JULY SEDAN DEBUTS Part II - KIA FORTE

Remember the Kia Sephia? Forget it. Years and generations on, the next Kia built to compete with the Honda Civic will be called the Forte. Building on the fairly decent driving dynamics of the Kia Spectra, the Forte adds looks.

Yeah, looks matter; even at this low price point. However, cars need a lot more than looks to win battles against such stoic-but-solid competitors as Toyota's Corolla. When buyers come walking into dealers looking for their first car or first new car and need to hit a price point in order to continue paying rent or tuition, a vehicle's reputation as the best-looking car in its class quickly falls by the wayside. This ain't Audi A3 vs BMW 1-Series. 

Not to understate the clean and classy lines of the Forte. Although not a body double for the latest Mitsubishi Lancer, it's easy to see a similarly modern interpretation of strong & small design. Kia will introduce the Forte in Korea with a 1.6 litre 4-cylinder. Even with wicked high fuel prices on this continent, it seems too far-fetched to think Kia won't offer an engine capacity of at least 2.0 litres; which is the size of the Forte's second engine in Korea.

Unintentionally timed to coincide with BMW's web introduction of the next 7-Series, Kia hasn't managed to take the brand that far. You can bet the Forte will be a greater success than the Spectra in the same manner that the Spectra out-performed the Sephia.