The back seat area was more Spartan. Good seats with an acceptable recline angle and good foot room under the front seats. But only one spot to put stuff – a passenger seatback pocket. No door cubbyholes, no console cubbyholes, nothing in the pull-down armrest, zilch.
The seats fold down for a pass-through to the trunk which, at 415 litres, is big by class standards. I was impressed how it swallowed all our camping gear with little protest. Our family of four never felt claustrophobic in this compact. It felt like a small, mid-size sedan.
Its upscale feel was furthered by all the goodies on board this high-end model: super stereo with satellite radio, heated seats, Bluetooth, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, stability control, power everything, cruise, sunroof, A/C, leather – and that upscale 2.4-litre engine/automatic transmission powertrain.
Off course, they are not giving this stuff away. So the SX Luxury Forte four-door sedan with automatic has an MSRP of $25,495 before taxes, freight and PDI as well as premium colour charges.
Final Shift
Kia is obviously going to sell a lot more LX (starting at $15,995) and EX models (starting at $18,495) than SX models. But this top-of-the-line version proves that the Forte concept can be pushed upward toward higher-end machinery and still shine. It’s battle ready.
The seats fold down for a pass-through to the trunk which, at 415 litres, is big by class standards. I was impressed how it swallowed all our camping gear with little protest. Our family of four never felt claustrophobic in this compact. It felt like a small, mid-size sedan.
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| The SX Luxury Forte four-door sedan with automatic has an MSRP of $25,495 before taxes. (Photo: Mike Goetz/Auto123.com) |
Its upscale feel was furthered by all the goodies on board this high-end model: super stereo with satellite radio, heated seats, Bluetooth, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, stability control, power everything, cruise, sunroof, A/C, leather – and that upscale 2.4-litre engine/automatic transmission powertrain.
Off course, they are not giving this stuff away. So the SX Luxury Forte four-door sedan with automatic has an MSRP of $25,495 before taxes, freight and PDI as well as premium colour charges.
Final Shift
Kia is obviously going to sell a lot more LX (starting at $15,995) and EX models (starting at $18,495) than SX models. But this top-of-the-line version proves that the Forte concept can be pushed upward toward higher-end machinery and still shine. It’s battle ready.
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