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2019 Kia Forte consumer reviews

$17,790–$18,690 MSRP range
side view of 2019 Forte Kia
(169 reviews)
90% of drivers recommend this car
Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.7
  • Interior 4.7
  • Performance 4.6
  • Value 4.6
  • Exterior 4.8
  • Reliability 4.7
Explore the 2019 Kia Forte
Shop the 2019 Kia Forte

Worst car ever

I've had absolutely nothing but issues out of this car! Somehow water or sweat leaked into my radio all around the edges. Come to find out it's not (Kia made), so it only had a 2 year warranty, not the 6 like I was told! Recall after recall. I've changed every light in that car at least 3 times in the almost 5 years I've had it. I have lane and brake assistance (if I'm getting to close to something. My car will automatically slam on the brakes if something is to the right of me almost causing someone to rear end me. I don't recommend this car to my worst enemy! The interior is cheap plastic, so as soon as a little bump hits the door it's ruined, and you can not get it out! I regret everyday buying this car!

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 3.0
  • Interior 1.0
  • Performance 3.0
  • Value 2.0
  • Exterior 2.0
  • Reliability 3.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Transporting family
  • Does not recommend this car
7 people out of 10 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Longterm Kia 2019 XLS Awesome!👍

I am a long time owner of a Kia Forte 2019 bought it in 2018. I have almost had it for 5 years now. It has around 80,000 miles of trouble-free driving. I do the necessary maintenance that's it. The pros of this car it's easy on the eyes and easy to pay for. It didn't take me long to double my payments and pay this wonderful machine off. I also like the fact I don't have to go to the gas pumps much. I can go 435 miles on a simple tank of gas. I get about 43.5 miles a gallon highway and average around 34.5 City and mix driving. I love all of the safety features I have lane keep assist frontal crash anti-lock braking and traction control. I even have done some pretty good snow driving with all season radials Continental. It also has a neat feature where it will drive by itself for about a minute. I have the XLS model. So yes I have the Ivt transmission it has worked very well. I don't understand why everybody was so insecure about this Ivt drivetrain it is ran on a chain not a belt. I have nothing but great things to say about Kia engineering. I don't know why but for some reason the 2019 Kia Forte does not have many of the problems associated in the news. I also have the new anti-theft that Kia Motors placed at no charge to me. I think the days are gone when you can complain about Kia recalls. I think we've seen in the news even Honda, Toyota and Nissan have all had recalls also. I feel like Kia turned a big corner in 2013 on making great automobiles. I like them because they're easy on the budget and very reliable and good on gas. I also like the fact there is a lot of room that comes with these vehicles. I also have a Kia Sorento V6 2019 that is also been a good vehicle. Like they say Kia has the power to surprise. Forget keeping up with the Jones get a car that will save you money.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
2 people out of 2 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Really liked it at first, still do except for repa

I bought a 2019 new.second time in for wheel sensors.396 a pop.of course it being 4years old out of warranty.there are 4 sensors, hopefully the other 2 don't go bad, expensive fixes

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 4.0
  • Value 2.0
  • Exterior 4.0
  • Reliability 2.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Having fun
  • Does not recommend this car
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Excellent MPG car, Negatives = Controls/Manuals

This vehicle has really good fuel efficiency (why I bought it), over 40 mpg on interstates or other uninterrupted highways, and in the 30s on drives including a reasonable amount of urban freeway and/or minimal-stoplight roads. The dashboard if set right tells you what mpg you're averaging on any one drive. I bought the car used at about 16,000 miles, am up to about 36,000, and have not yet had any major repair problems. The only exasperating issue consists of the controls on the dashboard, steering wheel column, vents, and sound system, and their explanation in the manual. Just as one example, the manual of 200 or so pages has nothing in the index about "Air Conditioning" or "Heating," and under "Climate Control..." only deals with a maintenance matter rather than with with how to get the A/C or heat to work (usually, although I occasionally forget this, by making sure the air that's seemingly not coming out, even though the fan is blowing, is directed at body level, not one's feet or elsewhere, so that it does come out at body level, the default after ignition usually being something other than body level). The jiffy get-started manual is insufficient on the same air conditioning/heating topic. More generally, control buttons in many case depend on sometimes undecipherable, guesswork, markings or icons. I'd be happier if the Koreans would make the car and Americans would make user-friendly controls and write user-friendly manuals.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 3.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 4.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Having fun
  • Does recommend this car
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Oh lawd

Bought brand new 2019 before it hit 2000 miles cluster went out its now barely at 40,000 miles and something electrical is going on the ac heat auto for the lights and water in the rear light and a clicking noise when I turn it off now yes this vehicle has been so well taken care of Kia has begged me several times to upgrade and sell them this one even offered to pay it off and give me $5k over towards a new vehicle nope I just want it fixed

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 2.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 1.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does not recommend this car
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Kia forte is a good looking car but has some elec

I have had two Kia forte vehicles and have had issues with the head lights going out all the time . I’ve had to have my headlight replaced more than 4 times in one month. My Kia 2017 had the same problem with rear light and front light.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 3.0
  • Value 4.0
  • Exterior 3.0
  • Reliability 3.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does not recommend this car
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ENGINE FAILURE

I bought my 2019 KIA Forte brand new and my engine seized at 112,500 with no warning at all. My engine was always serviced on time only using full synthetic oil. This was a total shock!!!! You can search for yourself and you would see that this is an ongoing problem with this car, buyer beware!

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 3.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 3.0
  • Value 1.0
  • Exterior 3.0
  • Reliability 1.0
  • Purchased a New car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does not recommend this car
8 people out of 10 found this review helpful. Did you?
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Excellent so far. Great car, Dealer untrustworthy

Excellent so far. We bought it over the summer about six months ago as a returned lease car. It is very peppy. I commute a distance for work. Hwy milage with no traffic is about 47 mph with quality gas and driving 60mph. It's our only car, it's used for everything. It's a little small up front. Interior is very nice. Exterior is superb and sporty. The most value I have ever seen. I'm coming from a 2005 unreliable Chevy cobalt. So this is like heaven. The controls are big and clear. The heater is HOT. Only 2 small issues....the front collision warning comes on a lot which they can't fix ( no biggie) and the wiper blades can't pull up to change, they don't fit the hood area amount of room. Again, surprised no engineer never caught this but no biggie. The dealer I used turned out to be untrustworthy but the car itself is a 9 out of 10.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 4.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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Very good all around car. Very spacious interior

The only complaint I would have about this car is the ride. Kind of stiff no matter what mode it’s in. Other than that, I love it.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 5.0
  • Interior 5.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
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Decent Car

Got this car used as a certified pre owned and have had no issues except it needed a jump start one day. Most likely due to it having a refurbished battery inside. Inside interior is decent but not amazing it's just all plastic. Seats are comfortable but you get what you pay for. Back up camera is good quality and display screen is as well, pretty nice size. The heat and ac is Allright I've had better in other cars. The exterior is probably the best this car has overall. It's pretty nice if car is detailed and cleaned up. Comes with alloy wheels with 4 disk brakes which is a very nice addition. The transmissions is very nice as well as you won't feel the jerk when it shifts gears. Car is also pretty zippy and most cars don't speed up as fast as this one does. Overall it's a pretty good car for its price. I'd recommend it over every other car manufacturer besides Honda.

Rating breakdown (out of 5):
  • Comfort 4.0
  • Interior 4.0
  • Performance 5.0
  • Value 5.0
  • Exterior 5.0
  • Reliability 5.0
  • Purchased a Used car
  • Used for Commuting
  • Does recommend this car
4 people out of 5 found this review helpful. Did you?
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