2024 Kia Forte adds more standard equipment to one trim

More holes in more 2024 lineups are getting filled in. In the economy sedan class, not long after the 2024 Nissan Sentra debuted nearly unchanged, the 2024 Kia Forte is doing the same. As noted in our Sentra post, the Nissan and the Kia stick together when it comes to price as well, the Forte the only member of the segment with a smaller MSRP than the Sentra. That continues into the new year even though Forte prices have gone up by a Benjamin or four. MSRPs for the Kia after the $1,125 destination charge, and their differences from 2023, are:

• LX: $20,915 ($100)
• LXS: $21,415 ($100)
• GT-Line: $23,415 ($400)
• GT (7SP DCT): $25,315 ($100)
• GT (6SP Manual): $26,315 ($100)

The two changes beyond price start with the GT-Line trim now sold standard with a safety system called Front Collision Alert Fusion, a combination of forward collision-avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, navigation-based cruise control, highway driving assist and the electronic parking brake. Finally, because the $300 GT-Line Tech Package bundled an electronic navigation-based intelligent cruise control, automatic emergency braking with cyclist detection, and the electronic parking brake, it's no longer on the options list — and hence the $400 upcharge for the GT-Line trim.

All Forte trims come with forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, driver attention warning, lane departure warning and lane departure steering assist. The LXS makes blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic alert and safe exit warning optional, the GT-Line and GT include those three as well. 

And yes, you read the price list correctly — the Forte with the six-speed manual costs $1,000 more than the Forte with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The manual gets gas mileage that's 13% worse than the automatic on the combined cycle, too. The EPA rates the DCT as getting 27 miles per gallon in the city, 35 mpg on the highway, 30 mpg combined. Rowing your own gears drops that to 22 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and 26 combined. Those trims are both powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder making 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. 

The base LX trim is the fuel economy champ, getting 30 mpg city, 41 mpg highway and 34 combined — down from 35 mpg combined in 2022. It's powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 147 hp and 132 lb-ft, so too are the LXS and GT-Line trims, the engine shifting through a CVT. 

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