New Kia Forte 2024 Colors, Interior, Models – Although the Forte has a large cargo capacity and seating for five, it is not a crossover vehicle. The four-door sedan competes with other sedans that have survived the SUV onslaught; it is targeted at the Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla. The Forte looks like the more enormous because of its sloped windshield and long wheelbase.
The new nose, with its slimmer headlamps and reworked bumpers, takes the design to the next level; it features an abundance of lines without seeming crowded or tacky. The 2024 Kia Forte plainer flanks and decklid are dressed up with a tiny spoiler and nicer taillights to disguise its standard economy-car design. GT variants include larger wheels and black accents.
2024 Kia Forte Redesign
The Forte’s cockpit has an 8.0-inch touchscreen, a sleek form, uncomplicated temperature controls, and fashionable circular vents. While the FE models include more rigid plastic and fabric upholstery, the other models use soft-touch materials and matte metallic accents. Along with perforated synthetic leather interior, the GT-Line and GT Forte sedans have contrast stitching and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.
The new nose, with its slimmer headlamps and reworked bumpers, takes the design to the next level; it features an abundance of lines without seeming crowded or tacky. The Forte’s plainer flanks and decklid are dressed up with a tiny spoiler and nicer taillights to disguise its standard economy-car design. GT variants include larger wheels and black accents.
Interior
The 2024 Kia Forte accommodates four or five people, but its 15.3-cubic-foot trunk outperforms its size. It’s a 6 here, with the trunk scoring a point higher than normal. The Forte’s seats do not get bonus points, despite providing adequate support and room for a pair of tall people in front. The Forte’s 6-way manual front seats, which come standard in fabric but can be upgraded to synthetic leather on higher trim levels, also have power adjustment for the driver and front heating and cooling. With the GT, you get side-hugging sport seats with firm bolsters and more support.
The Forte isn’t nearly as huge as a Civic or a Jetta at 182.7 inches long and 106.3 inches wide, but its rear bench seat offers 35.7 inches of leg space, which is plenty for a 6-footer to travel behind another 6-footer. While Forte FE cars lack a fold-down rear seatback, other model levels do. Also, the Forte LXS, GT-Line, and GT have better inside materials. The GT-Line and GT have red stitching, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and more metallic decoration.
Engine
The 2024 Forte is powered by a 147-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-4 with 132 lb-ft of torque from the FE to the GT-Line trim levels. With a curb weight of between 2,769 and 3,079 pounds, acceleration is not the car’s strong suit; fuel economy is. It moves slowly and is quite noisy when connected to a CVT that sloshes between gears to maintain the engine humming around its peak power output.
It reacts gently when driven carefully. On the other hand, the 201-horsepower 1.6-liter turbo-4 in the Forte GT would get a 6 if mated with the 6-speed manual transmission rather than the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. With 195 lb-ft of torque, it can accelerate to 60 engine in 6.7 seconds. We haven’t driven it with the manual transmission, but it has to be better than Kia’s dual-clutch gearbox’s yo-yo shift quality.
When the Sport driving mode is engaged and the throttle is repeatedly pressed, the dual-clutch responds consistently to gearchange requests; otherwise, it searches for the correct cog, which gets unpleasant at city speeds. The Forte’s handling is also lacking. The base cars have a simple torsion-beam rear suspension that does an excellent job of dampening the effects of rough roads.
The GT features an independent rear suspension that does not dampen the car’s significant lean into corners or quick lane changes. A sporty Forte would be great; consider the Civic Si or perhaps the Hyundai Elantra N Line for more exciting driving.
2024 Kia Forte Release Date and Price
The $20,085 Forte comes equipped with power features, a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Upgrade to the LXS for a more luxurious interior and a split-folding back seat—or the $22,885 GT-Line for an even larger display.