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Impressed? By a KIA?

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mmntech said:
We have a ton of Fortes at work. They're alright. Certainly not as bad as the Cobalts they replaced. But yeah, they're not great. Once they hit 40k km, they're done.
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Rentals? I looked at the Fortes for/with my GF (she has an '06 Rio Sedan), and they seemed really nice for the price. About as nice as my Focus with better looks, and my Focus has a little over 50k of very hard-earned miles with absolutely zero problems even after being attacked by a crazy woman in an Altima 3.5 Sedan.
 
The wheels look like some sort of adventure into negative space. Normally the metal spokes would be where the empty spaces are and the filled spaces are where the empty are.
 
My wife had a Kia once. Worst car she ever had, 28 visits to the shop in under 2 years. Two transmission replacements (defects on their end). It was covered by the warranty but time lost at the shop doesn't make it worth it. It was under warranty but she bought it used, so it wasn't covered by the full lemon law.

Kind of left a sore spot for Kia's, though the forte did make me think once or twice.
 
Hyundai and Kia realize the challenge ahead of them.

One generation of a great car does not speak well to buyers. The new Sonata and Optima are a good start, but they need at least 3-4 years of solid consumer and industry praise before the market is ready to abandon their Accords and Camrys.
 
center stack is hideous. So is the car from certain angles. The SX wheels are ridiculous looking.

If you got one in black, with regular wheels, it may look okay from the outside. I dont really like the B pillar either.

There's no changing the interior though.

Nice feature set, and I'll admit that I am super curious about that turbo engine, but beyond that, do not want.
 
jpeyton said:
Hyundai and Kia realize the challenge ahead of them.

One generation of a great car does not speak well to buyers. The new Sonata and Optima are a good start, but they need at least 3-4 years of solid consumer and industry praise before the market is ready to abandon their Accords and Camrys.
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Hyundai's already had several years of doing that. The previous gen Sonata gave a lot of people notice that they were very serious about changing. The Genesis and Genesis Coupe have also done a lot. Kia's newest cars are doing a good job of changing perceptions as well, although they are behind Hyundai, but will probably make up ground more quickly now that Hyundai has proven they can take a form joke brand and make it legitimate.

We'll see how the Accord and Camry hold up, but a big reason they became so popular is that their competition was generally not very competitive. Hyundai has really stepped up their game, as has Ford, and even GM and Chrysler are making pretty big strides. With Toyota's recent issues, and Honda making some questionable decisions (new Acura front ends, lackluster Insight, and the CR-Z, that Acura station wagon crossover vehicle thing), I see a lot more cross-shopping than before.

TheAdvocate said:
center stack is hideous. So is the car from certain angles. The SX wheels are ridiculous looking.

If you got one in black, with regular wheels, it may look okay from the outside. I dont really like the B pillar either.

There's no changing the interior though.

Nice feature set, and I'll admit that I am super curious about that turbo engine, but beyond that, do not want.
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Hideous? The center stack doesn't look particularly good or bad to me, looks pretty average and normal. I do think they could have done a better job with the HVAC vents, and I've never particularly liked cars that have it aimed at the driver like that, but far from hideous.

What's your problem with the B pillar? They're typical blacked out, which I personally like more than just about any other. Do you mean the C pillar?
 
To add to my earlier post on my Kia SUV: One thing that Kia doesn't use is quality rotors and/or brake pads. Like I said, I've had no issues with my SUV, but I have already had the rotors turned about 2k miles ago.

I'm towing a heavy trailer, so with a lot of hills to navigate, it tends to put a lot of strain on the braking system. By heavy, I'm under 1,500 lbs, so that's FAR below the rating of 3,500 I CAN tow, but I can only brake 1,500.

First upgrade I do to my Kia is slotted/crossdrilled quality rotors and quality brake pads.
 
WT... Might consider the towing capacity is also with the trailer having brakes (electric or surge)...? My 2004.5 Dmax is rated to tow 12K lbs but even with a light 2000lb boat/motor/trailer you know its back there pushing you a bit... But add surge brakes like most newer boat trailers have and its alot different and very sure its not putting excessive wear on my trucks brakes too...

Just something to consider to help... :thumbsup:


BTW... I would never consider towing with our Soul even if the offered a towing hitch... The brakes are very light duty for sure...
 
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Yay KIA!!! 😛

I had a 1996 KIA Sportage that I got for dirt cheap and allowed me to save 10 years to buy my next car, 2006 330i, in cash.

Woot.
 
TruePaige said:
My wife had a Kia once. Worst car she ever had, 28 visits to the shop in under 2 years. Two transmission replacements (defects on their end). It was covered by the warranty but time lost at the shop doesn't make it worth it. It was under warranty but she bought it used, so it wasn't covered by the full lemon law.

Kind of left a sore spot for Kia's, though the forte did make me think once or twice.
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Holy lemon, batman! What year & model?
 
I agree with the OP.
I think thats a gorgeous looking sedan.
The Hyundai Sonata is a nice looking sedan too.

Looking at the 2nd link with the blue car, it doesn't look close as nice as the gray one.
The seats are also ugly looking.
Kia and Hyundai have become nice car that gets you around but I still would never buy one because of the stigma attached to their name.
 
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Hmm. Overall not that terrible. The front end is a little meh. But the rest of it looks kind of sporty. Looks like a Pontiac G8 mated with a Lexus IS250.
 
vi edit said:
I think this is one of those cars that has to be seen in person and only should be sold in certain colors. I bet this thing in black, and in person is pretty damn sharp. Could also use a different set of wheels. I didn't like that style when VW/Audi used it. Didn't like it when honda used it. Don't like it on the Kia's either.
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Agree with you on all counts. Styling is ok, but not in the color I'm seeing it in...and not with those wheels. It just seems like it is trying too hard. Otherwise, I'm sure the car is pretty impressive...with the Sonata, it seems Hyundai hit one out of the park.
 
I had an 04 sorento that I purchased new and it was a very good vehicle to me although it had a few issues. I was not impressed by the dealer network and only kept it two years until I purchased my tundra.
 
If you like Audi / VW designs from the past 15 years, you're going to like KIA designs because the former head designer there Peter Schreyer is now the Chief Designer at KIA.
 
WT said:
To add to my earlier post on my Kia SUV: One thing that Kia doesn't use is quality rotors and/or brake pads. Like I said, I've had no issues with my SUV, but I have already had the rotors turned about 2k miles ago.

I'm towing a heavy trailer, so with a lot of hills to navigate, it tends to put a lot of strain on the braking system. By heavy, I'm under 1,500 lbs, so that's FAR below the rating of 3,500 I CAN tow, but I can only brake 1,500.

First upgrade I do to my Kia is slotted/crossdrilled quality rotors and quality brake pads.
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Nah, you want plain rotors.
 
Yongsta said:
If you like Audi / VW designs from the past 15 years, you're going to like KIA designs because the former head designer there Peter Schreyer is now the Chief Designer at KIA.
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Yeah, I looked at the Forte (SX?) with the 2.4L i4 and 6-speed, fun little car for cheap. Drove at least as well as the RSX imho, which isn't amazing or anything, but a leap forward for the brand.
 
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