First Drive: 2010 Kia Forte

The Forte is technically the successor to the Spectra, but it is really so much more than that. This time, Kia decided to leave the help of the rocked-out Soul hamsters behind and instead concentrate on product, not marketing – though we do like the hamsters. The main competitors in the segment include the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda Mazda3 and when you add in the secondary targets of the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cobalt, it shows why anyone would need to strike hard when attempting to show up as a seriously dominant player that sells on more than just low prices.

See also:

Air bag - supplemental restraint system
* The actual air bags in the vehicle may differ from the illustration. (1) Driver’s front air bag (2) Passenger’s front air bag (3) Side impact air bag (if equipped) (4) Curtain air bag (if ...

Transfer case (4WD)
Checking or changing transfer case fluid Have transfer case fluid checked or changed by an Authorized Kia Dealer according to the Maintenance Schedule at the beginning of this section. Use only ...

FULLY LOADED YET DISAPPOINTING INTERIOR
The same cannot be said for the interior. While the swooping design of the dash is nice, it’s really only visible on the passenger side. As for the temperature controls, they appear out of place ...