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By Lamne Drury Metroland Newspapers Carguide Magazine Building compact, economical cars bas been Kia's forte over the years and for 2010 the Korean manufacturer bas added a new Forte to its sales arsenal. The 2010 Kia Forte replace- the Spectra in the Kia lineup and brings a touch of styling pizzazz that is graduaI- ly evolving for Kia, as il becomes more of a global player in the autornotive rnarketp)lac(,e Peter Sebre> er, who carlier designed the Audi TT and Volkswagen New Beetle models, now heads the Kia world design teani. The recently-launchcd Soul, whicb was the firsi Korean vehicle to win a prestigious Red Dot award for design, gives an indication that Kia wants to he noticed on tbe world stage- a change from earlier offerings where hland might hest descrihe rnost Kia producîs. Today Kia bas an amnbitious goal t0 be the "design choice hrand without higb product pnicing' and the Forte is a great examplé ni the current philoso- phy Wbile not an in-your-face design, it is dlean and attractive and a worthy challenger for the class leaders, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Mazda3. This is an extremely important vehicle for Kia in the mnst competitive class in the Canadian market. In fact, six of the top 10 cars sold ini Canada compete directly witb tbe Forte. And almost 50 per cent of alI cars sold in tbis country are compact modela, witb the Civic, Corolla and Mazda3 accounting for about 40 per cent of that total. Heavy competition indeed, but Kia TOP: A front-engine, front-wheel drive compact, tEe Forte enters tEe most competitive segment in tEe Canadian market, accourting for near- ly 50 per cent of ail vehicles sold. BO1TOM: The Forte cornes welI equipped, wîith a host of standard fea- bas high hopes for tbe Forte, a five-pas- an enîirely new plaiform, the senger sedan, sîarîing ai $15.695. Forte lias a longer wheelbase "We'd lîke to be încluded amongsî (han the ouîgoîng Spectra, that dlite group in the marketplace, said which allowed engîneers to Bnian Kim, National Manager Produci increase the sîze ofi the mInen- 335 litres. Planning for Kia Canada. or package wîîh room for five adults. Built on a front-wbeel drive uni- Tbe Hyundai Elantra and Chevrolet The longer wheelbase also împroves body frame, Forte bas an independent Cobalt/Pontiac G5 rounded out the top driving dynamies, wbile wider front front suspension witb MacPberson five on tbe Canadian sales ebarta; in first and rear tracks increase stability on tbe struts and a stabilizer bar and a torsion quarter of 2009 and Kim said Kia bopes road. beam rear suspension wiîb sîruta and the ort wil beakint tht tp-sll- Trunk space is also, up 17 per cent coil springs. ing group. The current Specîra is not compared wiîb the Spectra to 415 Two brand new engines power the even in tbe top 10. litres, the largest trunk capacity in1 is Forte. The LX and FX gel a 2.0-litre Available in tbree urim levels (LX, Cive ass 34 lraitres, the 200 Toyota DOHC in-line four-cylinder, producing EX and SX), tbe Forte bas one of tbe Corolas 34 litresn the 2010 Mazda3 157 hp and 144 lb/fî of torque. The top- roomiest interiors in its class. Built on Cool 4 irsadte21 ad3 of-the-line SX bas a 2.4-litre in-line four- cylinder engine, with 174 hp and 169 lb/fi of torque. Standard on tbe LX and EX is a five-speed manual transmission or an optional four-speed automatie. The SX gels a standard six-speed manu- al or an optional five-speed automatie wîth Sportmatic sequential manual shift. The mid-level EX (starting at $17,995) is expected to be tbe 'bread and butter" lrim level in the Forte fine- up, wbîle the SX <$20,995) is expected t0 make up 15-20 per cent of sales. Even aI the con'r level, the Forte is xx -cIl equipped xx th six airhagx dual iront, dual t ont side and dual cuii11 )ý lour-wheel disc brakes, ABS, power wxin- doxx sllocks/beated mtrrors, steering xx heiel-moîtined aUdio controls and a four-speaker AMII M/ClD/MP3 audio sysieni with auxiliars and USB input ports. TEe lour-xpeed automnatie adds $1,200 10 tEe price. xxhile aulomnatte, mnanual air condiiioning and kex les, entry adds S2.500 to the hase prîce. Mose up to the EX anîd sou gel stan- dard features such as keyless enlry, elec- ironie stahilitv control, 16 înch allov sxEeels, heaîed front scats, manual air conditîontng, sîeering ssheel mounted eruise control, telescopie, leather- wrapped sîeering wheel, exîcrior chrome door handles and windshield xx iper de-icer. The SX adds 17 înch alloy wheels, automatie clîmate control, metallie inIe rfor accents, leather scats, alloy sport pedals, Sirius satellite radio, power sun- roof and trip computer. At the launcb, I was onîy able 10 sam- pie an EX uim model with automatie during a drive up to cottage country nortb ofloronto. The 2.0-litre 1-4 engine bas plenîy of zip with ita 156 bp, tops among tbe main contenders in the com- pact claas. esee FORCE on page A38 W HEELS SIJPPLEMENT TO THE CANADIAN CHAMPION FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2009 Economical cars are Kiays 'Forte'9