hello, i'm reporter hanyong kim of motorgraph i am going to test drive the newly updated kia forte it's not an 'all new' forte, but 'the new' forte rather let's find out how it compares to the old forte and hyundai elantra deisgn & function the car's front end looks vastly different from elantra's as if the two cars are in different segments elantra has a sleeker feel and forte has a simpler look rather than giving the car a unique design, kia has focused on their family look
the new forte's headlamp is now fully attached to the grille the old forte's headlamp was only connected partially it now has a similar front end design as other new kia cars the functional air curtain is applied here the air comes through here for better drag efficiency and cooling the grille on the bottom is ventilated, as well as the one on the top kia's unique grille design is applied on the new forte as well kia is doing a good job on designing headlamps and utilizing surface leds you may find kia's family look here as well
such a curve is a family look design you find on models like sportage there are several ergonomically designed features found on this car the door handle is positioned lower for an easier access it has a nice feedback as well and a lock button is applied on the handle, which is unusual for cars of this segment the washer nozzles designed seamlessly so they don't bulge out you may choose 17 inch wheels as an option. the two tone design is dazzling i'm pleased to see two tone wheels applied on a compact car and 17 inch wheels option seems like a standard nowadays
the tail lamp design has changed considerably. surface led is applied on the border it's much more charming when the brakes are applied kia has changed their logo quite recently. the borders of the letters have changed the new logo was first introduced with the face lifted k900. i find it charming a spacious trunk on a compact car is a big selling point in korea and the new forte has a nice spacious trunk a tire repair kit is placed in here. a spare tire isn't available though the 60/40 split back seats can be folded, so you may load larger items pull the lever here and push the seats forward
it would have been nice if the seats folded automatically with pulling of the lever but these seats need to be folded manually *the engine noise was recorded much louder than it really is* elantra and other compact cars don't have hydraulics hood props either wow, i haven't seen this type of design in a while the engine cover is half the size. the rest of engine is exposed there is nothing faulty about this design. there is no reason to cover it all up but of course there is no reason not to cover it up either if it was up to me, i would have covered it all up
maybe an easier maintenance is the reason behind this design taping is sloppy as usual i haven't done anything to the tape i am very impressed with the low levels of vibration and noise of the engine it is a 4 cylinder gdi engine. it makes soft and gentle sound, which is unlikely for a gdi engine the engine has such a low sound level, even with the fan running well, the engine will sound different once it has some mileage on it but the noise level of new engine is impressive anyway
the belt is exposed quite a bit i hope no tools get dropped in there during maintenance it would have been better if the belt was exposed less the interior of the car feels quite unique it feels different from elantra or any other compact cars handle is placed here, and the instrument cluster is placed here maybe there's too much space here the front windshield is at a steep angle because of the steep angle, there's too much of waste space in front
the dashboard is pulled inward and the console's angle is facing toward the driver i can push the steering wheel all the way back, but it's still quite close to the driver and the little glass piece here is quite striking they have put much effort to implement much of kia's family look with everything pulled inward there are some advantages. like easier access to buttons and such and it also feels nicely surrounded and cozy though, it could feel narrow to some it's as if the seat is encapsulated
the steering wheel has a large radius on a lot of cars, the sight on instrument cluster is narrowed when steering wheel is pulled down all the way but the steering wheel on this car is large enough to not obstruct the view the bottom of the steering is flat whichever way you turn the wheel, you will know the current position the steering wheel sends a nice feedback when you turn. the grip feels great as well both heating and cooling is available for your seats, which is extraordinary for this segment forte is equipped with push button start and instrument cluster with a high resolution screen
and the detailed animation is both fun and informative the instrument cluster provides a clear view. i find them charming there's one particular part i don't like though it's this part right here the chrome applied here is way too shiny kia don't usually use shiny chrome on their cars nowadays it's too shiny and distracting well, some people may find it fancy. it depends on personal taste really even the door handle is made out of shiny chrome
forte's display is much too small. it's smaller than my palm it's hard to find a display this small in cars nowadays imported cars are usually equipped with small displays, but most of korean cars have much larger displays well, i probably wouldn't have complained about the size, few years back i personally think the button layout is worse than that of kia rio's these buttons are standard push types, unlike rio's switch type buttons wish kia had implemented the switch type on forte as well they still function without any problem though
kia has clearly separated the volume and temperature control lever the interface has a clear layout, which won't cause any confusions for vehicle occupants the ac system controls are placed here. i like how the buttons are grouped together a small storage space here, as well as usb and 12v socket elantra has two 12v sockets, and forte has two sockets as well they have really thought this through. there is a little open button here the button will prevent the compartment from opening accidently a push won't open the compartment either you will have to push the button to open the compartment
the details they have put in this car are impressive the backseats feel a bit narrower than hyundai elantra i'm not sure why, since they use the same platform since elantra had a complete overhaul and forte only had partial changes, forte is a half generation older than elantra. but elantra still has the same wheel base and overall length so there shouldn't be any difference in cabin room between the two forte's backseat still feels narrower somehow an ajustable headrest is installed in the middle seat
and a child seat belt as well the car doesn't offer a pass through but the 60/40 back seat can be folded to load longer items an armrest with cup holders most of compact cars nowadays are equipped with armrests it's a shame that forte doesn't have the panoramic sunroof option which is the same for elantra as well well, cars with the panoramic sunroof option will not offer normal sunroof option so kia had no choice but to exclude the panoramic sunroof option to keep the car's price down
it's a narrow ordinary sunroof the sunroof stretches only about this much. it stretches from the middle of driver's head driver will hardly take any advantages of the sunroof it really is quite small i will attempt the parking now, by pressing a button the feature is called a 'parking assistance system' it's able to perform reverse and parallel parking the system is engaging. it's searching for an empty lot oh an empty slot is detected. the system noticed!
it's asking me to put the gear in reverse this is excellent! the space is quite narrow actually. i'm not even sure if i can open the door fully wow the car is brilliant! i can't open the door fully i can barely step out of the vehicle. the car managed to park in such a tight spot test drive let's go for a drive~ it's quite smooth. the cornering doesn't feel much different from elantra's
well, the all new elantra had quite an upgrade i wouldn't say the driving is super fun, as the car's not a rear wheel drive or anything there are 3 drive modes available eco, sport, and normal modes are selectable i have engaged the sport mode and the steering wheel....doesn't feel that much heavier the steering wheel should feel much firmer in sport mode i'm not sure what has changed i believe the gear shifting points have been rearranged but it's such a trivial change that it's almost unnoticeable
the steering should get firmer when sport mode is engaged that's the least they can do when offering drive modes in a car i'm sure the steering is somewhat firmer, but it's hard to notice ah, i see. you must turn the wheel a little to feel the firmer feedback the reason for firmer steering is to grant a more stable driving at high speeds but if firmer steering can't be felt in the neutral position, it's pointless kia should really change the setting on this as soon as possible firmer steering wheel in neutral position, and quicker gear shift points it's hard to feel any shift shock on this 6 speed automatic gear box
the gear box is quite stable and has low power loss the gear box has a unique architecture that locks up every chance it gets it tends to lock up on every gear except for the 1st it's an edge that hyundai-kia has over the competitors competitors' gear boxes tend to slip a lot and cause much power loss which is a common complaint among consumers the gear boxes equipped on hyundai-kia cars are high quality such features may appeal to younger consumers i am very impressed with the gas mileage
the car is displaying a little over 11km/l (26mpg) what's the point of buying a hybrid vehicle? i wonder how the diesel models perform even if you drive quite recklessly, you still get good mileage and the car is very stable at high speed not many cars in this segment have such stability at high speed kia is now on par with the leading manufacturers. like japanese manufacturers for example the stability at high speed is impressive for a compact sedan i remember going on and on about the poor stability that hyundai/kia cars had
but i don't see the need for any complaints with this vehicle i wish the steering is a bit more precise than this the car travels in a straight line, even when i turn the steering wheel a bit this much of turning will have no effect nevertheless, the car's ability to travel in a straight line is impressive maybe kia has paid a special attention to the car's wheel alignment, because they knew it was going to be reviewed by me maybe this is why the car has such a good wheel alignment well this is the only forte i can test with
if a car stray from course by 1 meter per 100 meters of travel, its alignment isn't correct. but this car doesn't stray at all and the steering feedback is good kia say that they made the neutral position of the steering insensitive on purpose if that is true, then kia should change the setting to a more precise and sensitive one the car's noise control at high speed is outstanding it's got a very good noise reduction system for a compact sedan forte is just a bit noisier than the all new elantra, which really accelerate in that part
anyway it's not bothering at all this much noise is forgivable for a compact sedan kia has effectively reduced the wind noise as well forte has a stylish and aerodynamic design you can see its stylish design from the side its aerodynamic design reduce the wind noise effectively i will not stop complaining until they change this the hi-pass(auto toll payment) integrated mirror is way too bulky there are little hi-pass devices available, that can fit right in the consol box
there is no reason for such a bulky hi-pass mirror and the plastic used on this feels very cheap ah and i'm sick of hearing this woman's voice the hi-pass mirror option should definitely see a change there are better options out there the suspension is very smooth and stable i personally prefer a tighter setup but again, for a car of this segment, the setup is quite sporty it's a well made suspension setup
the brake is more linear than the previous one for every stage of braking, the appropriate power needed is predictable when the brake is applied a little, the car slows down accordingly and when the brake is applied fully, the car comes to a stop smoothly kia has come a long way but i do wish that the braking was more powerful the brake's feedback is great, but it would have been better if it was a bit more powerful
Post a Comment for "lexus hybrid suv nx"