click the picture to view a high resolution gallery of the 2009 Kia Forte
Just the other day, we were all looking at a teaser pic and speculating wildly, and now, here it is. Kia dropped official images of its Spectra successor, the Forte, on the interwebs, and it is one sharp little car. The styling that the Forte introduces is Kia's new look, from the pen of Peter Schreyer, also responsible for the first-gen New Beetle and TT. The face of the Forte combines chunkily-flared front fenders with a new corporate grille, and there's a distinctive depression down the lower part of the flanks that works well with the prominent swage line to lend a stone-hewn look to the car. The term Forte in musical notation means "play loud," but this new Kia is restrained and maturely drawn. Additionally, the two-door variant of the Forte should look even better.
While there's no new design ground being broken, the overall effect is clean and handsome, reminiscent of many other higher-end vehicles. Check out those rear lamps -- remind you of any 40-something thousand dollar luxury car? When the Forte hits Korean showrooms in August, a new four-cylinder engine will be under the hood, employing 1.6 liters of swept volume. A 2.0 liter will follow on directly, and may be the only engine we get in the US when the Forte arrives on North American highways and byways in 2009. Compared to the Spectra, the Forte looks worlds better, and even on its own, we think it looks like a million bucks. Okay, $500,000. Let the endless string of "it looks like" comments begin. Thanks for the tip, William!
[Source: The Car Blogger]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
BlackCanary @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:08AM
Very nice looking small car! Yes it looks like a Civic but I think it out Civics the Civic. This is way nicer in 4 door trim than a Civic, we shall see if the coupe can trump civic as well. I am not confident it will be BETTER than a Civic, that is a tough task. I do think it is nicer looking. Very nice looking little economy car.
Kiiks @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:00AM
Civocus
Fernando @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:12AM
Civic? It looks like a first gen TSX to me.
Torrent @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:47AM
Nice. Please bring it to America. ^^^^^A Last Gen TSX? I Think That's pretty good for a car that should slot in right above the Spectra.
Xcountryflyer @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:24PM
Now that the first gen TSX has turned into this bloated mess, Kia has decided to bring the first gen back for those who like it.
ugg.tryptophan @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:26PM
looks like a way stripped down koup concept, which looks like european civic with a widebody http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-kia-koup-concept/
BAMF @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:50PM
haha, i like that the name means "loud"...
futurama @ Jul 3rd 2008 5:13AM
of course, to NON-trained eyes, if they have any similar graphics, this looks like this, that looks like that... you gotta look at the whole car. not just graphics. in that sense, there is nothing that looks like this pretty handsome car.
refugee7 @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:10AM
Looks like it should coming out from Ford Europe.
3seriesisking @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:16AM
My thoughts exactly. It's not a bad looking car but it's design is in no way unique. The thing has Ford/Civic written all over it.
MikeofLA @ Jul 2nd 2008 10:20AM
If you all remember back to the mid 90's, all of the Lexus models resembled Mercedes Benz, and now, they all echo slightly of BMW, but are becoming their own car. The truth is, if you don't have a design language you have to try things on until they fit. And we all would agree Kia hasn't been the best at penning their own cars. So take some hints from the successful bunch.
To me, it looks great and MUCH more "mature" then a civic or Corolla; I'd drive one.
Taco @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:10AM
If you guys think that is stunning then you need to get out more.
A better headline would be
"what you get if a Honda Civic and a Lexus have sex"
BlackCanary @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:14AM
Those are some good looking parents. It is understandable that the kid would be pretty good looking. Think Angelina and Brad's kid, the biological one, not a very good chance that kid is going to have a face like a shoe.
geo.stewart @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:11AM
I'll be the 1st or 2nd to say, nice looking car. best Kia ever in terms of exterior design.
With all of the comments re: 'looks like' ; there are so many cars out there now, and in the recent past, that it is nigh impossible to not see "design elements" from other vehicles. the difference is when a car steals the elements for all aspects from one vehicle.
The Kia does not do that here and has its own blend to come up with an attractive car. If it is put together well, it should steal a lot of sales from Mitsu non-Evo Lancers and from Civics. It follows the style of sharp, crisp lines they carry.
Marc-O @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:12AM
Am I the only one seeing a whole lotta lot of first-gen Acura TSX in this design ?
Not complaining, just sayin'...
Will @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:30AM
I'm with you. I see new TSX in the headlamps and a lot of the older version in the rest of the car. Of course it's all at 3/4 scale, but still. To be honest, it does pretty well without the giant-metal-tooth grille Acura introduced on the second-gen car.
Of course, none of the people who buy Kias give a damn about derivative styling. It looks good and they'll probably sell jillions of them.
Jared @ Jul 2nd 2008 9:32AM
This is what the new TSX should look like.
John R @ Jul 2nd 2008 9:47AM
Now the question is who will have the bigger balls?
Will Hyundai/Kia drop the Genesis Coupe's turbo-4 in there before Honda/Acura FINALLY (if ever) decides to put the RDX's motor where it belongs, the TSX.
I wouldn't hold my breath for either scenario.
styleguy @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:34AM
It definitely looks like a TSX, unfortunately it's not. Thank god Kia made something expressive, not shunning the Borrego and Rondo which are decent.
compy386 @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:12AM
Can we say ripoff? It looks just like a Honda.