Kia is super excited with all the positive responses that have been coming from the Stinger GT, naturally. Needless to say, it’s a striking design, and hard enough not to fall in love with.
Which is why Peter Schreyer’s design team decided to take the design cues from the aforementioned sports sedan for the 3rd generation Forte.
Improvements
The 2019 Forte’s overall length has increased by 3.2-inches to 182.7-inches, allowing for more legroom and additional cargo in the trunk. The 15.1 cu.-ft., (427.5 litres) cargo room is among the largest in the segment and generous enough to accommodate gear for a group of friends on a road trip, Kia said. Additional headroom results from increasing the overall height nearly a half-inch to 56.7-inches, while the overall width has grown to 70.8-inches.
The new Forte strengthens its bones with additional hot-stamped components and 54% Advanced High-Strength Steel. Kia claims that the rigidity has been improved as well, and so is the NVH performance.
Steering feel is improved compared to its predecessor, thanks to the enhancements within the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) system that reduces artificial steering feel and friction. Re-worked suspension geometry provides a quick and nimble behind-the-wheel feel, and evolutionary improvements were made to throttle and brake feel performance, yielding a smoother initial response at tip-in and a shorter stopping distance than the previous model, Kia said.
Features
Features include full LED headlamps, 8-inch touchscreen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Harman Kardon 320-watt premium sound system.
Safety kit includes Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), and Smart Cruise Control (SCC).
Powertrain
Under the hood, there is a 2.0L Nu 4-cylinder petrol, delivering an estimated 147 hp and 132 lb.-ft. (179 Nm) of torque. Transmission is a 6-Speed manual or a new CVT which Kia calls “Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT)”.
Kia said that their engineers have addressed the rubber-band-like feel the CVTs are often criticized for. The engineers built the IVT with adaptive style shift logic with a chain-type belt instead of a push belt, a first in the compact class. This results in smooth and linear acceleration, and for a more enjoyable and sporty driving experience, a step-shift-like feel mimics a conventional automatic at wide-open throttle or when more acceleration is needed.
Noise is another issue CVTs can sometimes face and engineers worked hard to reduce this in the Forte by wrapping the transmission case in a sound-insulating cover to help quiet the typical “drone” associated with this tech from other OEMs. In doing so, NVH levels are also reduced by 5 dB, Kia said.
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