Briefly: Comfortable with great seats. Superb design inside and out. Huge trunk with a wide opening, so I can fit my Cannondale road bicycle in easily (just removing the wheels),a huge plus for me: no rack needed, bike is out of sight. Reliable over 8+ years. Mileage around Boston traffic is @22mpg only. Automatic transmission is about flawless, and has plenty of power. It's noisy on acceleration if I'm asking for Zoom, but easily does the jump-ahead. Recently a passenger (one of 2) remarked at how zippy it felt. Easy to select a gear manually, which is terrific. I can select 2nd gear for my s-l-o-w-l-y getting it up on my ramps to do my oil changes. Also, in snow or slippery conditions, starting is a self-selected 2nd gear reduces slippage. Only negatives: I HATE that as soon as the car is put into Park, all doors automatically unlock and the dome light comes on. Very NOT safe in any environment. I have to instantly relock the doors from the driver armrest lock button. An exhaust emissions cannister needed replacement, but covered under my warranty! Battery has needed replacement twice. Original lasted 5 years. "Kia" replacement battery had poor lifespan, just over 3! Most of the indicator lamps (tail lights, brake, etc. are accessible and need to be because the bulbs don't last a long time. But, I have 108,000 miles, so that's lost of bulb "on" time. There is a difficult-to-reach front side marker bulb. A person with small, dexterous hands can get to it its fixture, which presents a wide 'tab' end to grasp and turn. There is NO NEED to pull the headlight unit, as one garage mechanic told me he'd have to do. It took a young tech at my dealer (Herb Chambers, Burlington MA) just minutes to replace the bulb. The car has been just a total pleasure to own and drive. Oh: the base radio has a CD player! The sound of the system is pretty crappy compared with my earlier Mazda sedan, but it works. Steering wheel up/down buttons control everything with ease. Tuner allows saving 12 stations under the 6 buttons.

The Kia Forte is a basic and efficient car. It's easy to drive and is an effective daily commuter. The exterior styling is quite elegant but the interior is dark and spartan. The seats could use more padding as long drives are not comfortable. If you want a reliable car without bells and whistles, it's a solid choice.

Been a great car haven’t had any problems mechanically. The only problem I have is when you shut off the car it gives you no warning the lights may still be on and that leads to a dead battery.