KIA Forte Owner Review

Overview of family and my ownership

 

The car was originally bought brand new from the dealer by my mother, a school principle. I remembered the car costing around RM 90,000 inclusive of all taxes, this particular model is the SX (the badge is now XS because the body shop glued it wrong). What we got was a 1.6 litre engine, keyless entry, 17-inch wheels, body-kit, reverse camera and a basic Bluetooth system, a 2.0 litre version was available and the only difference was seat materials and six airbags, the 1.6 only got two. The car was ordered in light silver metallic, but more on the paint later .

 

The car is big, very big, rivalling the Toyota Corolla and other similar segment vehicles, the design, despite being almost 10 years old, holds up well, adding daytime running lights does make it look more modern, but the general look is perfectly proportioned. The car now has 142,000 kilometres on the odometer, it’s been driven hard as a daily work driver of a teacher, a road-tripper and by me from my recent ownership and college days with no on the road breakdowns throughout its nine years.

 

What I've done to it

 

Since it was handed down to me back in 2019, of course all the school teacher vibes had to go. The car was originally silver, but after years of dings, scratches and student bag packs grinding on the paint, we decided to repaint it red, but not the factory Kia red, which was a bit dull, we went for Mazda's red. Despite repainting it almost three years ago, the paint has again endured abuse from heavy stone chipping and again, more back pack zippers. I gave the car a good polish and wax to make the paint pop again and regularly wash it to maintain the shine, since I park directly under the hot sun, I don't want the paint to fade. The wrongly glued XS badge makes mine unique and perhaps the only one, unless someone else rearranges their badge.

 

The next thing I tackled was the wheels, for some reason stock Kia wheels are extremely easy to bend, or that my mother hit every single pothole on the road. After countless of rim maintenance and one huge accident that completely chipped a huge chunk of the rim, I immediately changed to an aftermarket set, thin spoke black wheels makes the car look good and "ganas" according to the tyre guy. Despite my best efforts, they also have been scratched slightly, ah Malaysian roads. The original rims didn't look that bad, but I have heard about Kia wheels not being that strong, I recall, only a few months after re-shaping the wheels, it got bent again, I mean wheels can't be that sensitive right? I didn't change the wheel size because that would mean changing the tyres, so it's still riding on the factory measurements.

 

The final thing I added was a huge bunch of Art of Speed stickers, why? Because it adds more power of course! Other than these mods, the Kia is completely stock, any replacement parts such as absorbers and mounts are either Kia parts or OEM spec

 

Engine and performance

 

The 1.6 litre Gamma engine is not by any means powerful, this is a car from 10 years ago after all, but it’s not painfully slow either. The engine makes about 125 horsepower and it has a decent amount of torque, while quite zippy and peppy driving alone, fully loaded, the car does struggle to pull out and overtake others. Attached to this engine is a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, though I'd personally use the gear stick to switch between gears. With the two extra gears (I believe the older models only had a four-speed), the car gets good fuel economy, but then again, that is based on your driving, plus a car of age, is going to be a bit tired and worn out. I average around 10 litres per/100km.

 

A recent trip I took from Kajang to Penang at legal highway speeds with a full tank of petrol along with 3 other adults and luggage drained the tank to its half mark, which is pretty good considering its age. Cruising speed is fine at steady below 3000 rpm at 100 km/h. The wheels are 17-inches wrapped in 215 width, 45 height tyres, while they look good, they are prone to curb rash and pothole scratches.

 

Interior and Practicality

 

The interior, while already at almost 10 years of age, holds pretty well. Plastic everything is common on cars from this era, but the panels line up well though scratches will be common if you keep rubbing it with sharp or blunt items. One thing to complain about, which is rather strange is that the corner air vents have cracked, long before I owned it and parked under the harsh sun, the corner air vents also have very limited adjustments. The seats and cloth covered door panels are made from the same material and pattern, they're soft, comfy and disperse heat better then leather covered ones.

The steering wheel is firm and grippy enough, as it should be, and it has the usual driver controls you might expect, mostly corresponding to the radio and telephone. The gauge is cluster clear and very red, a theme for this car, the speed is right in the centre, and is flanked by the fuel gauge and RPM gauge on either side. The vehicle information is basic, hit a button on the left of the steering wheel and it can tell you the engine temperature, fuel consumption, tripmeters, range and other less important information.

The radio is the standard Kia head unit and is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity but JUST for your phone. The system is very basic, so the only thing you can do is accept calls, yes, you can't even call people because there is no key pad, you can redial the last number by pressing the answer button on the steering wheel. This is by far the most basic Bluetooth phone system I've ever seen, I'm sure cars back then had better systems? But you get what you get, along with that is an aux jack, a USB port and a cigarette style outlet, all presented in one panel under the radio. One good feature is the reverse camera mounted on the automatic dimming mirror which is helpful since the rear-view is a bit block by the parcel shelf angle, you also get automatic mirrors that fold by a press of a button inside (it doesn't fold automatically when you lock it).

The centre console has plenty of space for any types of small to medium sized items, even the armrest storage has a good amount of space to store a small water bottle though it does get quite warm inside, this is also where you can charge the car’s key, which is a standard Kia/Hyundai key with your basic lock and unlock, honk and boot opener. There's also a manual key if the fob runs out of juice.

The large exterior translates to a very spacious rear interior, the rear seats are big and as a fully grown adult at 173 centimetres (standard Asian people height) I can fit very comfortably with plenty of leg and head room, and this is considering the front seats are adjusted to my specifics, the car can easily fit three adults comfortably. However, another fault of this car is the lack of rear air vents, despite having ample room at the back, you only get the four air vents in front, not very fun for rear passengers, what’s more, the rear windows don't roll fully down because of the rear door design.

Keeping with the big car theme, the boot gets the same treatment, open the lid with the key or latch because there is no button on the lid itself, and you are treated to a spacious 415 litre cavern to put several luggage and other types of bags or things, folding down the rear seats requires you to pull the tabs in the boot. Under the mat, which has this annoying hump for the spare wheel, is a full size spare with the toolkit.

Driving it

 

Mind you that because I'm an unemployed fresh graduate, I don't have the financial stability to afford four tyres of the same brand, I'm currently using Goodyears in the front and a Taiwanese branded tyre in the back.

 

Driving the car is relaxing, because of the space and comfort of its soft sprung suspension, you get along with the road quite easy. on the other hand, the NVH can be a bit jarring, this might be because of my tyre choice, but it does get pretty loud, especially on older rough roads, you definitely need to turn up the radio volume to hear it clearer, though not deafening to the point of not being able to converse inside the cabin, better tyres and sound insulation should keep the NVH down.

 

Acceleration is not fantastic, it does respond if you mash the pedal, but being a 1.6, it feels a bit sluggish. Unloaded, the Kia is peppy enough to get up to highway speeds quickly, using the manual mode does help a bit. The car has two ways to operate manual mode, you can use the very loud 'clacking' plastic shifters or the gear lever, gear changes can be felt, especially at lower gears, but the shifting is not delayed rather actually quite responsive and fun.

Overall, the driving in both open roads and city crawling is not compromised, the car (or at least mine) doesn't vibrate, rattle or sputter. At 140,000 kilometres, the car is due for some component replacement such as the timing chain and engine mounts but otherwise, I have never had any experience of major breakdowns, not yet of course.

 

Maintenance

 

Korean car parts are expensive, and this Kia is no different, as it gets older, parts will become less available and you can only resort to other manufacturers that make OEM spec parts. For a car that's been around with the family since new, it has had no major breakdowns throughout its warranty and after warranty ownership. A part from the dings and scratches, there were a few things that had to be replaced:

 

1. Air-conditioning system: RM 900

2. Keyless entry system (broken when the car was repainted): RM 2000

3. Absorber mounts: RM 250 each

 

Now you can discuss whether I paid too much for the parts, but they are just simply expensive, specific parts can cost even more too. Expect to see a cost of RM 250 for suspension components and over RM 500 for more complex things such as engine mounts (not inclusive of labour of course). Always consult a trusted mechanic and head over to forums to see what are common issues with the car, I'm telling this because my car does not have any serious issues yet. Oil change maintenance depends on what type of fluids and brand you/your mechanic use, I spend around RM 300-400 ringgit changing the oils and various filters. Regular timely maintenance is necessary to keep your car running longer, but then again, that is a no brainer, right?

 

Verdict

 

Is this a good car? Well yes, it is, a huge upgrade from my last one. If you're looking to get one, I suggest to find a similar 1.6 SX like mine, with the six-speed and body-kit, though if you don't want to live with the larger wheels, there is a base model EX Forte with no body-kit and smaller wheels, which seems to be more common and cheaper

 

Any kind of issue will pop on a car that's almost 10 years old, it's just a matter of how good of a deal you will buy yours second hand and how you maintain it. With that, this Kia will be in my possession until it literally breaks in half.

 

What's Good?

1. Large interior space

2. Good practicality

3. Decent fuel economy

4. Decent performance

 

What's Bad?

1. Rudimentary Bluetooth

2. Expensive spare parts

3. Rear windows don't fully wind down

4. Rather loud cabin sound

 

Comment below if you need more feedback on the car and check out our YouTube channel, Maximum Torque Malaysia for the review!