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Kia Forte5 SX Fun! Fun! Fun!

By Staff | Nov 19, 2017
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2017 Forte5 SX

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2017 Forte5 SX

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2017 Forte5 SX

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2017 Forte5 SX

5 / 5

2017 Forte5 SX

You just have to love a 1.6-liter engine that can put out over 200 horsepower. We know it’s going to be a fun week when we see stats like that contained with the email for our weekly ride. And so it was with the Kia Forte5 SX, a way different offering than the sedan version of this vehicle, and coming with a 6-speed manual added even more excitement to the week!

The Forte5 can be had in a couple of lower trim levels in the LX and EX models. However, the fun factor is going to decrease greatly in these trims as the turbocharger goes away and horsepower falls to only 164 ponies, something told us that extra $7,000 would be well worth it, as this new hatchback is as close as Kia has ever gotten to a hot hatch offering.

Competition for this little gem is going to come from other manufactures that have already had lots of time in the market with their own version of a quick, nimble little pocket rocket like the Forte5. Honda has the Civic R line, VW has the GTI and even cousin Hyundai has grown up with the Elantra GT Sport. The Kia is not quite in the same league as these competitors; however after having driven a couple of them we felt the Kia is still a great option for a little less money.

Motoring around in the Kia proved to be a joy every time we got in the little hatchback. On Saturday we even had a chance to head on up to Salt Lake and go to Trader Joe’s, get some freeway driving in, and see how it would handle in traffic. With the manual transmission it’s not possible to have adaptive cruise control, which is something we really like in our older age, but having the manual really made it more engaging both at higher speeds and in traffic around town.

Sometimes as we have gotten older we don’t enjoy having to shift all the time, but that was not the case with the Forte5 it was easy to move around in the gears and the clutch never made our underused left feet tired. Craig really enjoyed the how quickly the Forte would turn; the steering was very responsive keeping the vehicle very nimble.

At just 201 horsepower, we would have loved to keep the Forte around for a longer stretch as it was easy for us to get in and out, along with having many creature comforts inside. The zero to 60 time of just 6.6 seconds didn’t hurt either.

On the outside, the design is cleaner than some of the competition with very crisp lines instead of overstated starts and stops to the design. New this year on the SX are front and rear bumpers that include little round fog lights. There are larger wheels at 18 inches made of alloy that add greatly to the look and stability of the vehicle.

There are also high gloss black rearview mirrors along with puddle lamps and a very nice touch is the rear dual chrome exhaust tips, so it might as well shout “speed” right? The best addition was the red line that flows across the lower front grill, kind of “hey we got a great hatchback also even if we haven’t added the R to the name yet.”

Inside, the design continues with great orange accent stitching throughout the cockpit along with orange accent stripes down the sides of the leather seats. But the Kia just keeps on giving on the side as the seats were not just heated but also cooled of course. Dual zone climate control was also part of the package we would have expected nothing less from Kia.The 7-inch UVO included touchscreen was set just off center tilted toward the driver making it easier to access and control for the driver. It included navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with Bluetooth phone functions and other apps that would come with connecting one’s phone to the Forte5.

Included also was a smart key for starting the vehicle and one-touch handles for getting into the Kia and locking it when leaving. There were two USB ports for the front seat passengers along with a 10-way power driver’s seat. Oh, and don’t forget the powered sunroof that comes standard in the Forte5.

Remember how we said it was $7,000 more to go to the SX with a 6-speed transmission, well Kia has made it well worth the jump to get all the features that are included in this small hatchback. With the ride that we enjoyed along with the “fun to drive” quotient even at our age, we would seriously consider this great little hatchback.

We would guess however, that it would appeal to a much younger demographic, even though it had all the fun things we loved inside. See the new Kia Forte5 SX today at Doug Smith Kia 495 West Main, American Fork, 877-495-4690.

Base Price: $26,000

Price as Driven: $27,020

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