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:

Manual transaxle
Manual transaxle operation The manual transaxle has 5 forward gears. This shift pattern is imprinted on the shift knob. The transaxle is fully synchronized in all forward gears so shifting to e ...

Battery
WARNING - Battery dangers Always read the following instructions carefully when handling a battery. Keep lighted cigarettes and all other flames or sparks away from the battery. Hydrogen, whic ...

Parking brake
Checking the parking brake Check the stroke of the parking brake by counting the number of “clicks’’ heard while fully applying it from the released position. Also, the parking brake alon ...