk capacity of 13.3 cu. Ft. The Forte5 has the best headroom space with 39. Inches in the front and 38.7 inches in the rear with 23.2 cu. Ft. cargo capacity with the rear seats up – 56.4 cu. Ft. with seats folded down.

See more interior specifications.

Exterior Features
All three of the body types are very attractive and have a sporty, modern look to them making them one of the stand outs in appearance for their segment. The front of the cars are especially sharp features such as LED positioning light and fog lights combined with the grille really emphasize the sporty look to the Forte.

Depending on the trim level and body type other exterior features that come standard or available are; power-folding heated mirrors, puddle lamp under the mirrors, LED taillights, rear spoiler and power sunroof.

Three wheel and tire sizes are found across the various trims 16” on the LX, 17” on the EX and 18”on the SX.

More Kia Forte exterior specs.

Performance
Overall there are three different engines to choose from a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder which comes on the Forte Sedan LX, the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder found on the EX trims of the Sedan, Forte Koup and Forte5 and finally the 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder found on the SX trims of the Koup and Forte5. So depending on your needs and preferences there will definitely be a clear engine choice.

The 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine is the most economical of the three with an estimated mileage of 26 mpg city / 39 mpg highway. The tradeoff is the engine is the least powerful of the three with 148 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm and 131 lb-ft of torque @ 4,700 rpm of torque.

The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that powers the EX trim is peppier with 173 horsepower @ 6,500 rpm and 154 lb-ft of torque @ 4,700 rpm. This engine still has decent EPA of 25 city / 36 highway mpg on the 4-door sedan.

For those who hunger for more power – they might look to the 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder with 201 horsepower @ 6,000 and 195 lb-ft torque @ 14,750-4,500 rpm it is the fastest of the three engine while sacrificing a bit of the fuel economy 22 city / 30 highway mpg on the Koup with automatic transmission.

The sedan LX and SX trims have their choice between 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission while the EX and LX Forte5 trim comes with 6-speed automatic transmission.

Safety and Security
The 2016 Kia Forte is loaded with safety features starting with the airbags you’ll find full-length side curtain, dual front seat-mounted side and dual front advanced airbags. 4-wheel antilock brakes system comes standard as do electronic brake-force distribution, electronic stability control, traction control system; vehicle stability management and brake assist system. There is a tire-pressure monitoring system as well as side-impact door beams and front and rear crumple zones.

The Kia Forte 4-door sedan received an overall 5-star crash rating from the NHTSA (safercar.gov) with a 4-star frontal crash and rollover rating and a 5-star side crash rating.

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